Question Overclocking 12700K with DDR5 RAM 64GB (2x32GB) 6400MT/s CL32 Issues

[Jhorg4]

Hi,

My specs:​

• 12700K
• Z690 Gigabyte Aorus Pro
• G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB DDR5 RAM 64GB (2x32GB) 6400MT/s CL32-39-39-102 1.40V
• ROG Strix OC 4090
• Windows 11 23H2
• BIOS ver. F28

UPDATE:
I downloaded Memtest86+ to a USB, booted to it and ran the test. Turns out that my memory was bad so I had to exchange it. The DIMMs were properly seated after all, I just decided to run a different memory test. That may explain how my OS got corrupted, and it may be part of the reason my CPU couldn't OC. How unfortunate.

ORIGINAL:
I bought new RAM (G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 64GB (2x32GB) 6400MT/s CL32-39-39-102 1.40V) and my motherboard activated the XMP profile automatically. It was running great except COD Cold War kept crashing. Then Unity crashed.

I used DDU to uninstall the graphics driver and then reinstalled the driver only to get a ton of BSODs all pointing to the memory. I then ran a memory test, and it found hardware issues. Before exchanging the RAM, I cleared the CMOS and reseated the DIMMs. Apparently, the DIMMs weren't seated correctly. My OS and software then ran smoothly at stock BIOS settings. I ran another memory test with zero hardware issues.

I then went into my BIOS and just enabled XMP then rebooted. My PC never ran into issues and was completely stable. I went back into the BIOS to overclock my CPU again. P/E cores 5.1GHz/4.0 at a fixed voltage of 1.29, 4.3GHz Max/Min Ring Ratio, disabled the Voltage Reduction Initiated TVB, and disabled Enhanced Multi-Core Performance since these settings worked fine for almost a year.

After I overclocked my CPU, my PC would hang at code 7F, it would reboot then hang at 61, then reboot to a blue screen saying there were corrupted system files like winload.efi and others every time I would reboot my PC. I could not do anything on that screen. I could get into the BIOS sometimes but it would freeze.

So, I cleared the CMOS once again and everything was working just fine. I ran the sfc scan, DISM commands, chkdsk commands, checked for Windows updates, used Intel Driver and Support Assistant, and everything was fine and up-to-date with no corruption.

I now have my RAM XMP enabled with the default OC on my 12700K and it's running great. However, I have a few questions:

1. My File Explorer is super slow and tabs load forever no matter if my RAM is at JEDEC speeds or not, it's still slow and crashes. Are there any fixes? I cannot delete or move anything to another drive because it will crash. I can copy files and folders to another drive though. I restarted the File Explorer via Task Manager, cleared the history, and changed the open Explorer from Home to This PC. Nothing has worked. There was this thing I did where I deleted a file or folder tied to Explorer and it fixed a similar issue but I cannot remember how to do that. I am open to suggestions if you know of a fix or if there's another potential issue I am overlooking.
2. What would be a way to overclock my CPU without encountering issues with my OS? Is there not enough voltage going to my CPU since the RAM speed is so high? Do I set the voltage higher to 1.35? Do I change the fixed voltage over to auto and let my mobo adjust the voltage? I just don't want to corrupt my OS and I would like a professional's opinion.

I tried being as descriptive as I could. Let me know if there are any other questions. Hopefully, I did a good enough job so there are no questions.

Thanks!

 

[thestryker]

Generally DRAM speeds shouldn't have much impact on the CPU's ability to overclock unless it wasn't really stable in the first place. If you're not modifying the SA voltage already you might try putting in a positive offset while leaving it on auto/dynamic and that may help. Some VDDQ modification may also be necessary, but I haven't touched my 12700K so can't help you much with specific numbers.

 

[Jhorg4]

Generally DRAM speeds shouldn't have much impact on the CPU's ability to overclock unless it wasn't really stable in the first place. If you're not modifying the SA voltage already you might try putting in a positive offset while leaving it on auto/dynamic and that may help. Some VDDQ modification may also be necessary...

Thanks! I haven't messed with those settings but I'll look into it.

This has been a headache for the past day. So I'm going to let everything settle. Clearing my CMOS is not convenient lol.

Would you happen to know anything about the Windows Explorer issue? Whether my RAM is at JEDEC speeds or not, it's still slow and crashes. I know there's this one trick in regards to a folder somewhere that you can clear or delete but I forgot what it was and cannot seem to find it on Google.

I appreciate your help.

 

[thestryker]

Thanks! I haven't messed with those settings but I'll look into it.

This has been a headache for the past day. So I'm going to let everything settle. Clearing my CMOS is not convenient lol.

This is the joy, or lack thereof, of dealing with memory on Alder Lake.

Would you happen to know anything about the Windows Explorer issue? Whether my RAM is at JEDEC speeds or not, it's still slow and crashes. I know there's this one trick in regards to a folder somewhere that you can clear or delete but I forgot what it was and cannot seem to find it on Google.

I appreciate your help.

I can't think of any fix which would match that. If you didn't try using DDU after getting the system re-stabilized that might be the route to take next. Honestly with the problems though I would probably just do a full reinstall, and then make a backup/restore point before messing with overclocking again.

 

[Jhorg4]

Honestly with the problems though I would probably just do a full reinstall, and then make a backup/restore point before messing with overclocking again.

Yeah, I'm going to have to do that. I'm going to get a boot drive and just do a fresh install on that so if I mess anything up beyond restoring I won't have to reinstall everything, just the OS.

This is the joy, or lack thereof, of dealing with memory on Alder Lake.

For sure, especially with this higher spec RAM. I think the default CPU OC is fine. I won't notice much of a difference with +400MHz, I just like to have it.

 

[geofelt]

What do you hope to accomplish by overclocking?

Gamers today let the motherboard turbo boost mechanism do the job of boosting a couple of cores higher than what an all core overclock would do.

At this point things may have been messed up so much that a clean install of windows might be the thing to do.
In the bios, there is usually a selection like load optimized defaults.

 

[Jhorg4]

What do you hope to accomplish by overclocking?

I like to get the most out of my system. I'm not overclocking for gaming, I'm overclocking for video editing, coding, etc. I'm a creator but I also game. So it's just to squeeze out all the performance I can for my applications.

At this point things may have been messed up so much that a clean install of windows might be the thing to do.
In the bios, there is usually a selection like load optimized defaults.

Yeah, I mentioned in a reply I was going to get a dedicated boot drive and install a fresh Windows OS on that. Lol yeah Windows Explorer is definitely messed up (beyond repair in my opinion) but everything else seems to be working fine. Also, the optimized defaults don't enable XMP, unfortunately. My Load Optimized Defaults is the F7 key and I do that if I clear the CMOS or install a new BIOS then I mess with a few settings after.

If I do decide to OC my CPU I'm going to do it on my old drive first to find what's stable then do a fresh install on the new SSD. I just don't think it's worth the headache. Even as a creator I don't think the benefit outweighs the headache.

 

[Jhorg4]

I just wanted to give an update in case anyone swings by.

I downloaded Memtest86+ to a USB, booted to it and ran the test. Turns out that my memory was bad so I had to exchange it. The DIMMs were properly seated after all, I just decided to run a different memory test.

Well, that may explain how my OS got corrupted, and it may be part of the reason my CPU couldn't OC. How unfortunate.