[SOLVED] How should I setup my RAM sticks?

firstslayer09

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My motherboard is MSI Z390 gaming plus and I just got G.Skill TridentZ Series 32GB (4x8GB) 288-pin DDR4 Model F4-4000C18Q-32GTZKW

I know this RAM is compatible because I made sure to check on a website of compatible RAM. So far since they are 4 sticks I just placed them all randomly into all 4 slots on my MB, but now whenever I game i get frequent crashes. So im starting to believe I did something incorrectly. Is there a specific way to install RAM or did i just get faulty sticks?

Thanks for the help!

Edit: some extra information if helpful. I upgraded from 2 sticks of 8GB 3200Mhz. After installing the new RAM I turned on XMP to get the 4000Mhz.
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
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Try updating bios on motherboard?

there is no secret order you put sticks in, if its a 4x8gb set then it shouldn't matter

Try running memtest86 on each of your ram sticks, one stick at a time, up to 4 passes. Only error count you want is 0, any higher could be cause of the BSOD. Remove/replace ram sticks with errors.
Memtest is created as a bootable USB so that you don’t need windows to run it

it will take a while to test 32gb of ram.
 
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My motherboard is MSI Z390 gaming plus and I just got G.Skill TridentZ Series 32GB (4x8GB) 288-pin DDR4 Model F4-4000C18Q-32GTZKW

I know this RAM is compatible because I made sure to check on a website of compatible RAM. So far since they are 4 sticks I just placed them all randomly into all 4 slots on my MB, but now whenever I game i get frequent crashes. So im starting to believe I did something incorrectly. Is there a specific way to install RAM or did i just get faulty sticks?

Thanks for the help!

Edit: some extra information if helpful. I upgraded from 2 sticks of 8GB 3200Mhz. After installing the new RAM I turned on XMP to get the 4000Mhz.
Some motherboards don't like higher frequencies, what CPUare you running, what happens if you run the RAM at 3200Mhz? #

Also past 3200Mhz DDR4 is diminishing returns and past 3600 Mhz unless you REALLY need bandwidth (you don't for gaming) it's pretty much pointless.
 

firstslayer09

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Thanks for the replies...
Try updating bios on motherboard?

there is no secret order you put sticks in, if its a 4x8gb set then it shouldn't matter

Try running memtest86 on each of your ram sticks, one stick at a time, up to 4 passes. Only error count you want is 0, any higher could be cause of the BSOD. Remove/replace ram sticks with errors.
Memtest is created as a bootable USB so that you don’t need windows to run it

it will take a while to test 32gb of ram.
There is a BIOS update that I can do, I will try that. I have tried memtest86, but not one at a time. If it takes a long time this is something I cant do immediately.

One thing to note, I do not get BSOD. The games/applications simply crash to desktop with no warning or error report.

Some motherboards don't like higher frequencies, what CPUare you running, what happens if you run the RAM at 3200Mhz? #

Also past 3200Mhz DDR4 is diminishing returns and past 3600 Mhz unless you REALLY need bandwidth (you don't for gaming) it's pretty much pointless.
I am using a i7-9700k. I haven't tried running my RAM at 3200Mhz because I usually just turn on XMP and that's it. I haven't gotten into manually changing things.

I play some CPU and RAM intensive games such as Total War games and Escape from Tarkov. I would love to keep the RAM speed high if possible.
 
Thanks for the replies...

There is a BIOS update that I can do, I will try that. I have tried memtest86, but not one at a time. If it takes a long time this is something I cant do immediately.

One thing to note, I do not get BSOD. The games/applications simply crash to desktop with no warning or error report.


I am using a i7-9700k. I haven't tried running my RAM at 3200Mhz because I usually just turn on XMP and that's it. I haven't gotten into manually changing things.

I play some CPU and RAM intensive games such as Total War games and Escape from Tarkov. I would love to keep the RAM speed high if possible.
You don't really need RAM bandwidth for gaming, the difference between 3200 and 4000 will be minimal.
 

firstslayer09

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once again thanks for all the help in the replies...

Try running your ram at a lower speed like 2600 or 3000 to see if your issue is resolved.
would this require me turning off XMP and manually adjusting everything myself? I can look up how to do this and will potentially try it out.

Running 4 stick of ram is much harder on the memory controller.
Most times a small bump inmemory voltage is all that is required to get 4 sticks stable.
Could this be the issue? Before for years I have been running 2 sticks of RAM at 16GB. Currently the RAM is set to 1.2voltage, perhaps I should increase it? Also I wonder if this requires me to turn off XMP.
 
DDR4 ram at speeds higher that about 2666 are better binned and need to be overclocked to reach advertised speeds.
The needed voltage will likely be 1.35v.
Those settings are in the XMP profiles embedded in the ram sticks themselves.
Selecting an XMP profile is just a shorthand way to do what you could do yourself.
Sometimes, upping the ram voltage a bit will fix problems.
 
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firstslayer09

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DDR4 ram at speeds higher that about 2666 are better binned and need to be overclocked to reach advertised speeds.
The needed voltage will likely be 1.35v.
Those settings are in the XMP profiles embedded in the ram sticks themselves.
Selecting an XMP profile is just a shorthand way to do what you could do yourself.
Sometimes, upping the ram voltage a bit will fix problems.
I checked the voltage on CPU-Z to find it at 1.2v

Although I disabled XMP and set everything manually, I upped the voltage to 1.35v but on CPU-Z it is still showing 1.2v. Is this accurate? View: https://imgur.com/a/KY5YIbo
at the bottom you can see the voltage still at 1.2v

Edit: Could anyone tell me what this is? View: https://imgur.com/a/eoPSpMO
it shows 1.35v on the first listing but 1.2v on the rest.
 
I checked the voltage on CPU-Z to find it at 1.2v
Although I disabled XMP and set everything manually, I upped the voltage to 1.35v but on CPU-Z it is still showing 1.2v. Is this accurate?
at the bottom you can see the voltage still at 1.2v

Edit: Could anyone tell me what this is?
it shows 1.35v on the first listing but 1.2v on the rest.
Look at CPU-Z - memory section instead.
SPD tab shows SPD table for selected ram module. It doesn't show current active settings.
 
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