Question Is RAM Speed above "officially supported" classified as "overclocked"?

[Jack800]

Hello,

I understand Ryzen 5950X CPU has an official supported RAM speed of 3200.
I went with RAM speed of 3600. I will not be tweaking anything with this RAM other than sticking it into the motherboard.

Specs
Motherboard - ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero (AMD x570)
CPU - Ryzen 5950x
RAM - 3600Mhz

Problem
I want to get Sound Blaster AE-7 sound card, but I understand that it doesn't play nice on x570/Ryzen CPUs with RAM that are overclocked. Here is the official AMD announcement. I don't know how old this announcement is (maybe Feb 2021?). I've been researching online trying to see if there was a permanent fix, but couldn't find a definitive answer.

Questions
1, Is anything above officially supported RAM speed considered "overclocked"?

1. In worst case scenario, what would you choose? Slower RAM with 3200 instead of 3600, but having a great sound card like the AE-7? Or sticking with 3600 RAM and getting a different sound card?
2. If you know of any recent updates to the above issue that would be great!

As always, thanks in advance for your assistance!

Jack800

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

I will not be tweaking anything with this RAM other than sticking it into the motherboard.

then your memory will be running at default speeds of ~2133-2400MHz.

I want to get Sound Blaster AE-7 sound card...

Motherboard - ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero

why?
there will be no noticeable benefit to sound quality vs this motherboard's onboard audio.

 

[boju]

I went through Creative's statement and then on to Reddit link further investigating the issue, this was early last year.

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/m2wqkf/updated_agesa_coming_for_intermittent_usb/


There has been several bios updates for your board since the fix. I don't think running memory above Infinity Fabric is an issue now but could be wrong. Email Creative to confirm.

 

[Jack800]

then your memory will be running at default speeds of ~2133-2400MHz.

why?
there will be no noticeable benefit to sound quality vs this motherboard's onboard audio.

Hello JohnBonhamsGhost,

Thanks for your input.

So, when a RAM is installed into a motherboard it automatically runs at it default speed? For it to run at a higher speed, a person would have to go into the BIOS and select the desired speed? Is that how it works? But, it's only considered "overclocking" if I run it at a higher speed than what the RAM is rated for, right? If I set a 3600 Mhz RAM to run at 3200, that's not considered being "overclocked", is it?

Regarding the sound card, is it because this motherboard's onboard audio is that good? I've always had a sound card so I actually would not have a comparison vs onboard audio. I have a 5.1 speaker setup (music. movies). When would a sound card be considered over the use of onboard audio?

 

[Jack800]

I went through Creative's statement and then on to Reddit link further investigating the issue, this was early last year.

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/m2wqkf/updated_agesa_coming_for_intermittent_usb/


There has been several bios updates for your board since the fix. I don't think running memory above Infinity Fabric is an issue now but could be wrong. Email Creative to confirm.

Hello boju,

Thanks for your input. When you say "running memory above Infinity Fabric" what does that mean? (sorry, still consider myself a newbie). I'll reach out to Creative as well.

 

[boju]

Infinity Fabric is memory controller inside the cpu, it provides communication between multiple chiplets for various functions and devices. This operates at the speed of your ram frequency which is rated at 3200 on 5xxx series Ryzen but you still need to enable xmp to get that speed. 3600 ram is pushing memory controller (Infinity Fabric) faster so you will get more performance as a result but it caused syncing issues for usb and pcie devices. Hopefully this issue has been fixed by now, we'll see what Creative says.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

So, when a RAM is installed into a motherboard it automatically runs at it default speed? For it to run at a higher speed, a person would have to go into the BIOS and select the desired speed? Is that how it works? But, it's only considered "overclocking" if I run it at a higher speed than what the RAM is rated for, right? If I set a 3600 Mhz RAM to run at 3200, that's not considered being "overclocked", is it?

it would depend on the source of the information really.
some would state that anything over the processor's rated spec is overclocking.
but i lean more toward the memory manufacturer's rated specs. if surpassing that i would consider it an overclock.

