Looking for advice with compatibility (32GB/MSI/Ryzen)

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martbean

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Hi,

I have 2x8GB G.Skill TridentZ 3200 (F4-3200C16D-16GTZB) and would like to upgrade to 32GB. I bought another pair of identical DIMMs but am unable to get all four working. Windows either fails to load or crashes within minutes and Memtest86 also crashes, even at lower speeds. I've tried both pairs on their own and they work fine. (Full spec in sig)

MSI and G.Skill both say it could be because the DIMMs were manufactured at different times. G.Skill have offered to exchange them for four new sticks under RMA but I'm sceptical about whether it will work so I was thinking I'd get them replaced, sell the new (unopened) DIMMs and buy 2x16GB instead.

Firstly, does the above sound reasonable?

Secondly, I'm struggling to find a compatible set of 2x16GB. For example, HyperX Fury RGB 32GB 3200MHz (HX432C16FB4AK2/32) is listed on MSI's website as being compatible but Kingston's website says it's not compatible. If I buy it and have the same problem then I'm not in a good position. I've read about compatibility issues with older Ryzens so presumably mine falls in that category. I'm wondering if I'd be better going for something slower.

I'd really appreciate any advice on this.

Thanks,

Martin.
 
Nice that G.skill has offerd to replace them and it may help.
You can check each kit with Thaiphoon burner to see if they are using the same chips or not.

It may be possible to stabilize the sticks you have with a few tweaks if you are interested?
First go back to two sticks so it is stable and update the BIOS if you haven't already.

The try increasing VDIMM to 1.4V and SOC to 1.15-1.2V
Hopefully that will stabilize it at least enough to get into windows and screenshot Zentimings for us.

Ryzen 2600 can struggle with 4 sticks so you may end up needing to run 2933 or trying your luck with 2x16GB.
 
I'd probably go for the 4x8gb kit to be honest, your current sticks probably have different chips which won't train together at xmp timings.
 
Thanks guys!

dasa said:
Nice that G.skill has offerd to replace them and it may help.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I thought that was a nice touch. My problem is I need this PC and don't have any spare DDR4 DIMMs so I wouldn't be able to send them back without having a replacement.

I have already updated the BIOS but forgot to mention that. Do you want me to try those voltage increases with two sticks?

D-EJ915 said:
I'd probably go for the 4x8gb kit to be honest
Click to expand...
Over 2x16GB?
 
pendragon1 said:
yup, 1.4v. use two sticks to set the voltage. power off, add the others and power up, keep fingers crossed.
Click to expand...
OK, thanks, I'll give that a go over the weekend.

When you say "keep fingers crossed", is there a risk of damaging the RAM?

BTW I've attached a screenshot from ZenTimings as it stands. Is VSOC the same as SOC? Looks like it's already 1.15V.
 

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martbean said:
OK, thanks, I'll give that a go over the weekend.

When you say "keep fingers crossed", is there a risk of damaging the RAM?

BTW I've attached a screenshot from ZenTimings as it stands. Is VSOC the same as SOC? Looks like it's already 1.15V.
Click to expand...
no risk, you can go +10% on the voltage without a prob. fingers crossed it works without anymore tinkering.
yup, looks like it.
 
martbean said:
Thanks guys!


Yeah, I thought that was a nice touch. My problem is I need this PC and don't have any spare DDR4 DIMMs so I wouldn't be able to send them back without having a replacement.

I have already updated the BIOS but forgot to mention that. Do you want me to try those voltage increases with two sticks?


Over 2x16GB?
Click to expand...
I mean do you want to spend the money? I guess go that route if you do either would be fine.
 
martbean said:
When you say "keep fingers crossed", is there a risk of damaging the RAM?
Click to expand...
1.2V SOC is considered the max safe ish V so while fine for a shot test there is a small chance of degradation over extended use.
1.15V SOC should be fine but if you find you can run less all the better.

1.4V VDIMM is very safe although the sticks will get a bit warmer with 4 crammed together so a little airflow passing over them wouldn't hurt.
1.45V VDIMM is typically considered safe but some sticks become less stable once you go that high and 1.4V should be enough to stabilize it if it can boot at 1.35v assuming that is the problem.

If you can find out what chips each kit uses with Thaiphoon burner and capture the timings used with one kit then the other using ZenTimings it will help us provide advice should you need further tweaking than just the V increase.
 
I had a look at the BIOS over the weekend and I'm not sure which values to change. It's in 'Expert' mode and I've attached a screenshot.

I tried changing DRAM Voltage to 1.4V, rebooted and ran ZenTimings and it still reported VDIMM as 1.2V.

