Question R7 2700 / B450 - realistic to get 3200 ram running at 3200?

[Taymar02]

Hey all, I realize there are a couple of other very similar posts on the first page right now, but they're not exactly the same as my question.

Ryzen 7 2700
ASUS TUF B-450M-plus gaming
2 2x8gb kits of Corsair vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 (CMK16GX4M2B3200C16) for a total of 4 x 8gb sticks.

The RAM speed defaults in the bios seem to be 2333. I've tried bumping this up a bit only using the memory speed dropdown (not touching timings, voltage etc.) and the best I've managed to get it to boot into windows at is 2866Mhz.

I've tried 2 sticks and 4 sticks, thinking that perhaps 2 sticks would respond better but anything faster than 2866 won't POST.

I only have a couple of days left on my return window for the memory so wanted to ask for some advice please - is it realistic to think I could buy a different/better 32gb 3200 kit for <$170 and hit a stable 3200mhz, or is it not that simple? I've seen people talking about b-die modules and ryzen memory sensitivity etc. so am wondering if I should swap it out for something else.

Side question - I also have an NVME ssd in this system. Running userbenchmark at stock RAM speeds, it was rated around 73% and 'underperforming'. When I clocked the RAM up to 2866, the SSD scored 100% and 'overperforming'. Does this make sense or was it likely an anomaly?

Thanks a ton for any insight.

 

[rgd1101]

return it, get a 2x16GB kit

 

[Taymar02]

return it, get a 2x16GB kit

Thanks - should I get the same type/brand, or anything else in particular? I ran thaiphoon and looks like this corstair stuff is using Hynix AFR

 

[drea.drechsler]

Thanks - should I get the same type/brand, or anything else in particular? I ran thaiphoon and looks like this corstair stuff is using Hynix AFR

No suggestions on what to get beyond get them in a kit with two matched DIMM's, sorry! The way lower end AM4 motherboards are laid out it's definitely better to overclock on 2 dimm's, in sockets no. 2 and 4 going away from CPU.

But to add this: when you get the new DIMM's in don't try to manually overclock by just changing memory frequency. There's so much more to get it stable (changing voltage and primary timings at least, and often secondary and even tertiary is required). Instead set the XMP or DOCP to 2 or 1 in BIOS which loads settings the mfr. loaded in a bit of memory on the DIMM's that will let them operate stable at the mfr's rated overclocks, assuming your CPU is also capable of it.

 

[TechyInAZ]

I recommend a max of 3000mhz for 2x16GB kits. Because they are Dual Rank DIMMs.

2nd Gen Ryzen still can't handle high speed RAM with Dual Ranks. But it shouldn't as bad as QUAD DIMM layouts.

 

[Taymar02]

Thank you, that's still significantly better than 2333 at least.

I've installed a new kit with 2x 16gb 3200mhz cas 14 b-die. Seems to run at 3000mhz but won't post if I use D.O.C.P settings.

 

[TechyInAZ]

eh CAS 14 might be a bit too "hot" for that chip.

Try backing down the CAS latencies to say, ummm just try 16-18-18-38 and see if that works.

If so, then you can try going back to your CAS14 and bumping up the SOC voltage a few notches. Try like 1.12v

 

[drea.drechsler]

Thank you, that's still significantly better than 2333 at least.

I've installed a new kit with 2x 16gb 3200mhz cas 14 b-die. Seems to run at 3000mhz but won't post if I use D.O.C.P settings.

What voltage are you running your dimms at? b-die both scales very well with voltage and is tolerant of high voltage, so feel free to bump it up a notch or two to get stable. Just don't go beyond 1.45 V but you really shouldn't have to go beyond 1.40 for only 3200.

 

[CosmicDance]

I had a Ryzen 2700x with my Asus B450 Plus Gaming motherboard and my RAM used to work fine at 3200 MHZ by setting the DOCP profile in the BIOS.
I never had to tweak any voltages or timings manually either.

As for your NVME SSD try running a specific SSD benchmarking program to get accurate results then compare them with the manufacturer's specs.

Andy

 

[Taymar02]

What voltage are you running your dimms at? b-die both scales very well with voltage and is tolerant of high voltage, so feel free to bump it up a notch or two to get stable. Just don't go beyond 1.45 V but you really shouldn't have to go beyond 1.40 for only 3200.

