Double boot after enabling XMP but overclocking still works, should I be worried or is it fine?
Double boot after enabling XMP but overclocking still works, should I be worried or is it fine?
Hello everyone, here’s what I’m using: RAM: G.SKILL TridentZ Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Intel Z170 Platform Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C16D-16GTZKW
Motherboard: ASRock AB350 Pro4
The issue is that the RAM operates at 2133mhz without XMP, and it jumps to 3200 when XMP is enabled. Whenever I boot up, my computer performs a double boot—fans increase to 100% twice, and the screen turns on during the second attempt. I can’t manually adjust the RAM speed in BIOS except via XMP.
After saving and restarting from BIOS, I only see one boot cycle, but when I restart from Windows or do a cold boot, it still triggers a double boot.
Despite this, the overclocking seems to be active—CPU-Z, Task Manager, and the BIOS all indicate the RAM is running at 3200mhz. The BIOS is currently at version 4.2V.
I’m curious if this double boot behavior is normal or problematic. Is it safe to leave it like this? Are there any ways to fix it?
I built the system about two weeks ago, and I’m hoping this isn’t a serious issue and that a future BIOS update will resolve it.
It's likely acceptable, though memory voltage issues have been reported for this board. After configuring the XMP settings, increase the (DRAM) memory voltage by .05v in small steps until the system no longer restarts in double mode. If adjustments aren't possible and the DRAM voltage can't be changed, you might need to manually lower the memory speed from 3200 to 3000mhz by modifying the RAM's speed multiplier in the BIOS. A reduction of 200mhz won't significantly affect performance and should ensure stable memory checks during startup. If a slight voltage boost helps, it's probably the better choice but keep the total increase under about .20v. If it still doesn't stabilize after two .05v changes, revert to the default XMP setting and lower the speed.
Darkbreeze :
It's probably fine, but the problems with memory voltage are known on this board. With the XMP settings already set, try upping the (DRAM) memory voltage by .05v in small increments until it no longer double boots.
If it won't allow changes to the DRAM voltage (Been hearing that some cheaper Ryzen boards aren't allowing SOC or other voltage adjustments but haven't looked into this much yet.) then you may have to simply reduce the speed of the memory from 3200 to 3000mhz manually by changing the speed multiplier of the RAM in the bios. Losing 200mhz isn't going to make any noticeable difference in performance and will likely result in stable memory check during boot. If you can up the voltage slightly, that's probably the better option but you don't want to exceed more than probably .20 total increase in voltage. Really, if it doesn't stablize after two incremental adjustments of .05v I'd put it back to the default XMP value and drop the speed.
I tried running every mhz from 2400 to 3200 and the only stable one I've seen is 2400 but that is not the speed I paid for
The DRAM voltage is at 1.35V I am a bit afraid of messing with it so what is the maximum should I actually go for? should I try up to 1.50 in jumps of 0.05 and if it still doesn't work just put it back to 1.35V? is that what you mean
In reality, I'd raise the value to the smallest steps possible, often around .050v per step, but if finer adjustments are feasible, that's acceptable. I wouldn't likely go beyond 1.45v, and the more stable the lower it gets, the better. If it remains unstable at 1.45v, the issue might actually lie elsewhere—perhaps not with memory voltage at all. It could be necessary to overclock the CPU somewhat to achieve that speed. This captures the main idea of the statement, even though it was written when DDR3 was common.
Darkbreeze would adjust according to the tiniest changes possible, generally aiming for around .050v per step but being flexible if smaller tweaks work. I’d likely stop at 1.45v and prefer stability over higher speeds. If it doesn’t hold steady at that point, it might point to a memory voltage issue rather than CPU speed. It’s possible the CPU needs some overclocking via OC settings. This gives a good summary of the original message, even though DDR3 was the standard back then. It looks like all manual settings are turned off and I’d probably stick with XMP and double boot, trusting the board’s design.
It's not intended, that I can guarantee. This is usually a result of the system either having to make a second attempt because the system found the configuration to be unstable or it triggered a restart automatically due to instability and applied one time changes to the offending setting in order to boot. It CAN do so during each successive boot.
You might want to run something like HWinfo or CPU-Z to verify if the settings in the bios are actually sticking upon the second boot once you are in the windows environment. It may be that they are not actually doing so. In any case, if everything is right there will never be cause for the system to have to make itself reset and POST a second time if everything is functioning normally.