memory Unsure whether or not XMP is working

[Dragostapelia]

Hello,

 

I have a recently-built setup, and one of the first things I did with it was enable the XMP profile available in the BIOS. I was checking my system performance earlier today and noticed the memory clock seems far below what the memory's frequency is supposed(?) to be.

After making sure my kit was running in dual-channel (it is), I decided to check whether or not this had anything to do with XMP. Sure enough, XMP is enabled but the memory clocks don't seem quite right. CPU-Z and HWinfo both report clocks at 1800Mhz (screenshot below), while the BIOS itself is reporting 3600Mhz. I know it is mostly unreliable, but Windows Task Manager also reports a memory 'speed' of 3600Mhz.

 

Hardware:

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE AM4 B550 AORUS Elite V2 (Rev 1.2) - BIOS revision 'FD';
• CPU: Ryzen 5 5600G;
• RAM: 2x G-SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4-3600 CL16;
• PSU: Corsair CX550 80+Bronze;

 

Due to this weird discrepancy between BIOS values and CPU-Z values, I'm not really sure whether or not XMP is working properly. My attempts at troubleshooting so far have been:

• Updating the BIOS to its most recent version (and re-enabling XMP after it);
• Making sure the sticks were in their right slots (2 and 4);

 

What else could I check to make sure whether or not this is working? And if it isn't, what could be the most likely cause?

 

Thanks.

[Poinkachu]

23 minutes ago, Dragostapelia said:

Hello,

 

I have a recently-built setup, and one of the first things I did with it was enable the XMP profile available in the BIOS. I was checking my system performance earlier today and noticed the memory clock seems far below what the memory's frequency is supposed(?) to be.

After making sure my kit was running in dual-channel (it is), I decided to check whether or not this had anything to do with XMP. Sure enough, XMP is enabled but the memory clocks don't seem quite right. CPU-Z and HWinfo both report clocks at 1800Mhz (screenshot below), while the BIOS itself is reporting 3600Mhz. I know it is mostly unreliable, but Windows Task Manager also reports a memory 'speed' of 3600Mhz.

 

Hardware:

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE AM4 B550 AORUS Elite V2 (Rev 1.2) - BIOS revision 'FD';
• CPU: Ryzen 5 5600G;
• RAM: 2x G-SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4-3600 CL16;
• PSU: Corsair CX550 80+Bronze;

 

Due to this weird discrepancy between BIOS values and CPU-Z values, I'm not really sure whether or not XMP is working properly. My attempts at troubleshooting so far have been:

• Updating the BIOS to its most recent version (and re-enabling XMP after it);
• Making sure the sticks were in their right slots (2 and 4);

 

What else could I check to make sure whether or not this is working? And if it isn't, what could be the most likely cause?

 

Thanks.

DDR = Double Data Rate

so. 1800 x 2 = 3600.

 

Just a difference in the way each shows the spec.

https://cpugpunerds.com/why-cpu-z-shows-memory-half-speed/

 

So yes, your XMP is on, and the RAM is working at the speed it was advertised.

 

IIRC & AFAIK, BIOS and Windows uses the technically incorrect way to show the speed.
It should be 3600MT/s which is 1800 Mhz x 2

 

Manufacturers too used the wrong measurement unit to advertise the speed and it stuck for way too long, it was starting to change back to the right one at the rise of DDR5, which often marketed with MT/s (6000 MT/s, 7200 MT/s, and so on)

 

https://www.kingston.com/en/blog/pc-performance/mts-vs-mhz

https://www.makeuseof.com/mts-vs-mhz-datarate-vs-frequency-in-ram-explained/

 

[paddy-stone]

Yes it's working fine, as above. For example my HWINFO reports mine at 1800Mhz, but because it's DDR is actually 3600Mhz. We see this common misconception all the time on here, and everywhere TBH... you're no different to others that don't know these things, so no worries

[Dragostapelia]

2 hours ago, Poinkachu said:

DDR = Double Data Rate

so. 1800 x 2 = 3600.

 

Just a difference in the way each shows the spec.

https://cpugpunerds.com/why-cpu-z-shows-memory-half-speed/

 

So yes, your XMP is on, and the RAM is working at the speed it was advertised.

 

IIRC & AFAIK, BIOS and Windows uses the technically incorrect way to show the speed.
It should be 3600MT/s which is 1800 Mhz x 2

 

Manufacturers too used the wrong measurement unit to advertise the speed and it stuck for way too long, it was starting to change back to the right one at the rise of DDR5, which often marketed with MT/s (6000 MT/s, 7200 MT/s, and so on)

 

https://www.kingston.com/en/blog/pc-performance/mts-vs-mhz

https://www.makeuseof.com/mts-vs-mhz-datarate-vs-frequency-in-ram-explained/

 

Ahh, I see!

 

Admittedly I did imagine that, since it's running in dual-channel, it could simply be a matter of reading it as '1800x2'; but due to the report differences, and because I'm very unfamiliar with how hardware bandwidth works, I thought it'd be better to consult someone. 

 

Thank you for the detailed explanation!

[Poinkachu]

42 minutes ago, Dragostapelia said:

Ahh, I see!

 

Admittedly I did imagine that, since it's running in dual-channel, it could simply be a matter of reading it as '1800x2'; but due to the report differences, and because I'm very unfamiliar with how hardware bandwidth works, I thought it'd be better to consult someone. 

 

Thank you for the detailed explanation!

Dual-channel is a whole other thing btw.

 

The most basic analogy for it that I can think of right now : Imagine a highway between 2 places. On dual channel mode, there is 2 separate highways from A to B, while on non dual channel mode, there's only 1 highway from A to B. 

 

Then think of the RAM sticks as a courier headquarter that transfers packages using cars.

2 HQ buildings, each on their own highway. Faster to finish the job than just 1 HQ on 1 highway.

Hence why you need TWO sticks for dual channel to activate and be used by the system, to utilize the other highway.

 

https://www.crucial.com/articles/about-memory/what-is-dual-channel-memory