Thank you, I'm not entirely sure - I haven't adjusted it in the BIOS. I'm looking in HWinfo64 and see my nb voltate has hit 1.038v peak - is nb the same as dimm voltage or no?

also see VDDCR CPU hit 1.395v max. I don't see anything in here that specifically says memory voltage though.

 

[drea.drechsler]

Thank you, I'm not entirely sure - I haven't adjusted it in the BIOS. I'm looking in HWinfo64 and see my nb voltate has hit 1.038v peak - is nb the same as dimm voltage or no?

also see VDDCR CPU hit 1.395v max. I don't see anything in here that specifically says dimm memory though.

No, NB voltage isn't the DIMM voltage, nor is VDDCR CPU.

If you can't identify it then just go into BIOS to look at and adjust it. For 3200 I'd suggest just go to 1.40 volts and run HCI Memtest. Then if stable, lower till it's not and back up a couple notches, or just go to 1.37 or so, test and leave it there.

 

[DMAN999]

My Asus ROG Strix B450-F Gaming BIOS has a Dram Voltage setting in the Tweaker AI section of the BIOS.
If your BIOS has that same section look for that.
I have my 3200 MHz RAM running at 3400 MHz with the DRAM Voltage set at 1.37v (DOCP voltage is 1.35v).

 

[Taymar02]

Thank you - looked in the BIOS and the Dimm voltage is at 1.35.

Think that I'm unable to go over 3000mhz because they are 16gb dimms? (TechyinAZ mentioned earlier that this size is dual rank which I'm assuming means slower?)

 

[DMAN999]

Yes, if it is a 2X16GB kit it may not run at 3200 MHz.
If you get them running at 2866 MHz you will probably never be able to tell the difference except in benchmarks anyway.
I personally have run my RAM at 2800, 2933, 3000, 3200 and 3400 MHz and the only time I noticed the difference was when running benchmarks.

 

[Karadjgne]

This is roughly what you'll see, the Ryzens really do not like high speed ram and 4x sticks.

A single-rank DIMM has one set of memory chips that is accessed while writing to or reading from the memory. A dual-rank DIMM is similar to having two single-rank DIMMs on the same module, with only one rank accessible at a time. A quad-rank DIMM is, effectively, two dual-rank DIMMs on the same module. Only one rank is accessible at a time. The server memory control subsystem selects the proper rank within the DIMM when writing to or reading from the DIMM. More work for the memory controller.

Dual- and quad-rank DIMMs provide the greatest capacity with the existing memory technology. For example, if current DRAM technology supports 8-GB single-rank DIMMs, a dual-rank DIMM would be 16 GB, and a quad-rank DIMM would be 32 GB.

Dual rank isn't slower by nature, it's just the extra steps necessary to make it work right need slower speed ram when dealing with Ryzen Infinity Fabric in the cpu, which is based on the ram speeds.

Which is entirely different to single/dual/quad channel operation. Ryzen only supports dual channel, not quad, so having 2 sets of dual channel again messes with the infinity Fabric, making the cpu unstable at higher ram speeds.

Best compatability is 2x sticks, single rank, dual channel 8Gb. 2x16Gb is harder to find in single rank as it means much larger capacity IC's, dual rank can use twice as many IC's at half the size, which is cheaper. The really cheap 16Gb might use 16x 1Gb IC's, 8x per side, whereas more expensive SR 16Gb would use 8x 2Gb or 4x 4Gb IC's on 1 side.

F4-3200C14Q-32GTZRX by G-skill is what you'd be looking for, not the F4-3200C16Q-32GTZR which is quite cheaper. The X at the end means specifically tested for Ryzen compatability.

 

[Taymar02]

So this is interesting.. I replaced the stock AMD cooler with a Cooler Master 212 today. (stock fan was noisy)

Figured I'd try the RAM at 3200 again and it's booted into windows. Ran userbenchmark and got scores that were fractionally lower (1-2%).

Coincidence or is there any reason why better CPU cooling would allow a faster RAM overclock?

temps don't seem a ton lower, 36C at idle max of 55C under load.

edit: spoke too soon, it's definitely not stable at 3200...

 

[drea.drechsler]

...
Coincidence or is there any reason why better CPU cooling would allow a faster RAM overclock?
....

You mean other than the memory controller being on/in the die on modern CPU's? Can't think of any.