[SOLVED] Why is my ram clocked so low?

[Hoppiez]

I just returned my previous PC, and got a new one. The one I just had before had some weird issues. This new one is entirely the same, except the motherboard is an Asrock b450m/ac instead of an Asus.

One thing I noticed right away is that my ram frequency is extremely low: https://valid.x86.fr/luzyru

As you can see in the specs, it is running at a whopping 1064.5 MHz... when it should be 1600 MHz - the RAM I installed is 16 GB DDR4 advertised at 3200 MHz, it is corsair LPX brand.

The last PC I just had was reporting 1497 MHz - still not 1600, but much better. Is the new mobo causing this? Is it not compatible with the ram?

How could I go into bios and fix this? Here are images of each mem slot in CPU-Z:

https://imgur.com/a/svR8XMN

View: https://imgur.com/a/svR8XMN


Oddly, this CPU-Z is only showing one tab for both slots... perhaps I put it in the wrong slot? But that wouldn't make sense, as the mobo supports 4 slots and up to 64 GB of RAM @ 3200+ MHz

Let me know, thank you.

 

[jojesa]

What's the make and model of your RAM?
Could you post your motherboard model?
Your RAM is running at 2133MHz in dual channel mode (1064MHz x 2).

If your RAM is supposed to be running at a higher speed than 2133MHz , then you might need to enable XMP or DOCP in the BIOS to achieve the RAM rated speed.

 

[Hoppiez]

What's the make and model of your RAM?
Could you post your motherboard model?
Your RAM is running at 2133MHz in dual channel mode (1064MHz x 2).

If your RAM is supposed to be running at a higher speed than 2133MHz , then you might need to enable XMP or DOCP in the BIOS to achieve the RAM rated speed.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/corsai...bMNEDNx_K-PSiR_QPmIaAklnEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

That is the same exact RAM I believe - I have the box in front of me: DDR4, 2x8GB, 3200 MHz (corsair vengeance)

My motherboard should be in the cpu-z validation link- not sure what other info you'd need on it.

 

[jasonf2]

My guess is that you do not in fact have the same RAM. You are probably just at SPD settings for the RAM you have. That number sounds about right for Vengeance at that rated speed. CPUz only shows the single channel rate. It is DDR or Double Data Rate, so take the CPUz number and multiply times 2. That is why you always have 2 sticks or 4 sticks in a kit and they have to go in the right slots. As you are on a Ryzen processor I would not jack with the RAM clocks with Corsair Vengeance over SPD numbers. In my experience it does not clock well beyond those settings.

 

[Hoppiez]

My guess is that you do not in fact have the same RAM. You are probably just at SPD settings for the RAM you have. That number sounds about right for Vengeance at that rated speed. CPUz only shows the single channel rate. It is DDR or Double Data Rate, so take the CPUz number and multiply times 2. That is why you always have 2 sticks or 4 sticks in a kit and they have to go in the right slots. As you are on a Ryzen processor I would not jack with the RAM clocks with Corsair Vengeance over SPD numbers. In my experience it does not clock well beyond those settings.

Sorry I forgot to show the SPD tabs:

https://imgur.com/QXUqLxh

View: https://imgur.com/QXUqLxh
and

https://imgur.com/6lEPbuc

View: https://imgur.com/6lEPbuc


And no, it is the same RAM actually - before I returned the PC, I took out the RAM and replaced it with the original single 8GB stick it came with. For whatever reason, this mobo is underclocking the RAM even more... But you think these speeds are fine? As long as its okay, I won't worry.

 

[Hoppiez]

Anyone know what I should do?

 

[Hoppiez]

Okay, so I got to 1596 MHz speed by going into bios... BUT I feel like I did this in a weird way. I tried first just enabling the XMP profile - this did not change the frequency. Next thing I did, was simply setting the DRAM frequency to 3200 MHz - it was a drop down menu with a bunch of preset choices, I chose 3200 (initially set to auto)

Heres a recent cpu-ID validation link: https://valid.x86.fr/hqxrew

The timing seems a bit weird to end with 75?