some stats provided by ASUS regarding this particular board:

• AMD Ryzen 5000 Series/3000 Series Desktop Processors
• DDR4 4866(O.C)/ 4800(O.C.)/ 4666(O.C.)/ 4600(O.C)/ 4400(O.C)/ 4266(O.C.)/ 4133(O.C.)/ 4000(O.C.)/ 3866(O.C.)/ 3733(O.C.)/ 3600(O.C.)/ 3466(O.C.)/ 3400(O.C.)/ 3200/ 3000/ 2933/ 2800/ 2666/ 2400(O.C.)/ 2133 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
• AMD Ryzen 4000 G-Series Desktop Processors
• DDR4 5100(O.C)/ 5000(O.C)/ 4866(O.C)/ 4800(O.C.)/ 4600(O.C)/ 4400(O.C)/ 4266(O.C.)/ 4133(O.C.)/ 4000(O.C.)/ 3866(O.C.)/ 3733(O.C.)/ 3600(O.C.)/ 3466(O.C.)/ 3400(O.C.)/ 3200/ 3000/ 2933/ 2800/ 2666/ 2400/ 2133 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
• AMD Ryzen 2000 Series Processors
• DDR4 3600(O.C.)/ 3466(O.C.)/ 3400(O.C.)/ 3200(O.C.)/ 3000(O.C.)/ 2933/ 2800/ 2666/ 2400/ 2133 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
• AMD Ryzen 3000 G-Series/2000 G-Series Processors
• DDR4 3200(O.C.)/ 3000(O.C.)/ 2933/ 2800/ 2666/ 2400/ 2133 MHz Memory

I've always had a sound card so I actually would not have a comparison vs onboard audio. I have a 5.1 speaker setup (music. movies). When would a sound card be considered over the use of onboard audio?

i used dedicated PCI & PCIe soundcards through the early 2000s because my boards at the time didn't offer optical output for my 5.1 receiver.
as soon as i got one that did i got rid of the excess hardware and have never been able to tell a difference in sound quality vs a good onboard audio chip.
currently using an ASUS Z590-E with 5.1 out through optical and it sounds fantastic.

the only time i would ever recommend a dedicated sound card these days would be for very high-end recording at higher than average bandwidths.

 

[Jack800]

Infinity Fabric is memory controller inside the cpu, it provides communication between multiple chiplets for various functions and devices. This operates at the speed of your ram frequency which is rated at 3200 on 5xxx series Ryzen but you still need to enable xmp to get that speed. 3600 ram is pushing memory controller (Infinity Fabric) faster so you will get more performance as a result but it caused syncing issues for usb and pcie devices. Hopefully this issue has been fixed by now, we'll see what Creative says.

Oh, I see, thank you! (grasshopper still learning..)

 

[Jack800]

it would depend on the source of the information really.
some would state that anything over the processor's rated spec is overclocking.
but i lean more toward the memory manufacturer's rated specs. if surpassing that i would consider it an overclock.

some stats provided by ASUS regarding this particular board:

• AMD Ryzen 5000 Series/3000 Series Desktop Processors
• DDR4 4866(O.C)/ 4800(O.C.)/ 4666(O.C.)/ 4600(O.C)/ 4400(O.C)/ 4266(O.C.)/ 4133(O.C.)/ 4000(O.C.)/ 3866(O.C.)/ 3733(O.C.)/ 3600(O.C.)/ 3466(O.C.)/ 3400(O.C.)/ 3200/ 3000/ 2933/ 2800/ 2666/ 2400(O.C.)/ 2133 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
• AMD Ryzen 4000 G-Series Desktop Processors
• DDR4 5100(O.C)/ 5000(O.C)/ 4866(O.C)/ 4800(O.C.)/ 4600(O.C)/ 4400(O.C)/ 4266(O.C.)/ 4133(O.C.)/ 4000(O.C.)/ 3866(O.C.)/ 3733(O.C.)/ 3600(O.C.)/ 3466(O.C.)/ 3400(O.C.)/ 3200/ 3000/ 2933/ 2800/ 2666/ 2400/ 2133 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
• AMD Ryzen 2000 Series Processors
• DDR4 3600(O.C.)/ 3466(O.C.)/ 3400(O.C.)/ 3200(O.C.)/ 3000(O.C.)/ 2933/ 2800/ 2666/ 2400/ 2133 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
• AMD Ryzen 3000 G-Series/2000 G-Series Processors
• DDR4 3200(O.C.)/ 3000(O.C.)/ 2933/ 2800/ 2666/ 2400/ 2133 MHz Memory

