Solved RAM/Motherboard (CPU) compatibility problem

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AlgernonFTW

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Nov 23, 2020
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Hey, really hoping I can find some assistance on this! I upgraded to 32 GB of RAM awhile back - 2 x 16 GB Corsair Vengeance 3000 MHz. However, I was having constant crashes and BSOD's. It seemed to be an issue of bad compatibility with my motherboard and Ryzen CPU - specifically, the channel timing of the RAM. (Motherboard is an ASRock AB350 Pro4, which does not technically support 32 GB of RAM, it seems). I tried using this Ryzen DRAM calculator tool, and ended up finding a combination of timings that was stable, and I had no problems for about a year now.

Recently, I tried running a CPU overclocking program (AMD Ryzen Master), and after awhile. I got the BSOD. Since then I've been having fairly regular game crashes, website crashes, and BSODs. So, it seems like messing with that Ryzen Master program altered the DRAM timings or something, and I cannot for the life of me remember - or find - what the usable timings were.

I think at this point, if I can't figure out what those timings were, the easiest fix would be to upgrade my motherboard. So my REAL question here is: What is a good motherboard that supports AMD Ryzen chips (mine is the Ryzen 5 1600x; may upgrade sometime soon), and also supports 2 sticks of 16GB 3000 MHz RAM with no problems?

Maybe someone can help me fix the DRAM timing or whatever it's called for now, but I figure I might as well upgrade the motherboard to something that actually supports this RAM. Thanks!
 
First things first, can I ask which two slots on the MB you have the RAM in atm.
 
K, that is the correct slots then.

Best thing that you can do is knock off all OCing and the easiest way to do that is to restore the MBs default factory setting, see my canned info below, do this then post back and I will give you something else to do that will help us check the stock settings;


Try restoring the MBs default factory settings in the BIOS, they are sometimes listed as one of the following " factory defaults" "most stable" or on newer boards "optimized" please note that if you have both the "most stable" and the "optimized" options in the BIOS you should choose the most stable" option as in this instance the "optimized" settings are a form of overclocking that can cause instability.
 
Ok, so before I do that, just to be clear: This RAM did not work correctly on the default mobo settings. I had to tweak the DRAM channel speeds (the numbers that are like 16-16-16-35 or similar) to something that was not standard. This mobo does not officially support this RAM, and is not updated to recognize 3000MHz - I have to set it to 2933 as the closest option, or it defaults to the 2133 or whatever that base speed is.

I'm just a bit nervous about resetting BIOS settings and being completely unable to use the PC until we figure out what those speeds are.
 
Ryzen CPUs demand fast RAM and if they don`t get it they cause issues, your CPU is good with 2666MHz RAM so your OC settings should set the RAM to run at that speed.

You do not need to manually change anything, your MB will have either DOCP or XMP as an option in the BIOS, once you have restored the factory defaults, restart the computer and see how it goes, any problem, restart the computer and access the BIOS, enable whichever option it is that you have (DOCP or XMP) save the settings, exit the BIOS and see how you get on.

End of the day it is your PC and you do as you see fit with it.
 
I'll give it a shot. In the meantime: Assuming that this continues to give me trouble, OR I decide I want to upgrade my mobo/CPU in the somewhat near future, can you recommend a good motherboard that is compatible with this RAM, and some of the newer Ryzen CPUs? Might have to go that route sometime soon anyway :P
 
Too soon to be thinking about such things tbh, you have no way of knowing if the RAM is bad and possibly caused by the recent OCing that you did, you said yourself in your OP "I tried using this Ryzen DRAM calculator tool, and ended up finding a combination of timings that was stable, and I had no problems for about a year now." this suggests that the RAM itself was not the problem so if we are able to get the system running stable we may be able to get it to OC to 2666MHz.
 
Hold that thought... I just stumbled across a thread where someone posted the speeds to set, sounded like a very similar situation with the same RAM. I set those speeds, and so far it already seems like it's working more smoothly. No indications of instability yet... but if I get more crashing, I'll try to default set the BIOS. Stand by, we'll see if this works!
 
Not a good idea to follow the guidance of more than one forum in case something goes wrong and it ends up in a blame game, more than happy to chime out and wish you good luck.
 
phillpower2 said:
Not a good idea to follow the guidance of more than one forum in case something goes wrong and it ends up in a blame game, more than happy to chime out and wish you good luck.
Click to expand...
I understand that mentality, but I wasn't going to point fingers if anything bad happened. I'm making the decisions to do what I do, so it's on me to attack the issue as I see fit and if anything goes wrong.

To this point, we're running smooth - zero web page crashes, game crashes (I just played the brand new WoW expansion for several hours straight), and no BSODs. Will continue to monitor, but I may have found the fix! I took a picture of the speeds, so I can note them in the future if this happens again. Thanks much for your assistance, I will give it 1 more day and if nothing crashes, I'll consider this resolved.
 
Taking a pic of the settings is a good idea but you could in addition make a written note and store it somewhere safe.

Well done btw (y)
 
phillpower2 said:
Taking a pic of the settings is a good idea but you could in addition make a written note and store it somewhere safe.

Well done btw (y)
Click to expand...
We've been golden ever since I adjusted the speeds, and yes, I have the numbers recorded in multiple locations now :p If you are able to marked this as resolved, I think we're all set. Thanks again for your help :)
 
You are welcome and thank you for letting us know that you no longer required assistance (y)
 
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