[SOLVED] Ram speed help

[kennytodd]

Hello everyone, when I built my pc a few months ago I only bought two 8gb sticks of ram, so I could save money and upgrade later. Well now the time has come and I just installed the other two 8gb sticks making 4 total stick of 8gb memory. Here is the issue, when I had the two sticks previously it said they ran at 3200mhz (factory xmp profile), but now with the 4 sticks it is saying they run at 1600mhz, obviously half what they previously did. Can someone please help me? Yes both ram kits are identical, yes I turned the xmp profiles on and off, and yes I restarted the computer a few times. Thanks to all that can help!

 

[kennytodd]

Could this be because there are four sticks on dual channel? Each channel runs at 3200mhz but each channel has two sticks to divide the speed amongst?

 

[rgd1101]

ddr4?
ddr mean double data rate 1600x2=3200

 

[Calvin7]

Memory manufacturers don't guarantee multiple kits of memory to be compatible together. The combination you've made would not seem to be anything that would be expected to be able to operate at rated specifications, if that's what you were expecting.

 

[kennytodd]

ddr4?
ddr mean double data rate 1600x2=3200

Yes DDR4, so adding more sticks splits the speed amongst the two? This is why it was faster when there was only two sticks? Or is the performance of 4 sticks at 1600mhz equal to 2 sticks at 3200mhz.

 

[kennytodd]

Memory manufacturers don't guarantee multiple kits of memory to be compatible together. The combination you've made would not seem to be anything that would be expected to be able to operate at rated specifications, if that's what you were expecting.

You’re saying that two of the exact same kits won’t work together? I have never heard this, can you give some info backing it up?

 

[DMAN999]

My 3200 MHz RAM is running at 3400 Mhz which is why CPUz shows it at 1700 MHz (1700 x 2 = 3400).
So your RANM is shown as 1600 MHz which means it is running at 1600 x 2 = 3200 MHz.

 

[kennytodd]

My 3200 MHz RAM is running at 3400 Mhz which is why CPUz shows it at 1700 MHz (1700 x 2 = 3400).
So your RANM is shown as 1600 MHz which means it is running at 1600 x 2 = 3200 MHz.

Why does it show 3200 when i use two sticks, and 1600 when i use four? Is it just split between the four slots? Are the sticks actually running at 3200 and my pc just reads it incorrectly?

 

[rgd1101]

what did you use to look at ram speed?

 

[kennytodd]

what did you use to look at ram speed?

CPU-Z and deep in task manager

 

[pr0t0typ3]

I would recommend testing performance to see if you are actually running at lower frequency with 4 sticks. If I recall correctly, in cpu-z the non-doubled value is shown so your effective speed is 2x that. In task manager you should be seeing the effective speed though. Can you manually set ram speed in BIOS? What RAM frequency does bios report? If you indeed are running at half speed, a full bios reset may help (I'm not sure what cpu/mobo/chipset you have, but this has helped me before). Also, especially if you are on something new like x570, you may want to look for a new bios version on the mobo manufacturer's website.

 

[DMAN999]

Task Manager also shows my RAM at 1700 Mhz when it is in fact running at 2x that speed (3400 MHz).
DDR = Double Data Rate which is why it shows as 1/2 the true speed in most apps.

The Aida64 Memory test shows the Bus speed as 1696 (1700) and the RAM speed as 3400:

https://imgur.com/a/Q3OHWvk

View: https://imgur.com/a/Q3OHWvk




PS
Even if your RAM was running below 3200 MHz, it would default to 2133 MHz NOT 1600 MHz.

 

[kennytodd]

I would recommend testing performance to see if you are actually running at lower frequency with 4 sticks. If I recall correctly, in cpu-z the non-doubled value is shown so your effective speed is 2x that. In task manager you should be seeing the effective speed though. Can you manually set ram speed in BIOS? What RAM frequency does bios report? If you indeed are running at half speed, a full bios reset may help (I'm not sure what cpu/mobo/chipset you have, but this has helped me before). Also, especially if you are on something new like x570, you may want to look for a new bios version on the mobo manufacturer's website.

I will for sure try this when i get the chance. I have a 2700x on an x470.

 

[kennytodd]

Task Manager also shows my RAM at 1700 Mhz when it is in fact running at 2x that speed (3400 MHz).
DDR = Double Data Rate which is why it shows as 1/2 the true speed in most apps.

The Aida64 Memory test shows the Bus speed as 1696 (1700) and the RAM speed as 3400:

https://imgur.com/a/Q3OHWvk

View: https://imgur.com/a/Q3OHWvk




PS
Even if your RAM was running below 3200 MHz, it would default to 2133 MHz NOT 1600 MHz.

So you’re saying that my ram is fine, and I’m just seeing half the actual speed? I see 1600mhz and it’s actually running at 3200mhz?

 

[DMAN999]

So you’re saying that my ram is fine, and I’m just seeing half the actual speed? I see 1600mhz and it’s actually running at 3200mhz?

Yes, Exactly.

 

[kennytodd]

Yes, Exactly.

Gotcha. So the performance is exactly the same as two modules labeled 3200mhz? (In respect to speed only, obviously i’m getting more gb with four sticks).