[SOLVED] R7 2700X can't go over 2933mhz cl14 on 3200mhz cl14 4X8GB kit

[xXxREBELOxXx]

First, specs:

CPU: AMD R7 2700X
Cooler: NZXT Kraken X62 280mm
Mobo: Asus Strix ROG Hero VII X470 (1103 bios version / AGESA 1.0.0.6)
Ram: G.skill Trident RGB 3200mhz cl14 (B-die)
GPU: AMD RX Vega 64 Asus Strix OC

Clocks and voltages:

Current ram clock: 2933mhz @ 14-14-14-32-48-1T
CPU OC: PBO level 2 with -125mv undervolt (120% Current & LLC)
IMC VSOC: 1.03125-1.0375 (120% current & LLC)
RAM VDDR: 1.42V (tried 1.4V - 1.43V but I believe it's the IMC that's bottlenecking)
CPU temps never went past 80C on the hottest day and usually stays around 40C-50C during gaming.

I have been trying really hard for about 6 months trying to get anything over 3266mhz stable with just 2X8GB but 3266mhz @ cl14 did run fine. After upgrading to 4X8GB (same clock and kit, different batch) and going from AGESA 1.0.0.2C to 1.0.0.6 I haven't for the life of me been able to get 3000mhz or above 100% stable. Yeah sure 2933mhz isn't bad but I paid for 3200 lol, and I paid a good bit to make sure I could clock that high. From what I've heard my setup should be able to do 3200mhz with 4X8GB, after some tuning ofc. I have played with most of the power management settings and tried relaxing timings (but I would not like to go to cl15). I haven't played with the Ohms adjustment and I heard it can help but the IMC seems to be the brick wall for my OC. I tried IMC voltages from 1v to 1.17V with no luck, even after loosening power limits there was no change. I'm not sure if I'm missing anything but I thought I'd try my luck here.

Hopefully anyone with Ryzen memory OC experience could chime in, that would be very appreciated as it's been 6 months and I just want to achieve my advertised clock speeds lol.

Thank you kindly for reading.

 

[Barty1884]

Unfortunately, Ryzen can still be a bit of a crapshoot when it comes to memory - especially when utilizing 4 DIMMs.
Add to the fact you have a mis-matched kit (although the same make/model/timings, there's no guarantee), and I'm not too surprised you're struggling to hit >2933MHz honestly.

https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Motherboards/ROG-CROSSHAIR-VII-HERO/HelpDesk_QVL/
While the QVL is not always the be-all-end-all, it's a good starting point.
Interesting to note, there's not a single 4xAnything kit verified for >2933/3000MHz.


I would suspect you can either have 2933MHz @ CL14, or >3000MHz @ after loosening timings, not both.

While the CL14 would indicate Samsung B-Die, which would give you the best chance of the higher speeds/lower timings, I didn't know there was a 2x8GB 3200MHz kit available? 2x8GB @ 3000MHz/CL14 or 4x8GB @ 3200MHz/CL14.

Do you have the exact kit numbers for the DIMMs you have?

 

[JamesSneed]

There is a very short list of memory on the QVL list of that motherboard that hits 3200 and it is all 2 DIMMS. Honestly I would stick with only 2 DIMMS of RAM if you are overclocking your memory as its harder to OC 4 sticks vs 2.

 

[xXxREBELOxXx]

Unfortunately, Ryzen can still be a bit of a crapshoot when it comes to memory - especially when utilizing 4 DIMMs.
Add to the fact you have a mis-matched kit (although the same make/model/timings, there's no guarantee), and I'm not too surprised you're struggling to hit >2933MHz honestly.

https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Motherboards/ROG-CROSSHAIR-VII-HERO/HelpDesk_QVL/
While the QVL is not always the be-all-end-all, it's a good starting point.
Interesting to note, there's not a single 4xAnything kit verified for >2933/3000MHz.


I would suspect you can either have 2933MHz @ CL14, or >3000MHz @ after loosening timings, not both.

While the CL14 would indicate Samsung B-Die, which would give you the best chance of the higher speeds/lower timings, I didn't know there was a 2x8GB 3200MHz kit available? 2x8GB @ 3000MHz/CL14 or 4x8GB @ 3200MHz/CL14.

Do you have the exact kit numbers for the DIMMs you have?

Yeah I heard about Ryzen and it's memory compatbility and that 4X8GB let alone not a matching kit won't exactly play nice. I am willing to constantly put in time towards tweaking until I can achieve something a little closer to 3200mhz, I just feel like I'm out of things to try.
Thanks for telling me about the QVL, I checked and my PSU as well as my kit of ram is qualified. This is the number for all 4 DIMMs: F4-3200C14D-8GTZR

Here's a screenshot of my SPD stats:

https://imgur.com/a/Ue2x8xs

 

[xXxREBELOxXx]

There is a very short list of memory on the QVL list of that motherboard that hits 3200 and it is all 2 DIMMS. Honestly I would stick with only 2 DIMMS of RAM if you are overclocking your memory as its harder to OC 4 sticks vs 2.