i used dedicated PCI & PCIe soundcards through the early 2000s because my boards at the time didn't offer optical output for my 5.1 receiver.
as soon as i got one that did i got rid of the excess hardware and have never been able to tell a difference in sound quality vs a good onboard audio chip.
currently using an ASUS Z590-E with 5.1 out through optical and it sounds fantastic.

the only time i would ever recommend a dedicated sound card these days would be for very high-end recording at higher than average bandwidths.

Hmmm, 5.1 receiver? Interesting. That's something I was going to research a little down the road, but now you got me thinking. Is that the same as an A/V receiver that one would use for TV setup? Would a 7.1 setup be more advantageous? Is that hard to set up? If I'll be considering getting a receiver, then I most probably would want to update my speaker system. Any suggestions/recommendations?

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

Is that the same as an A/V receiver that one would use for TV setup? Would a 7.1 setup be more advantageous? Is that hard to set up?

a Sony A/V receiver.
connected to a TV, a jukebox, and a computer.

7.1 would work exactly the same just with 2 more speakers.
no setup whatsoever for me. just connect the optical cable to the rear I/O of the PC, select the proper digital output in Control Panel > Sound, and it's running perfectly.

i'm just using 5.1 because that's the receiver i have that i bought at Sears ~18 years ago.

 

[Jack800]

a Sony A/V receiver.
connected to a TV, a jukebox, and a computer.

7.1 would work exactly the same just with 2 more speakers.
no setup whatsoever for me. just connect the optical cable to the rear I/O of the PC, select the proper digital output in Control Panel > Sound, and it's running perfectly.

i'm just using 5.1 because that's the receiver i have that i bought at Sears ~18 years ago.

Thanks! I didn't realize the need for a sound card has drastically decreased in the past 10 years or so. I took it for granted (gotta love technology). I'm waiting on an answer back from Creative regarding their sound cards playing nice with AM4 motherboards with Ryzen CPUs. But if I can forgo that whole mess by opting for a receiver hookup (and having one less thing in my case), then I'll definitely consider that!

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

most motherboards i've worked with these days also offer surround alternative to optical input, so you really wouldn't even need a receiver.
for example:

 

[Jack800]

most motherboards i've worked with these days also offer surround alternative to optical input, so you really wouldn't even need a receiver.
for example:

Yes, I looked at the my new motherboard and it does have something similar.

I tried to paste a snapshot of the back of the motherboard, but don't know how. How do you attach a "snip" of something here?

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

How do you attach a "snip" of something here?

upload to IMGUR and share via the image icon in the center of post options.

 

[Jack800]

upload to IMGUR and share via the image icon in the center of post options.

I'll take a look into that, thanks.

 

[geofelt]

The default for ddr4 is 2133 speed at 1.2v.
Some better binned ram will operate as high as 3200 speed still at 1.2v
Ran faster than that is really well binned 2133 DDR4 ram that will operate at higher rates but needs 1.3 or 1.35v.
Hence 3600 speed ram is technically overclocked.

At one time, sound on a pc was generated by cpu instructions.
Add in sound cards were developed to offload what was then a significant workload. Today, a chip on the motherboard provides that capability, removing one reason for a sound card.
I am no expert on sound, but I am told that a good sound card can help gamers.
Still, I would try integrated sound first. Then, try the discrete card.
Sound cards and drivers seem to be one of the more problem prone issues.

