Question Upgraded CPU to 11600K, now PC won't POST unless I disable XMP?

Dec 18, 2022
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Recently I upgraded my CPU from a 10400F to an 11600K. Now the PC doesn't POST unless I disable XMP and I'm wondering why this is? I did not change the RAM or interact with it in any way. Previously, I was using XMP without any problems - I didn't do anything complicated, I just had XMP set to 'Enable' and everything else to 'Auto' and the RAM automatically clocked itself to 3200MHz.

The only changes were:
  • upgrading my CPU from a 10400F to an 11600K
  • upgrading my PSU from a be quiet! Straight Power 11 650W to a Seasonic PRIME 750W
  • adding a (currently unused) WDBlack SN850 500GB NVMe SSD to slot 1 (totaling 3 NVMe drives filling all 3 slots)
  • replacing my 6 case fans with a different brand

Here's my specs:
  • Mobo: MSI Z590-A Pro (updated to latest 'Click BIOS 5')
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-11600K
  • RAM: Patriot Viper 4 Blackout Series DDR4 32GB (4 x 8GB) 3200MHz
  • GPU: AMD RX 6800
  • PSU: Seasonic PRIME 750W 80+ Gold SSR-750GD2 ATX12V & EPS12V Full Modular
  • SSDs: Western Digital Black SN750, Western Digital Black SN850, Western Digital Green SN350

I would greatly appreciate any help reenabling XMP. I'm trying to make sure I can get the most out of this RAM after upgrading my CPU. It seems strange that this would happen after upgrading the CPU since XMP was previously working fine with the 10400F. I'm sort of a noob at this so I may need help/instruction if it comes to manually adjusting the RAM's settings/timings.

Cheers and Thanks
 

punkncat

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Turn off XMP. Download and run CPU-Z. If you look under the SPD tab it will list JEDEC and XMP speed/timing values. Take a picture with your phone, or write those down and try to set those speeds manually, starting at slower speeds and increasing until you can't boot up properly. Also, pay attention to the voltages as you may have to bump that up for the RAM a bit.

The motherboard you have says it's a 12+2+1 power design. It "should" be capable of delivering the extra power. XMP is an overclock and alongside the more power hungry 11600K it may not be up to the task. The above steps should work that our for you.
 
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Dec 18, 2022
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...set those speeds manually, starting at slower speeds and increasing until you can't boot up properly. Also, pay attention to the voltages as you may have to bump that up for the RAM a bit.

The motherboard you have says it's a 12+2+1 power design. It "should" be capable of delivering the extra power. XMP is an overclock and alongside the more power hungry 11600K it may not be up to the task. The above steps should work that our for you.

Thank You All so much for the replies. I'm going to try doing this. Here's a picture of the SPD profile. I'm sorry that it's such bad quality.
myram.jpg


I will admit, I have already manually tried setting the DRAM frequency to 3200MHz in various ways, all leading to the same error - I'm unable to post. Then when I turn off the PSU and then on again, the PC reboots with memory overclock fail error message and I have the options to load back into BIOS, restore defaults, etc.
 
Dec 18, 2022
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...try to set those speeds manually, starting at slower speeds and increasing until you can't boot up properly.
The things is, once I enable XMP, I can't POST at all even if I manually slower the speeds drastically.

Also, pay attention to the voltages as you may have to bump that up for the RAM a bit.
How should I go about doing this safely?

The motherboard you have says it's a 12+2+1 power design. It "should" be capable of delivering the extra power. XMP is an overclock and alongside the more power hungry 11600K it may not be up to the task...
If it helps to mention, when I had my 10400F installed I only had the one 8-pin CPU power connector plugged in. When I installed the 11600K and the new PSU I figured I might as well add another modular cable to the PSU in order to plug in the other 4-pin CPU power connector. I'm not sure if this matters.

Here is a picture of the BIOS. I manually set it to the 16, 20, 20, 40 that we see in the picture. Other than that, I'm pretty overwhelmed.

wtfbios.jpg
 
Last edited:
Dec 18, 2022
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It is not unheard of to have memory that just won't play right with a specific motherboard or CPU.
You may be right. I'm totally at a loss.

Even trying to find new RAM matching the motherboards compatibility list is a bit overwhelming. Eventually, I found this RAM which is clearly on the Motherboard's Memory Compatibility List and it has a checkmark for "4-DIMM" so I'm guessing that means that this RAM should have no problems enabling XMP at 3200MHz using the same configuration I have now (4 x 8GB).

But now I think to myself... Is it worth it spending $100 to enable XMP to go from 2666MHz to 3200MHz and maybe get an extra 5 frames? Probably not.
 

punkncat

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You wouldn't be "enabling XMP" you would be setting it manually as in the picture that you posted of BIOS. If you don't know how to search the other values, and how to set voltage for the memory, it is probably best that you don't try. I don't say that to insinuate anything negative, just that expensive negative consequence can come about by setting things incorrectly there. Most often the mobo would just reboot and restore defaults, and many of them won't even allow voltage settings that would be instantly damaging...but at the same time, why risk that?

As to the value of having XMP enabled that has a lot more to do with your desire for a few more frames and what that could cost. Intel is not nearly as negatively impacted by this as AMD.