[SOLVED] Is memory OC tied to cpu?

[jwcrellin]

I have a AMD Ryzen 5 2600 on a MSI B450 Tomahawk and GSkill Trident 3200 ram. Currently I can only run it around 2933mhz. If I upgrade to ryzen 9 3900x, would I be able to OC my memory higher? Or would I have to get a x570 motherboard?

 

[Karadjgne]

Unknown, usually it's been the 1st gen Ryzens that had compatability issues not allowing 3200MHz, topping out in most kits at 2933. That was pretty much fixed by microcode updates with bios, and hard-coded in the 2nd Gen cpus. So not sure why you'd still be stuck at 2933MHz.

The Tomahawk B450 will have a hard time with the VRM's paired with a 3900x, just saying. That's true of most B450 mobo's.

 

[InvalidError]

Memory OC is a function of all three components:
1- the quality of the CPU's IMC which contains the memory IO drivers/receivers
2- the quality of memory bus routing, board material (uniform controlled impedance), memory VRM, memory parameter tables in the BIOS (basically cheat sheets to help the BIOS find the best IO driver/receiver parameters for a given set of DIMMs), etc.
3- the quality of the memory DIMMs and dies

The (presumably) improved IMC on Ryzen 3 may help, but a board designed for higher speeds and equipped with better-tuned tables may still be required to achieve significantly higher speeds.