Question MSi B450M Bazook Plus RAM Support / TFORCE DARK ZA 3600mhz

[KhouhenStercie.Bacus]

I'm planning to build an SFF PC, with a MATX board and I saw a deal - MSi B450M Bazooka Plus for $54 (USED)
I'm confused about the RAM support. i was about to buy a Tforce DARK ZA 3600mhz 8x2 but on the spec sheet on the MSI it says only support OC .

this is what they say on the website from MSI

• 4 x DDR4 memory slots, support up to 128GB *ComboPI 1.0.0.3-based and above BIOS are required.
• Supports 1866/ 2133/ 2400/ 2667Mhz (by JEDEC)
• Supports 2667/ 2800/ 2933/ 3000/ 3066/ 3200/ 3333 MHz (by A-XMP OC MODE)
• Supports Dual-Channel mode
• Supports non-ECC UDIMM memory
• Supports ECC UDIMM memory

meaning does the 3600mhz won't work on my board?

 

[Darkbreeze]

3600MT/s MIGHT work on your board, but it is not officially supported on your board based on the listed specifications but there are absolutely some 3600, and even up to 4400MT/s kits shown on the QVL list so it can definitely support those speeds based on that information.

It will also support A-XMP OC mode, which is just another name for XMP, which is just another name for a factory overclock profile that has been well tested by the memory manufacturer to work on a variety of platforms. There is no actual "overclocking" involved, not like with a CPU or GPU, you simply (Unless you encounter compatibility problems between your board and your memory kit) enable XMP, A-XMP, D.O.C.P or AMP, depending on the generation and platform, and so long as they are playing nice it should just work. Which is why it is a good idea to make certain the memory you are purchasing is compatible with the board model and if it's not listed on the QVL then you need to go to the (more reliable anyhow) memory manufacturer's compatibility list and the only few companies I know of that offer that are the G.Skill memory configurator, Corsair memory finder and Crucial system advisor.

For that reason, because none of the others offer compatibility assurance like those three do, I tend to stick to those three brands when buying memory but I can also understand if you run into a deal on a kit that might work but you can't verify full compatibility for whatever reason, such as they are not on the QVL and they have no compatibility list of their own, that you might want to just go ahead and try it anyhow because in most cases there's a good chance it's going to work out or will work out with a few minor tweaks.

It also matters what CPU model/generation you are running in that board as well because different CPUs support different memory speeds on that same board. Knowing your full hardware specifications including CPU and memory kit model would be very helpful in trying to figure out compatibility.