EDIT: Okay, I went back into bios and enabled XMP profile which made my timing 16-18-18-36, which also changed the dram frequency to 3200. Will this be okay then? Someone above suggested not to overclock ram for AMD, but my ram seemed severely underclocked at 2130 MHz

 

[jojesa]

Okay, so I got to 1596 MHz speed by going into bios... BUT I feel like I did this in a weird way. I tried first just enabling the XMP profile - this did not change the frequency. Next thing I did, was simply setting the DRAM frequency to 3200 MHz - it was a drop down menu with a bunch of preset choices, I chose 3200 (initially set to auto)

Heres a recent cpu-ID validation link: https://valid.x86.fr/hqxrew

The timing seems a bit weird to end with 75?

The 16-18-18-36-75 timings are fine and now you are running the RAM at rated 3200MHz speed.

 

[egda23]

Okay, so I got to 1596 MHz speed by going into bios... BUT I feel like I did this in a weird way. I tried first just enabling the XMP profile - this did not change the frequency. Next thing I did, was simply setting the DRAM frequency to 3200 MHz - it was a drop down menu with a bunch of preset choices, I chose 3200 (initially set to auto)

Heres a recent cpu-ID validation link: https://valid.x86.fr/hqxrew

The timing seems a bit weird to end with 75?

EDIT: Okay, I went back into bios and enabled XMP profile which made my timing 16-18-18-36, which also changed the dram frequency to 3200. Will this be okay then? Someone above suggested not to overclock ram for AMD, but my ram seemed severely underclocked at 2130 MHz

Your RAM functions now exactly as it should.
As you see in the column headed XMP-3200 in SPD tabs you published above, these are the timings and speeds coded inside the RAM sticks.
So all is good.
Dond’t know why the XMP activation failed the first time you tried . Did you save correctly ?

 

[Hoppiez]

Your RAM functions now exactly as it should.
As you see in the column headed XMP-3200 in SPD tabs you published above, these are the timings and speeds coded inside the RAM sticks.
So all is good.
Dond’t know why the XMP activation failed the first time you tried . Did you save correctly ?

Hey thanks for the reply. And I'm not sure to be honest about it not saving. Hopefully it wont happen again.

And I just had a question- does it matter that the only xmp profile that shows up reads "2.0"? Also, is it bad that my bios might not have the latest drivers? I mean I wouldnt mind just leaving it how it is.

 

[egda23]

Hey thanks for the reply. And I'm not sure to be honest about it not saving. Hopefully it wont happen again.

And I just had a question- does it matter that the only xmp profile that shows up reads "2.0"? Also, is it bad that my bios might not have the latest drivers? I mean I wouldnt mind just leaving it how it is.

The 2.0 is the present version of the XMP standard.
Same as the 10 in Windows 10

 

[egda23]

And what do you mean by "my bios might not have the latest drivers? ". You mean the latest Bios version?
If everything is running fine on your computer (as is seems), don't touch your Bios.
A Bios update should only be done for:

1. correcting an existing error or malfunction
2. add new features, as compatibility with new hardware, for example

But do try to fix something that is not broken

 

[jasonf2]

Okay, so I got to 1596 MHz speed by going into bios... BUT I feel like I did this in a weird way. I tried first just enabling the XMP profile - this did not change the frequency. Next thing I did, was simply setting the DRAM frequency to 3200 MHz - it was a drop down menu with a bunch of preset choices, I chose 3200 (initially set to auto)

Heres a recent cpu-ID validation link: https://valid.x86.fr/hqxrew

The timing seems a bit weird to end with 75?

EDIT: Okay, I went back into bios and enabled XMP profile which made my timing 16-18-18-36, which also changed the dram frequency to 3200. Will this be okay then? Someone above suggested not to overclock ram for AMD, but my ram seemed severely underclocked at 2130 MHz

If you are stable you are just fine. I would highly suggest using a utility like memtest86 to validate this though. Just because it posts doesn't mean that you are completely stable and if you start getting random reboots, graphics corruption, BSOD, etc. you will have to back it back down or adjust timings accordingly. You are targeting for zero errors. The default SPD setting is "safe" from the manufacturer. The advertised frequency of high end ram is not necessarily compatible with all configurations and typically you are better off going to the motherboard QVL and buying a kit that is on that list with the expectation of the QVL listed verified speed.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-overclocking-guide,4693.html . This is a great tutorial on RAM overclocking. If you dig into timings you will find that in the case of RAM the timings and voltage are crucial to system stability. Simply bumping up the frequency without adjusting them is a recipe for disaster. XMP gives you some predefined timing / frequency profiles that should work for that RAM, at least in theory.

