Question How to run RAM at advertised speeds? (XMP not working)

[clueless user]

Hi, so it's been over 10+ years since I've owned a desktop computer. I recently bought a new one with these specs:

AMD Ryzen 9 3950x
ASRock x570 Taichi
Corsair Vengeance LPX CMK32GX4M2E3200C16 DDR4(3200Mhz 4x16 GB)
Noctua NH-D15S
Corsair RM650

Only after some reading did I know that you need to set the RAM speed yourself for it to run at it's advertised speed. So I did some reading online. I updated my BIOs. I then selected the XMP profile that was already in my BIOs that says 3200. Saved my changes and restarted my PC. It restarted but seemed something was wrong as it couldn't show the ASRock screen and if I wanted to go into BIOs. After the PC turning on and off a few times it finally loaded the ASRock screen and then into Windows 10. I checked Task Manager as well as BIOs and it still shows 2133Mhz. I tried this one more time just in case I didn't save or maybe missed something but the same result.

At the moment I just want the RAM to run at it's rated speed and I thought it was simply selecting the XMP but seem that's not the case. I saw tutorials on how to manually set the timings with DRAM and CPUz but right now I just want it to run at it's rated speed. Can anyone point out what steps I missed or what I'm doing wrong?

 

[Karadjgne]

Ryzens do not like 4x sticks.



Run cpu-z, it'll tell you on the right hand side if the ram is single rank or dual rank (SR or DR, not to be confused with single/dual channel).

What has happened is you set XMP, which mostly applies to 2x sticks, and would normally be perfectly stable. Because you have 4x sticks, it created a bios instability, and bios will attempt to boot 3x (default setting) and if it can't, it'll revert to the last known stable bootable settings, which in your case was before XMP. So ram runs at 2133.

If the ram is single rank, without extraneous changes to voltages or timings or tweaks manually etc, the best you can do with simple auto startup is 2933MHz. If the ram is dual rank, best you can do is 2667MHz. And those numbers will require manual settings.

It's possible to maybe get your ram to 3200MHz, but that will probably require changes not only to ram settings, but also to motherboard and cpu voltages as that's all part of the memory controller system, which is what has the issue with 4x sticks at higher frequencies.

 

[clueless user]

Wow, you described exactly what happened with the attempt to reboot. That is quite surprising about the RAM. I'm surprised the store who helped me build my PC didn't tell me or maybe he expected that I knew this. I downloaded and checked rank and it seems to be dual.



So did I essentially waste money in buying higher frequency RAM if the best I can do is 2667Mhz? What should be the next step be to get the memory running faster? Thanks

 

[drivinfast247]

I wouldn't say the issue is the 4 sticks of RAM. There are people are getting 4 sticks to run at rated or higher speeds with 3000 series Ryzen and x570 motherboards. Your issue is probably that it's 2 different 2x16gb kits.

F4-3200C16Q-64GTZN - Overview - G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd.

Engineered and optimized for full compatibility on the latest AMD Ryzen platforms, Trident Z Neo brings unparalleled DRAM memory performance and vibrant RGB lighting to any gaming PC or workstation with latest AMD Ryzen CPUs and AMD DDR4 motherboards.

gskill.com

 

[clueless user]

I bought the 4 sticks at the same store, same model though. I also checked all 4 slots and all 4 show the same timings as the picture above. Is the G Skill you linked better at running full speed with 4 sticks?

So what's the best course of action to get them running faster at this point?

 

[SkyNetRising]

I bought the 4 sticks at the same store, same model though.

4 individual modules or
kit of 4 modules or
2 kits of 2 modules?

 

[drivinfast247]

I bought the 4 sticks at the same store, same model though. I also checked all 4 slots and all 4 show the same timings as the picture above. Is the G Skill you linked better at running full speed with 4 sticks?

So what's the best course of action to get them running faster at this point?

I can't guarantee anything. But the NEO series RAM is designed especially for 3000 series Ryzen and x570 chipset.

 

[Calvin7]

CMK32GX4M2E3200C16 is not a (3200Mhz 4x16 GB) kit.

Using multiple kits are not guaranteed by Corsair to be compatible together. Since you can make any combinations you want, you can do your own compatibility testing with no guarantees.

XMP profiles are for memory in the form sold. No guarantees as to how multiple kits of memory will operate together.

 

[DMAN999]

Do you really need 32 GB RAM ?
If so you could get a 2x16GB 3600 kit like this:

F4-3600C16D-32GVKC - Overview - G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd.

Ripjaws V series DDR4 DRAM memory is designed for sleek aesthetics and performance, making it an ideal choice for building a new PC system or for upgrading your system memory.

www.gskill.com

That G.Skil lists as compatible with your MB.

If you aren't doing 3D modeling or Rendering or something similar, 16 GB is more than enough for most PCs.

I would either return all that RAM and get a tcompatible 16 GB 3600 kit.
Or try installing just two stick (that came in a kit together) in slots A2 and B2 and see if they will run at 3200 and return the other 2 sticks.

G.Skill also has quite a few 16 GB kits that they state are compatible with your MB (up to 3600):
https://www.gskill.com/configurator...524725289&chipset=1562578957&model=1562636787

 

[clueless user]

4 individual modules or
kit of 4 modules or
2 kits of 2 modules?

I bought two of the same model kit. So two (2x16GB)

I can't guarantee anything. But the NEO series RAM is designed especially for 3000 series Ryzen and x570 chipset.

Ok, I'll look into it if I decide to return/sell the RAM I have.

CMK32GX4M2E3200C16 is not a (3200Mhz 4x16 GB) kit.

Using multiple kits are not guaranteed by Corsair to be compatible together. Since you can make any combinations you want, you can do your own compatibility testing with no guarantees.

XMP profiles are for memory in the form sold. No guarantees as to how multiple kits of memory will operate together.

If I'm reading the figures from CPUz correctly, all four sticks have the same timings so doesn't that mean they're all very likely to be the same?

Do you really need 32 GB RAM ?
If so you could get a 2x16GB 3600 kit like this:

F4-3600C16D-32GVKC - Overview - G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd.

Ripjaws V series DDR4 DRAM memory is designed for sleek aesthetics and performance, making it an ideal choice for building a new PC system or for upgrading your system memory.

www.gskill.com

That G.Skil lists as compatible with your MB.

If you aren't doing 3D modeling or Rendering or something similar, 16 GB is more than enough for most PCs.

I would either return all that RAM and get a tcompatible 16 GB 3600 kit.
Or try installing just two stick (that came in a kit together) in slots A2 and B2 and see if they will run at 3200 and return the other 2 sticks.

G.Skill also has quite a few 16 GB kits that they state are compatible with your MB (up to 3600):
https://www.gskill.com/configurator?page=3&cls=1529635169&adSearch2=Capacity§16GB (8GBx2),Tested_Speed§3600MHz,&manufacturer=1524725289&chipset=1562578957&model=1562636787

Yes, I'm not planning to do much gaming on the PC. Mostly running simulations that relies on the CPU and RAM. So I think having more RAM at slower speeds will be more beneficial to me than less RAM at higher speeds.

I think at this point I'll read some more tutorials on how to manually adjust the RAM timings and see if I can achieve faster speeds.