[SOLVED] Please help me find compatible 32GB RAM on QVL inside/Can you just run RAM at native speed without XMP

[caaront]

Hello, I am getting older, my eyes are not working so good, and I am on a cell phone, and easily confused lol,so I will keep this short.

I accidentally bought incompatible RAM (it works but caused BSOD loop after using XMP for a week) the RAM I bought is Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB DDR4 3600 MHz.

The motherboard is a Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro Wifi LGA 1151.

After getting the BSOD loop I took it to a shop and they said the beeps and LEDs etc indicated mobo and possible CPU issues, so I RMAd the mobo and CPU.

Let's back track a bit, During the build and after the BSOD I became sick with Covid, developed pneumonia, which was serious (I have COPD but don't need supplemental oxygen yet) and spent time in the ICU and it was pretty hairy but pulled through, but that contributed to my confusion and it taking so long to find out about that mobo and RAM issues/QVL etc.
.After much research now I discovered the QVL, but am confused about it, so please bear with me.

In the QVL there is a density column which says 4, 16, 32GB, but in the Model Number column on the lines where the Density is 32 GB there is never actually 32 GB for Corsair anyway, usually 64-128 GB.

For the Corsair RAM the actually amount of MHz is listed in the Model Number.

But, ignoring the density column and looking at Model Numbers I found Model number:CMD32GX4M2C3200C16
Corsair Dominator Platinum 32GB, 2x16GB, DDR4 3200MHz.

Would that be compatible?

If not can someone please help me figure out what brand is, and as there is some things I do that run so much better with 32GB I'd like 32GB of RAM.

Had I not been so sick during the ordering and building process and then stuck in ICU and then discovering this I would have gotten something else.

With nerve damage it took me an hour to type this on my cellphone having to retype every other word, etc...

Also, if I cannot reach the 3200MHz through the XMP can I go down to 3000MHz, etc until I do get it to work, or at the very least disable XMP and get the the native 2100 or 2400 or 2600 MHz or whatever it may be?

It is too late now, but tears my hide that I might have been able to simply disable XMP and boot up, but in 11 years I have never once had tom RMA a single piece of hardware to Newegg, so I might have very well had a faulty mobo, CPU, or both.

Thank you.

 

[Darkbreeze]

The QVL list is never complete, or completely accurate. It is a MINIMAL sample of units, tested by the motherboard manufacturer, to provide a GENERAL idea of what will work on any given board.

The memory manufacturers on the other hand, at least the big three, Corsair, G.Skill and Crucial, have far more extensive compatibility validation programs, and while they too are not 100% all inclusive or absolute in terms of accuracy, they are far better than simply looking to the QVL list. Corsair memory finder, G.Skill memory configurator and Crucial advisor tool are your best bet when trying to identify compatible memory with a given motherboard.

Are you looking for memory that is simply compatible, and the right capacity, or are you looking for higher end sticks?

What are you wanting to spend on the memory, do you have any specific aesthetic preferences such as color or RGB and what region are you in?

FWIW, there is no reason you have to, or should have to, resort to running the memory at the JEDEC baseline SPD or natively supported speeds. For that platform, a CL14 3200mhz kit offers great performance, isn't usually too expensive and will actually be faster than a CL16 3600mhz kit.

 

[caaront]

Thank you for replying, up to $150- $200 for 32 GB, no preference for color, I do not run RGB lights on my extra fans, etc, no fanciness for me.

Basically mid tier, I cannot afford top tier.

Lights are cool but they distract me, I am all about utility, my old HAF 932 tower which is awesome and huge and because it works. And I will search the RAM manufacturers. I hope to find some at Newegg as I will have credit to apply.

 

[caaront]

Compatible and 32GB and at least 3000MHz is good enough.

 

[caaront]

Thank you Dark Breeze, I found some sets through Corsair Finder and will check others as well.

 

[Zerk2012]

Thank you Dark Breeze, I found some sets through Corsair Finder and will check others as well.

Without even looking at the QVL ( This is only memory that has been tested with the motherboard) The motherboard manufacture has memory but in no way has all memory made to test with, this is the same if you go to the site of the memory their absolutely no way they have every Z390 board to test all their memory on!!!!!!!!

Their way to many variables to be 100% accurate. The memory controller is made into the processor, all processors are different some are better than others, like I can overclock my XXXX processor to XXX on a XXZ390 motherboard @ 1.3 volts you can buy the exact same hardware I'm using and might get the same overclock @ 1.26 volts, and with your processor you might never get as high as my overclock at all.

EDIT post a exact link to the memory you bought also include the processor.

 

[caaront]

Thank you Zerk2012.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'd recommend something like this.

PCPartPicker Part List

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL14 Memory ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $194.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-30 20:10 EDT-0400

Or this, as a slightly lower performance alternative, that in reality probably won't make a lot of noticeable difference anyhow.

PCPartPicker Part List

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL15 Memory ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $159.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-30 20:11 EDT-0400

If you need lower profile memory for cooler clearance reasons, there are certainly other options as well and if you've found compatible sticks using the Corsair memory finder that of course that works too. I personally find the Trident Z, Ripjaws, Vengeance Pro and Dominator platinum kits to be the most compatible and good quality, but Crucial/Micron has been doing this a long time as well and they have some very good aftermarket kits available too.

 

[caaront]

Thank you, I will check out the ripjaws for sure and do not need low profile any more as I bought an AIO cooler with radiator.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Nice. I would highly recommend the Trident Z memory in that case. The Ripjaws are a good second alternative, and are often a bit less expensive, but are not quite the same level of quality and construction as most of the Trident Z kits.