 

[Jack800]

Well, I opened a ticket with Creative regarding the issue concerning their sound cards (not pointing any fingers at Creative or AMD) and just waiting for them to get back to me. It's nice to know now that I don't NEED to have a sound card in my new system. That being the case, I may then actually stick with the onboard audio for now (one less debugging crapware I have to worry about) and eventually go for getting a receiver. I'll safely assume here I don't need a separate receiver for TV and then for a computer. But I know once I get a receiver I will most probably want to invest in a new speaker system.

 

[geofelt]

Your motherboard sound should have no problem running a TV via HDMI.
Are you planning on a TV as your pc monitor?

Are you certain you actually need a receiver?
You can buy some quite good pc speaker setups.

 

[Jack800]

The default for ddr4 is 2133 speed at 1.2v.
Some better binned ram will operate as high as 3200 speed still at 1.2v
Ran faster than that is really well binned 2133 DDR4 ram that will operate at higher rates but needs 1.3 or 1.35v.
Hence 3600 speed ram is technically overclocked.

At one time, sound on a pc was generated by cpu instructions.
Add in sound cards were developed to offload what was then a significant workload. Today, a chip on the motherboard provides that capability, removing one reason for a sound card.
I am no expert on sound, but I am told that a good sound card can help gamers.
Still, I would try integrated sound first. Then, try the discrete card.
Sound cards and drivers seem to be one of the more problem prone issues.

Thanks, geofelt. Yes, I am now leaning towards integrated audio for now. And yes, my current Sound Blaster Sound Card Z sometimes does not play nice when Microsoft issues updates. The time I spent fixing those issues cost me more than the card is worth.

 

[Jack800]

Your motherboard sound should have no problem running a TV via HDMI.
Are you planning on a TV as your pc monitor?

Are you certain you actually need a receiver?
You can buy some quite good pc speaker setups.

Well, I never thought about using my TV as a monitor. I have to think if there would be any situations where that option would come in handy.

That's the nice part; I know I really don't NEED a receiver, but I certainly would entertain that option. If I can get a really nice receiver to turn my tv into a movie theater experience AND juice my computer with high quality audio and video at the same time.,,, then I would consider.

 

[boju]

If you're going avr route eventually, youll also have another means of audio, via the graphics card which all can do 7.1 audio. Hook pc up to avr and avr hdmi out to tv.

 

[Jack800]

Now, who has a new AMD RX 68000 XT they can sell me for MSRP?

 

[emitfudd]

I agree with geofelt about the availability of good pc speakers. I have been using a Klipsch 2.1 speaker setup. The subwoofer is surprisingly loud. It actually sounds good with my music library as well as gaming. I usually set the master volume on most games to 50% and sometimes I still jump from loud sound effects.

Also, the Dark Hero has optical audio out. It's not needed for most pc speakers but it's there no matter what route you go.

3600MHz RAM is the sweet spot for Ryzen. I would go for a 3600MHz CL16 kit. 2 sticks, not 4. Look at G. Skill. The NEO is optimized for Ryzen.

 

[Jack800]

If you're going avr route eventually, youll also have another means of audio, via the graphics card which all can do 7.1 audio. Hook pc up to avr and avr hdmi out to tv.

Oh, good to know!

 

[Jack800]

I agree with geofelt about the availability of good pc speakers. I have been using a Klipsch 2.1 speaker setup. The subwoofer is surprisingly loud. It actually sounds good with my music library as well as gaming. I usually set the master volume on most games to 50% and sometimes I still jump from loud sound effects.

Also, the Dark Hero has optical audio out. It's not needed for most pc speakers but it's there no matter what route you go.

3600MHz RAM is the sweet spot for Ryzen. I would go for a 3600MHz CL16 kit. 2 sticks, not 4. Look at G. Skill. The NEO is optimized for Ryzen.

Gotta love those subwoofers. I did opt for 3600 for RAM, but I went by ASUS' Qualified Vendor List and took Corsair 4x8Gb C18. I wanted the 2 stick configuration from Corsair, but it was sold out for 3600.