Ryzen Memory

[BabyPCMR]

So I haven't updated my BIOS to the absolute latest version, however, as it stands I can't run my 3200 Trident Z ram at their factory speeds. Once i do update, is it safe to just use the XMP profile? I read that you should just overclock with Ryzen when it comes to memory. Seems kind of silly to "overclock" memory to it's factory speeds, but it's mostly because I don't know much about overclocking. I just know that Ryzen receives a significant boost with faster RAM, and going from 2133 to 3200 should provide that I would think.

 

Here is my motherboard: http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=872#download

 

[SquintyG33Rs]

what's your memory kit? were you one of the unfortunate people that bought a 3200MHz kit without looking at cas and ending up with a cl16 kit?

[BabyPCMR]

9 minutes ago, SquintyG33Rs said:

what's your memory kit? were you one of the unfortunate people that bought a 3200MHz kit without looking at cas and ending up with a cl16 kit?

Does this help, I got the two sticks for free from my buddy who is a lot more techy than I am. Sorry I can't pull out the stick right now, I'm downloading something pretty big and I can't have my pc restart right now. Thanks in advance.

[SquintyG33Rs]

yeah that says 16 18 18 38... unlucky.

[SquintyG33Rs]

i did some research over this when i bought my kit and lucky for me i found out while i was still in my RMA period. and got a 15 kit works no problem

[BabyPCMR]

10 minutes ago, SquintyG33Rs said:

i did some research over this when i bought my kit and lucky for me i found out while i was still in my RMA period. and got a 15 kit works no problem

Hmm, what would you say my options are here then?

[SquintyG33Rs]

1 minute ago, BabyPCMR said:

Hmm, what would you say my options are here then?

you can resell on used market for 90% or so of the price and get the one that will work. i think you will find buyer very fast since the trident Z RGB is very popular even if you only cut out the shipping/taxes cost and leave it at MSRP.

 

that would be my suggestion anyway

[BabyPCMR]

6 minutes ago, SquintyG33Rs said:

you can resell on used market for 90% or so of the price and get the one that will work. i think you will find buyer very fast since the trident Z RGB is very popular even if you only cut out the shipping/taxes cost and leave it at MSRP.

 

that would be my suggestion anyway

So you mentioned a 15 kit as ones that would work? What does that look like exactly, what should I be looking for more specially? Thanks again.

[SquintyG33Rs]

6 minutes ago, BabyPCMR said:

So you mentioned a 15 kit as ones that would work? What does that look like exactly, what should I be looking for more specially? Thanks again.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232485&cm_re=trident_z_rgb-_-20-232-485-_-Product

 

this one is even better it's cl14 see how it marks the full timings under the selection options also the lowest selection options themselves are for this

[johndms]

1 hour ago, BabyPCMR said:

So I haven't updated my BIOS to the absolute latest version, however, as it stands I can't run my 3200 Trident Z ram at their factory speeds

Well, update it to the absolute latest version.

1 hour ago, BabyPCMR said:

Once i do update, is it safe to just use the XMP profile?

Yes. Choosing XMP is the easiest method to overclock your ram. Ryzen, however, is extremely picky and hates most ram. It hates Quad Channel ram, it hates Dual Rank ram, and it especially hates four DIMMs of Dual Rank ram. f4-3200c16q-32gtzkw - The Q indicates Quad channel (4 sticks). It's also possible to buy two f4-3200c16d-16gtzkw, which would probably be the same thing.

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/1627555/ryzen-memory-ic-collection-thread - Searching this post for f4-3200c16d-16gtz indicates your ram kit MAY possibly be Dual Rank (chips on both sides of DIMM) with Samsung E-Die chips, or it could be Single Rank (chips only one one side of DIMM) with Hynix M or A-Die chips.

 

Even with the most recent bios version, due to the reasons I stated above, you simply may never be able to run that kit at its rated speed, due to Ryzen's new platform. Maybe in a year or two, but it's simply too early right now for all the kinks to be worked out. But the most recent bios update will give you the best opportunity.

1 hour ago, BabyPCMR said:

I read that you should just overclock with Ryzen when it comes to memory. Seems kind of silly to "overclock" memory to it's factory speeds

Nearly all frequency ram is created out of the same 2133 'mold'. It's then tested by the manufacturer to see what maximum frequency it can safely run. If it is capable of 3200, then it's labeled as a 3200 rated kit. Anything above 2133 is considered an overclock. Those with experience overclocking memory find XMP the easy way to clock ram and will often choose the advanced methods of manually entering all the sub-timings themselves.

 

My recommendation, try to return the kit or sell it. Invest some time into researching "Samsung B-Die" regarding Ryzen. Find a kit that's on your board's memory QVL and cross reference it with the collection thread I linked above. B-Die is more expensive, but is known to work very well with Ryzen and overclocks nicely.

