4 8GB Dimms on an r7 2700X

[BuckyBallin]

Hi forum people! I'm not super great at overclocking in general so was hoping for some advice on getting my 4 ddr4 sticks running at a reasonable speed. I had 2x8gb (which are fine at xmp) but then bought 2 more dimms hoping to upgrade but as it turns out my pc won't boot with the xmp profile. 

 

My pc:

R7 2700X (haven't messed with any settings in bios)

Asus B450f strix

Zotac GTX 1070ti

 

Ram modules: Corsair 3200MHz 16-19-19-19 @ 1.35v (all 4 sticks same model # but bought at different times.

 

I've tried running the xmp profile at 1.38v, running stock timings and voltage at 3000, 2933, and 2666 and can't get any of them to boot windows. Anyone got any advice before I dump these sticks on reddit and get a 2x16gb kit? I don't want to be running at 2133mhz to get the full 32gb if I don't have to.

 

Thanks in advance!

[bellabichon]

XMP is pretty hit or miss, and the more DIMMs you have, the more instability you introduce into the system. Have you tried swapping which slots the sticks are installed into? Start with a single one installed, then try to incrementally add more until it becomes unstable. 

[Moonzy]

thing about adding more dimms (or Memory Ranks) is that you're adding more load onto your CPU's IMC

so frequency will drop as you add more DIMMS

 

could try running the sticks at 3000/2933 mhz, see how it goes

 

8 minutes ago, BuckyBallin said:

Anyone got any advice before I dump these sticks on reddit and get a 2x16gb kit?

as for this, you'll face more or less the same issue as 2x8gb (though maybe less, depending on motherboard RAM topology design)

because 16gb sticks are actually 2x8gb stick fused into one, they're dual rank DIMMs (unless you can find single rank 16gb sticks, they're out there, just rare)

 

to learn more about this, and if you have 2 hours to spare

Spoiler

 

 

[BuckyBallin]

Oh man I don't really want to spend 2h learning about RAM lmfao. I'm semi-familiar with the instability with dual-rank though I just didn't think it would be as big as the instability with 4 dimms vs 2. I guess maybe if I do end up giving up the QVL for my motherboard could potentially have some timings that should work for a given 2x16 kit? I've tried slower speeds, just can't get anything other than 2133mhz on all auto settings to boot. I can try swapping sticks around like bellabichon said but it was working fine with 2 sticks on xmp, just added the other 2 and now it's being super finnicky. 

[Moonzy]

4 minutes ago, BuckyBallin said:

I'm semi-familiar with the instability with dual-rank though I just didn't think it would be as big as the instability with 4 dimms vs 2.

it depends on the quality of the dual rank DIMM and motherboard topology layout

 

4 minutes ago, BuckyBallin said:

've tried slower speeds, just can't get anything other than 2133mhz on all auto settings to boot

try turning on XMP, but set the frequency to 2933/3000 (so it keeps XMP timings)

 

also, remember to quote or mention the person you're replying to

[BuckyBallin]

3 hours ago, Moonzy said:

try turning on XMP, but set the frequency to 2933/3000 (so it keeps XMP timings)

Thanks, I got it running at 2733 with XMP timings and voltage. Passed a full 2hr memtest86 run. I'll probably do some tweaking later with voltage and timings to try and get it a bit faster because it won't boot at 2933 but at least this is better than 2133. 

[Moonzy]

2 minutes ago, BuckyBallin said:

Thanks, I got it running at 2733 with XMP timings and voltage. Passed a full 2hr memtest86 run. I'll probably do some tweaking later with voltage and timings to try and get it a bit faster because it won't boot at 2933 but at least this is better than 2133. 

feels like this is a CPU limitation more than anything

could be motherboard too but imo it's not worth fussing over

 

if you want 32GB ram, this is the best you can do

[BuckyBallin]

1 minute ago, Moonzy said:

feels like this is a CPU limitation more than anything

Yeah i feel like I might be able to get a bit extra by messing with cpu voltages after doing some research but I really don't care enough about the extra like 1% I'd get in fps to go about doing that. Maybe I can get the timings down a bit tomorrow, would rather not raise voltages on anything past what they're rated for. As far as mobo yeah it's probably not the best but it was on sale for $70 when I got the 2700X so I couldn't pass it up lmao. I'll get something better down the line if ryzen 4000/5000/6000 are worth upgrading to. 