Yeah I feel a little let down by the situation I'm in but I should have just bought all my ram at once. I would go back to 16GB but I constantly use it all up with multitasking so I'd be too hard pressed to leave behind 32GB. I guess I'm asking for too much here but I just feel like there should be more to get out of my set-up than 2933mhz.
Thank you for the advice!

 

[Barty1884]

Huh. I did not know that kit existed.
https://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-3200c14d-16gtzr

While you likely could tweak to get to 3200MHz, it's almost certainly going to be at the expense of timings/CL - at which point any theoretical gain from 3200 vs 3000MHz is negated.... and performance-wise, might even be worse depending on how loose you have to go.

Yeah I feel a little let down by the situation I'm in but I should have just bought all my ram at once. I would go back to 16GB but I constantly use it all up with multitasking so I'd be too hard pressed to leave behind 32GB. I guess I'm asking for too much here but I just feel like there should be more to get out of my set-up than 2933mhz.
Thank you for the advice!

While the QVL is never an exhaustive list (it's only what the vendor has tested, afterall), it gives you a good starting point.
If you *need* 3200MHz AND 32GB, your options are going to be limited.

While it's not a suggestion with your current memory (I'd suggest selling that), a 2x16GB 3200MHz kit might be a better route, or something specifically tuned for Ryzen - like G.Skill's FlareX kits (which you can get 4x8GB @ 3200MHz).
Unfortunately, even if you go that route, there's still no guarantee.

This 2x16GB kit should have a pretty good chance of 3200MHz CL14 on your board, but it's a $370 kit.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/WtjWGX/gskill-tridentz-rgb-32gb-2-x-16gb-ddr4-3200-memory-f4-3200c14d-32gtzr

Unfortunately, while the FlareX might give you a good chance - a 4x8GB kit is ridiculously expensive.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/pcyV3C/gskill-flare-x-32gb-4-x-8gb-ddr4-3200-memory-f4-3200c14q-32gfx

 

[xXxREBELOxXx]

Huh. I did not know that kit existed.
https://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-3200c14d-16gtzr

While you likely could tweak to get to 3200MHz, it's almost certainly going to be at the expense of timings/CL - at which point any theoretical gain from 3200 vs 3000MHz is negated.... and performance-wise, might even be worse depending on how loose you have to go.

Ah yep, that's the same kit. Yeah if I would have to loosen timings to go above 3000mhz then I'll stay at 2933mhz for now and tighten my timings as much as I can. Before I cave though, I'm gonna try to make sure I didn't miss something that *could* have helped me achieve a higher clock.

 

[xXxREBELOxXx]

Yeah, looking back. A matching 3200mhz cl14 4X8GB tuned for Ryzen would have helped a lot, a 2X16GB would probably be even better.
That kit is very expensive lol, I know I paid a little more for both my kits combined though, unfortunately. At this point I don't wanna invest too much more in my PC because I already burned a lot of cash getting it to where it is now. Perhaps though, later down the line; if I decide to sell or give my kit away. I will definitely buy a matching kit that has been tuned to work on Ryzen, I knew about those existing but I didn't think it mattered at the time. You learn from your mistakes right? lol

A newer Ryzen CPU upgrade and kit of ram down the road looks like the most effective move atm, although the most expensive. If I can manage to sell my kit for a good price, I will pick up a better kit of memory to replace it. Til then, I'll have put up with it I guess
Thanks again for the help, it is appreciated

 

[Barty1884]

Even then, the "Ryzen-optimized" kits follow the same formula, being B-Die, predominantly.

If you could sell your kit(s) and recoup most, the 2x16GB kit would probably be the best way to go - the IMC does appear to struggle a bit with 4xDIMMs, pushing 'good' clocks.

Given that as an option though, you're looking at either:
1. More money (to sell 2x8GB twice, or 4x8GB and buying a 2x16GB kit).
OR
2. Lower performance (loosening timings to hit 3200MHz).

Personally, I'd just set everything to 2933MHz and tighten timings if possible, and be happy.

 

[xXxREBELOxXx]

Even then, the "Ryzen-optimized" kits follow the same formula, being B-Die, predominantly.

If you could sell your kit(s) and recoup most, the 2x16GB kit would probably be the best way to go - the IMC does appear to struggle a bit with 4xDIMMs, pushing 'good' clocks.

Given that as an option though, you're looking at either:
1. More money (to sell 2x8GB twice, or 4x8GB and buying a 2x16GB kit).
OR
2. Lower performance (loosening timings to hit 3200MHz).

Personally, I'd just set everything to 2933MHz and tighten timings if possible, and be happy.