 

While not a complete list, this link will be a good place to start: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/memory/#s=403200&Z=16384002&L=140

[BabyPCMR]

9 minutes ago, johndms said:

Yes. Choosing XMP is the easiest method to overclock your ram. Ryzen, however, is extremely picky and hates most ram. It hates Quad Channel ram, it hates Dual Rank ram, and it especially hates four DIMMs of Dual Rank ram. f4-3200c16q-32gtzkw - The Q indicates Quad channel (4 sticks). It's also possible to buy two f4-3200c16d-16gtzkw, which would probably be the same thing.

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/1627555/ryzen-memory-ic-collection-thread - Searching this post for f4-3200c16d-16gtz indicates your ram kit MAY possibly be Dual Rank (chips on both sides of DIMM) with Samsung E-Die chips, or it could be Single Rank (chips only one one side of DIMM) with Hynix M or A-Die chips.

Just a couple questions. I have the f4-3200c16q-32gtzkw RAM correct? Does that mean the full kit was 4 sticks of 8GB RAM and I just have 2 of them? Also, that second bit, "Dual Rank," is there anyway i can check this and how would it help? 

 

Sorry i'm such an amateur with all these questions, thanks!

[johndms]

8 minutes ago, BabyPCMR said:

Just a couple questions. I have the f4-3200c16q-32gtzkw RAM correct? Does that mean the full kit was 4 sticks of 8GB RAM and I just have 2 of them? Also, that second bit, "Dual Rank," is there anyway i can check this and how would it help?

According to the model number on the sticker, G.Skill lists the kit as 4x8GB. Do you only have two sticks? ..just 16GB of ram total?

 

You can check if it's Dual Rank by looking at the stick of ram. If you see chips on both sides, you've got Dual Rank. You could also download a program called Thaiphoon Burner which will read the SPD data of the DIMM and provide a lot of information about it. It'll look like the screenshot I'll post below. Feel free to take a screenshot of yours and post it.

Example:

[johndms]

Also, if you're only using two sticks of ram, make sure they're in the proper board slots. DIMMA2 and DIMMB2 http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=872#specification

 

Edit: Your board's website even indicates the maximum speed able to be achieved by SingleRank or DualRank ram. (Still possible to hit 3200 as an overclock)

[BabyPCMR]

3 minutes ago, johndms said:

According to the model number on the sticker, G.Skill lists the kit as 4x8GB. Do you only have two sticks? ..just 16GB of ram total?

 

You can check if it's Dual Rank by looking at the stick of ram. If you see chips on both sides, you've got Dual Rank. You could also download a program called Thaiphoon Burner which will read the SPD data of the DIMM and provide a lot of information about it. It'll look like the screenshot I'll post below. Feel free to take a screenshot of yours and post it.

Example:

Yes I only have 2 sticks of 8, and the RAM sticks are covered up by a heat spreader, it's the Trident Z G Skill variant.

Unless I can see if there are chips regardless of the spreader? 

They're in the slot closest to the CPU, skip 1, and then the next slot over.

Thanks again.

[BabyPCMR]

14 minutes ago, johndms said:

Also, if you're only using two sticks of ram, make sure they're in the proper board slots. DIMMA2 and DIMMB2 http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=872#specification

 

Edit: Your board's website even indicates the maximum speed able to be achieved by SingleRank or DualRank ram. (Still possible to hit 3200 as an overclock)

If it's any help, I think I found the exact model RAM i have.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232317&cm_re=f4-3200c16q-32gtzkw-_-20-232-317-_-Product

 

[johndms]

4 minutes ago, BabyPCMR said:

Yes I only have 2 sticks of 8, and the RAM sticks are covered up by a heat spreader, it's the Trident Z G Skill variant.

Unless I can see if there are chips regardless of the spreader? 

They're in the slot closest to the CPU, skip 1, and then the next slot over.

Thanks again.

Then it sounds like you have them in the wrong slots  DIMMA2 and B2. Look at the section I have highlighted.

 

[BabyPCMR]

1 minute ago, johndms said:

Then it sounds like you have them in the wrong slots  DIMMA2 and B2. Look at the section I have highlighted.

 

Oh haha, should they be in the second and fourth slot then? Wow rookie move huh?

Also, does this help me at all? From what I can gather with my limited understanding is that this will allow for 2667 speeds, but still not 3200?

[johndms]

5 minutes ago, BabyPCMR said:

Oh haha, should they be in the second and fourth slot then? Wow rookie move huh?

Also, does this help me at all? From what I can gather with my limited understanding is that this will allow for 2667 speeds, but still not 3200?

All boards I've seen lately recommend the those slots first. Will it help? Who knows. It sure couldn't hurt to update the bios to the most recent version and put the ram in the slots your manual recommends. You still may not get 3200, but if you get 2666, you'll probably never notice the difference. Try selecting the 3200 XMP option, but dial it back to 3066, or 2933, 2800. Back it up and try each of those until something works.