[Moonzy]

5 minutes ago, BuckyBallin said:

Yeah i feel like I might be able to get a bit extra by messing with cpu voltages after doing some research but I really don't care enough about the extra like 1% I'd get in fps to go about doing that.

same, the downside is not worth the upside for most of the time lol

 

5 minutes ago, BuckyBallin said:

Maybe I can get the timings down a bit tomorrow

yea you should be able to, as timing is to do with the DRAM chip, less to do with IMC

games are more sensitive to latency, so if you can get it to around the same latency as it would have at XMP, then you'll probably see close to no difference in gaming performance

though make sure you validate it well, BSOD/crashes succ when you're gaming/working

 

remember to mark the thread as solved if you think it's solved

[BTGbullseye]

4 hours ago, BuckyBallin said:

I had 2x8gb (which are fine at xmp) but then bought 2 more dimms hoping to upgrade but as it turns out my pc won't boot with the xmp profile. 

Running more than 2 sticks is a bit finicky with Ryzen. I had similar issues when installing my second pair of 3600.

 

What I ended up needing to do to get full XMP working on them was this:

 

1. Reset BIOS.

2. Restart after getting into the reset BIOS.

3. Enable my non-RAM settings in the BIOS.

4. Restart.

5. Go into BIOS, and set the XMP profile.

6. Restart.

7. Wait for it to not work, and hard reboot.

8. Go into the BIOS, and set all the more complex timings to auto, leaving only the speed+voltage+tCL+tRCDWR+tRCDRD+tRP+tRAS settings matching the XMP profile.

9. Restart and watch it fail.

10. Disable and reenable XMP.

11. Restart and watch it fail.

12. Disable and reenable XMP, then discard changes and restart.

13. Enjoy my XMP settings on my RAM.

 

ANY deviation whatsoever from this exact procedure either resulted in no post, or default DDR4 timings. It was a total pain to figure this out, and it's basically a BIOS glitch that allowed me to use these timings properly. I have no clue how this works, or why it doesn't work any other way.

[BuckyBallin]

That sounds like a cheat code from an old game lmao. Guess I can try it sometime, can't understand how it would work but it also can't damage anything. 

[Haro]

15 hours ago, BuckyBallin said:

I don't want to be running at 2133mhz to get the full 32gb if I don't have to.

Clear the cmos then set the soc to 1.15 and dram to 1.35 then go for 2933 with xmp/docp if that's stable, go for 3000 then 3200 and check for stability. 

you could also try the new kit by it self and check. but running 4 dimms at 3200 with zen +'s imc is a bit of pressure as well. 

[BuckyBallin]

11 minutes ago, TofuHaroto said:

Clear the cmos then set the soc to 1.15 and dram to 1.35 then go for 2933 with xmp/docp if that's stable, go for 3000 then 3200 and check for stability. 

you could also try the new kit by it self and check. but running 4 dimms at 3200 with zen +'s imc is a bit of pressure as well. 

Tried this, no dice at 2933 unfortunately but thanks for the tip  New kit by itself ran fine at xmp

[Haro]

10 hours ago, BuckyBallin said:

 New kit by itself ran fine at xmp

It could also be that mix and matching kit being iffy, since well it's not guaranteed to work. but you could also try mix and matching the old and the new kit, i.e one new stick and one old stick and try. 

[BuckyBallin]

Got the timings down a bit, it seems content at 2733Mhz with the pictured timings at auto SOC voltage and 1.35V on the ram. Probably the end of the road for me, will just leave it on o vernight doing memtest and if it's fine in the morning then I'll forget everything I learned about ram until next cpu/mobo upgrade. Thanks for your help!

[BTGbullseye]

On 9/12/2020 at 1:18 AM, BuckyBallin said:

That sounds like a cheat code from an old game lmao. Guess I can try it sometime, can't understand how it would work but it also can't damage anything. 

It kinda felt like it too.

 

After updating my BIOS, it was just a set-and-go situation, no cheat code required. Moral of the story: Get the latest BIOS for your motherboard before anything else.