I see, yeah the IMC is a real pain lol. My options are in-deed limited so I'll stick to 2933 for now, I've ran a baseline stability test to verify that 2933 is 100% stable and I'll start with tightening timings for now. Thanks for the help, again

 

[JamesSneed]

Honestly 2933 should have pretty good performance as the infinity fabric latency was much improved on the second generation Zen chips so RAM speed matters less than the first generation. From what I have seen its only about a 2% performance difference going from 3000 Mghz to 3400 Mghz.

You can see here at 4:50 minute mark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVt7UEVBCY4

 

[xXxREBELOxXx]

Honestly 2933 should have pretty good performance as the infinity fabric latency was much improved on the second generation Zen chips so RAM speed matters less than the first generation. From what I have seen its only about a 2% performance difference going from 3000 Mghz to 3400 Mghz.

You can see here at 4:50 minute mark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVt7UEVBCY4

Oh okay, I heard of Zen+ being less memory dependent but I didn't know it made that little difference. Thanks for chiming in, I'm going to try one last time tonight and if I can't go past 2933 without relaxing timings, I'll just tighten them. Looks like I'll need to wait for a new CPU with a better IMC before I have any luck with 3200mhz.
Thanks for clarifying

 

[Barty1884]

Even first gen had a sweet spot in the ~3000MHz range. Beyond that, there's substantial diminishing returns.

 

[gaberasmussen98]

First, specs:

CPU: AMD R7 2700X
Cooler: NZXT Kraken X62 280mm
Mobo: Asus Strix ROG Hero VII X470 (1103 bios version / AGESA 1.0.0.6)
Ram: G.skill Trident RGB 3200mhz cl14 (B-die)
GPU: AMD RX Vega 64 Asus Strix OC

Clocks and voltages:

Current ram clock: 2933mhz @ 14-14-14-32-48-1T
CPU OC: PBO level 2 with -125mv undervolt (120% Current & LLC)
IMC VSOC: 1.03125-1.0375 (120% current & LLC)
RAM VDDR: 1.42V (tried 1.4V - 1.43V but I believe it's the IMC that's bottlenecking)
CPU temps never went past 80C on the hottest day and usually stays around 40C-50C during gaming.

I have been trying really hard for about 6 months trying to get anything over 3266mhz stable with just 2X8GB but 3266mhz @ cl14 did run fine. After upgrading to 4X8GB (same clock and kit, different batch) and going from AGESA 1.0.0.2C to 1.0.0.6 I haven't for the life of me been able to get 3000mhz or above 100% stable. Yeah sure 2933mhz isn't bad but I paid for 3200 lol, and I paid a good bit to make sure I could clock that high. From what I've heard my setup should be able to do 3200mhz with 4X8GB, after some tuning ofc. I have played with most of the power management settings and tried relaxing timings (but I would not like to go to cl15). I haven't played with the Ohms adjustment and I heard it can help but the IMC seems to be the brick wall for my OC. I tried IMC voltages from 1v to 1.17V with no luck, even after loosening power limits there was no change. I'm not sure if I'm missing anything but I thought I'd try my luck here.

Hopefully anyone with Ryzen memory OC experience could chime in, that would be very appreciated as it's been 6 months and I just want to achieve my advertised clock speeds lol.

Thank you kindly for reading.

Your biggest problem is that the chip set of x470 has a max ram clock of exactly 2933mhz, so you cant go past that no matter what you do. see here. https://www.pcworld.com/article/3175005/computers/amd-ryzen-motherboards-explained-the-crucial-differences-in-every-am4-chipset.html

 

[Barty1884]

Your biggest problem is that the chip set of x470 has a max ram clock of exactly 2933mhz, so you cant go past that no matter what you do. see here. https://www.pcworld.com/article/3175005/computers/amd-ryzen-motherboards-explained-the-crucial-differences-in-every-am4-chipset.html

...and X370 was 2667MHz, Intel's Z370/Z390 officially tops out at 2666MHz
Doesn't mean higher speeds cannot be achieved, their just *technically* overclocks.

Just check the QVLs for certain boards, some with 'official' support for 2666MHz max on the Intel front will support 4000MHz in specific kits - and X470 boards generally have kits rated for 3200MHz as their rough upper-end.

 

[JamesSneed]

Your biggest problem is that the chip set of x470 has a max ram clock of exactly 2933mhz, so you cant go past that no matter what you do. see here. https://www.pcworld.com/article/3175005/computers/amd-ryzen-motherboards-explained-the-crucial-differences-in-every-am4-chipset.html

...and X370 was 2667MHz, Intel's Z370/Z390 officially tops out at 2666MHz
Doesn't mean higher speeds cannot be achieved, their just *technically* overclocks.

Just check the QVLs for certain boards, some with 'official' support for 2666MHz max on the Intel front will support 4000MHz in specific kits - and X470 boards generally have kits rated for 3200MHz as their rough upper-end.

I got a good laugh. Your car also can't go faster than the posted speed limit. I'm sitting at 3200 RAM speed on my X370 and I can get it a bit faster but with much higher voltages so settled on 3200 as a solid stable compromise.