But, the Ripjaws are moderately better than any of the Corsair Vengeance LPX kits.

 

[caaront]

Cannot pick out whick Trident Z is the best at $200 US dollars or less.

What latencies do I want?

Thank you for your help.

 

[caaront]

How is this one, is it their low tier or pretty good?

G.SKILL TridentZ Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C16D-32GTZSW

 

[Darkbreeze]

Any of these except the Flare X or Trident Z Neo kits would be an excellent premium choice. They are all going to have Samsung B-die chips and are both very high quality and quite fast in terms of true latency. Just avoid the kits that say Flare-X or Neos.

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/memory/#S=3200,5100&Z=32768002&L=30,140&m=17&sort=price&page=1

 

[caaront]

Thank you.

 

[Pytheus]

The QVL is useless in my opinion. It's only a list of what they tried and worked, not a complete list of all models. What would be more useful is a list of parts that didn't work.

 

[caaront]

So true.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Except that most people don't want to see fifty kits that they can't use. They just want to see ONE kit, that they can.

 

[Karadjgne]

QVL is a joke. Always has been. The name itself says as much, Qualified Vender List, not Qualified Ram List.

Each stick of ram has a model number. The blue stick is identical to the red or black or green sticks, except for the model number is different. That applies to size, speed, latency, kit size, rgb, color, rank, chiplet count etc. There's somewhere about 3000 different, individual model numbers just for the Gskill Trident-Z. Multiply that by all the different ram gskill puts its name on, then multiply that again by all the various ram vendors models and you'll end up with model numbers in the Billions.

There isn't a motherboard manufacturer willing nor able to pay the manhours nor materials cost to compile a complete QVL. For every board in their lineup. The QVL would take so long the board would be obsolete by the time it was done, and be thousands of pages long.

So they test a few kits they have on hand, from popular vendors, a few store bought models, a few donated prototypes etc.

To add insult to injury, there's only a handful of actual ram manufacturers, and they just slap a painted heatsink on the same pcb they sell to other ppl. So the Corsair LPX is the same SkHynix ram as a bunch of other name brands, and that includes Kingston, Patriot, Adata, Team, even (at times) Crucial and Gskill. Depending on the actual model, chances are good that your ram actually IS on the QVL, it's just called by a different name or has a different speed.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Actually, that's a misconception and really isn't accurate. The memory chips themselves, yes, those are manufactured by only a handful of companies. Samsung, Sk Hynix, Micron. These are companies that manufacturer actual DRAM chips. They are, so far, the ONLY companies that do as part of the supply chain to most memory manufacturers. The point being, DRAM and memory manufacturers are two different but interlinked things.

Companies like G.Skill, Corsair, Kingston, Patriot, etc. are "Memory manufacturers", and they buy DRAM chips from these DRAM manufacturers and use them to assemble their own "modules". They don't all buy prebuilt modules and just put their own heatsinks on them. There are vast differences between the quality of memory products on the market due to HOW each of these companies assembles it's specific memory products, what chips they choose to use on them, what OTHER onboard components like transistors, switches/mosfets, capacitors and various other components along with the processes involved such as it's design in terms of rows, columns, ranks, and other considerations, might all be wildly different from each other despite the fact that the same IC's (Memory chips, again, supplied by those three companies) are being used.

It's really too complex for most people to understand, including me. I'm just not that smart. I could never be a memory engineer like Pinhedd or InvalidError, and what I know probably doesn't fill their pinky finger by comparison, but suffice to say that while it's true that there ARE some companies that probably simply buy a prebuilt PCB that is a fully functional memory module product, and simply put their own heatsinks on them, most of the respected memory manufacturers like Mushkin, G.Skill, Kingston, etc. actually manufacture their memory modules or they outsource to a manufacturer but provide their own desired specifications for it's design.

This is rather interesting actually if you've never seen it or a similar video.

 

[caaront]

Will this work, and be fast at a latency of 14?

It is compatible according to the QVL at the G.Skill site.

G.SKILL TridentZ Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000) Intel Z370 Platform Desktop Memory Model F4-3000C14D-32GTZ

Will it be fast as the same brand at 3200MHz?

 

[Darkbreeze]

No, it will not be as fast as 3200mhz CL14 kits. It's still a good choice if the price difference is significant enough to make it worth it, but you'd rather have a 3200mhz CL14 kit if possible. You just wouldn't want to have to pay a LOT more for it just to get it though. Of course, that depends on perspective too. I DID pay significantly more to get a 32GB 3200mhz CL14 kit when I already HAD a 3000mhz CL15 kit. Of course, I knew I could use that slower kit on some other build or sell it too though.

 

[caaront]

The 3200MHz I posted is actually $30 less, so I will get it I guess, it has a latency speed of 16.

 

[caaront]

I am not too proud to admit that I am paranoid about putting my PC back together when I get the new parts in, even though I never had any bad luck before. It is like I just feel that this build has been cursed or something, lol. Is it normal to feel this way after having issues on a build for the first time?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yep. It is.

And as far as the memory, the 3000mhz CL14 would be minimally faster than the 3200mhz CL16. Enough so that I'd definitely be willing to pay an extra 30 bucks for it, but, that's me. For the average person, ANY 3000-3600mhz memory kit with a CL latency anywhere from CL14-CL16 should be significantly fast enough that 90% of users would never notice the difference. Users who are particularly sensitive to the responsiveness of their system may notice, and if squeezing out every possible extra FPS is a goal, then it's a relevant criteria.