The 'Auto' values for the others, according to the BIOS are:
DRAM VPP Voltage = 2.5V
DRAM CH_A/CH_B VREF Voltage = 0.6V

The DigitALL Power sub-menu is just CPU stuff.

As you can probably tell, playing around with voltages is a bit new to me so I appreciate the help. The mobo manual is here if that helps. Thanks!
 

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martbean said:
I tried changing DRAM Voltage to 1.4V, rebooted and ran ZenTimings and it still reported VDIMM as 1.2V.
Click to expand...
Zentimings is probably misreporting the V.
HWiNFO64 (Launch with Sensors only) is better for checking on V.
https://www.hwinfo.com/download/

Looks like SOC is over 1.15V by default.
I wouldn't go playing with the other V unless you find VDDG IOD but that may only be a option on newer CPU/MB.

Is it more stable with DRAM Voltage 1.4V?
If not is the XMP profile 1 2933 Stable with or without 1.4V?
 
dasa said:
Zentimings is probably misreporting the V.
HWiNFO64 (Launch with Sensors only) is better for checking on V.
Click to expand...
Good shout. HWiNFO is reporting 1.344V for "DIMM". As long as I know that's the right value to edit in the BIOS then I'm on the right lines.
dasa said:
Is it more stable with DRAM Voltage 1.4V?
Click to expand...
I've just got the two sticks in ATM and put everything back how it was as I need this PC for work but I'll give it another go later in the week and report back. Thanks for your help!
 
pendragon1 said:
yup, 1.4v. use two sticks to set the voltage. power off, add the others and power up, keep fingers crossed.
Click to expand...

dasa said:
Is it more stable with DRAM Voltage 1.4V?
If not is the XMP profile 1 2933 Stable with or without 1.4V?
Click to expand...
I set the voltage to 1.4V and XMP profile to 2933mhz and put all four sticks in. I ran Memtest86 and there were two errors but it completed (which is more than it did before). The first time I tested the original two DIMMs on their own Memtest86 reported one error but none on subsequent tests so I'm not sure exactly what that tells me.

Anyway, I then booted an old Win PE disk, loaded up a few things and left that running for a few hours, which was fine.

I then booted my system normally and again all seemed fine initially but after a couple of hours I left the room for a bit and came back to find the system had restarted. According to Event Viewer it was "unexpected".

HWiNFO64 reports the VDIMM as 1.392V. Should I try increasing it a bit?
 
martbean said:
I set the voltage to 1.4V and XMP profile to 2933mhz and put all four sticks in. I ran Memtest86 and there were two errors but it completed (which is more than it did before). The first time I tested the original two DIMMs on their own Memtest86 reported one error but none on subsequent tests so I'm not sure exactly what that tells me.

Anyway, I then booted an old Win PE disk, loaded up a few things and left that running for a few hours, which was fine.

I then booted my system normally and again all seemed fine initially but after a couple of hours I left the room for a bit and came back to find the system had restarted. According to Event Viewer it was "unexpected".

HWiNFO64 reports the VDIMM as 1.392V. Should I try increasing it a bit?
Click to expand...
yup, wont hurt.
 
If up to 1.45 VDIMM doesn't help try SOC at 1.18V
If that doesn't help take a screenshot of Zentimings with just the second kit at 3200 and we will see if the sub timings are all the same or different for each kit.
 
Update: the system's been stable with all four DIMMs at 2933Mhz (XMP1) and 1.42V but I can't get it stable at 3200Mhz, even at 1.45V. That said, when I set VDIMM to 1.45V the BIOS reports it being slightly lower.

As requested I've taken screenshots of all the modules at 3200Mhz and Auto VDIMM:

Old:
ZenTimings_Screenshot Old A2.png
ZenTimings_Screenshot Old B2.png


New:
ZenTimings_Screenshot New A2.png
ZenTimings_Screenshot New B2.png


What do you reckon? Settle for 2933Mhz or is there anything else I can try?
 
martbean said:
Update: the system's been stable with all four DIMMs at 2933Mhz (XMP1) and 1.42V but I can't get it stable at 3200Mhz, even at 1.45V. That said, when I set VDIMM to 1.45V the BIOS reports it being slightly lower.

As requested I've taken screenshots of all the modules at 3200Mhz and Auto VDIMM:

Old:
View attachment 366285View attachment 366286

New:
View attachment 366287View attachment 366288

What do you reckon? Settle for 2933Mhz or is there anything else I can try?
Click to expand...
I'm no expert - but take a look at this thread
https://hardforum.com/threads/where...tter-than-four-sticks-idea-come-from.2011399/

In one of the videos, the smart guy suggests that many MSI boards use daisy chain topology in 4 DIMM boards - and in such cases trying to use all 4 slots causes the speeds to be significantly reduced.

Don't know if that is your problem, but it is a place to start
 
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