 

[Hoppiez]

And what do you mean by "my bios might not have the latest drivers? ". You mean the latest Bios version?
If everything is running fine on your computer (as is seems), don't touch your Bios.
A Bios update should only be done for:

1. correcting an existing error or malfunction
2. add new features, as compatibility with new hardware, for example

But do try to fix something that is not broken

Okay, thank you. I only touched the xmp/dram frequency in bios. I set the dram back to default and XMP changed it anyway, so thats good.

One question I have - why is there XMP when I have an AMD computer? I mean both my CPU/GPU is AMD, I thought XMP was only intel.

 

[damric]

Okay, thank you. I only touched the xmp/dram frequency in bios. I set the dram back to default and XMP changed it anyway, so thats good.

One question I have - why is there XMP when I have an AMD computer? I mean both my CPU/GPU is AMD, I thought XMP was only intel.

X.M.P. is certified for Intel, but it's just another timing table programmed onto the RAM for the motherboard to read, just like the JEDEC SPD tables, only with tighter timings and/or higher frequency.

Do read your motherboard manual while going through your BIOS. It's good for you.

 

[egda23]

Okay, thank you. I only touched the xmp/dram frequency in bios. I set the dram back to default and XMP changed it anyway, so thats good.

One question I have - why is there XMP when I have an AMD computer? I mean both my CPU/GPU is AMD, I thought XMP was only intel.

No it's used for both Intel and AMD systems. RAM is RAM.
It's even more important in an AMD system which is much more dependent of RAM speed than an Intel system (different architecture).
Also, on certain motherboards (Asus) this feature is called DOCP on AMD boards

 

[jojesa]

Okay, thank you. I only touched the xmp/dram frequency in bios. I set the dram back to default and XMP changed it anyway, so thats good.

One question I have - why is there XMP when I have an AMD computer? I mean both my CPU/GPU is AMD, I thought XMP was only intel.

You have a good point, since XMP is an Intel feature and as such motherboard manufacturers pay royalties to Intel. Now you might find counterparts like “DOCP” or "EOCP" on Asus and Gigabyte.
Depending on the motherboard manufacturer, “XMP” (Extreme Memory Profile) or “DOCP” (Direct Overclocking Profile) or "EOCP" (Extended Over Clock Profiles) are essentially the same built-in “overclocking” profiles. Pretty much the same thing.

 

[Hoppiez]

Okay so I have one issue. I've noticed weird intermittent dramatic frame dips. It happens rarely- maybe one or twice an hour. It's almost like a split second of freezing, since the frames will instantly drop from 100 to 30.

I think this possibly could be the XMP profile causing this. For whatever reason, this mobo downclocks the ram to 2133 MHz with 3200 rated sticks. It sounds normal, but a previous pc I just had a few days ago that I returned due to possible gpu issue, only down clocked these very same sticks to 3000 MHz - the mobo was an asus b450m and this one is a asRock b450m/ac. So the branding is slightly different. Every other component is near exactly the same.

I ran memtest86 for 3 hours with XMP enabled- 0 errors. I mean I don't the ram is faulty, but either my mobo or PS is not happy with 3200 MHz

So, in short- if I were to just manually overclock my ram to a non bottle neck value (at least 2666 MHz) what timings and voltage would you suggest for let's say 2666? My specs are mentioned above theough a valid link. I can show a picture of my bios with the default voltage and timings at 2133. Its defaulted to 1.2 V with timings 15 15 15 36 51 2.

With XMP it brought voltage up to 1.32 V and timing 16 18 18 36 75 (cant remember exactly the timing values I can double check if that matters)

So if you guys could recommend a safe voltage/timing for just setting my DRAM frequency to 2666 MHz from 2133, with the info I gave you (keep in mind my default voltage and timings of 1.2 and 15 15 15 36 respectively) it would be greatly appreciated.