Has your PC experiencing RAM or boot problems?
Has your PC experiencing RAM or boot problems?
Good morning, I've been using the same steady system for 3-4 years: AMD RYZEN 3600 with 16GB RAM. The motherboard is ASUS TUF X570 PLUS and the PSU is a CORSAIR 750W 80+GOLD. About three months ago, I upgraded to an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D and added identical RAM sticks. I updated my BIOS to the latest stable version.
A month ago, my PC froze. I restarted it but it wouldn’t boot. The boot sequence got stuck on the RAM LED. After clearing CMOS, I enabled XMP and it worked fine. Later, when I put the PC to sleep for hours, it wouldn’t wake up and the orange RAM check light appeared. I reset it multiple times and eventually it worked.
This issue also occurred when I powered off the PC for a while. Windows RAM check didn’t show anything. After clearing CMOS, the problem persisted. It got worse over time, and even after clearing CMOS, it wouldn’t boot. I suspected the RAM might be faulty, so I replaced them and they worked. But after a couple of days, the same problems returned.
I tried booting with lower RAM frequency (3400GHz), which was stable for a few days, but the issues continued. Then I disabled XMP completely, and it worked for some time. However, after that, the same problems resurfaced, and I started experiencing inconsistent BSODs—sometimes after a few minutes or even after a day of normal operation.
Today, I transferred all the RAM to another machine, and it functioned properly. I’m unsure if the problem was with the motherboard or the CPU.
You're currently using four RAM modules, which is known to cause issues. I recommend taking away the two additional sticks, turning off any XMP settings, and letting the system run at its standard speed. Verify stability after these changes. Then enable XMP with just two sticks. Confirm everything functions properly. If it works, you've resolved the problem. Otherwise, another case of unreliable four sticks might be involved—possibly due to a better motherboard or CPU with superior memory controller. It could be a simple silicon lottery.
Did you test Passmark Memtest86 or memtest86+ with the new RAM? You might have thought the previous RAM was bad, but it could be the new one. Do you have the old Ryzen 3600 available? You could swap it in and see if the problems continue. This will help determine if the issue is with the board or the CPU. He checked this thoroughly. For now, it seems like a quick summary.
I just completed the Windows memory test and everything came back normal. I’m worried I might be missing something, especially since I don’t have the 3600 MHz RAM. I’ve checked both RAM configurations alone—with and without XMP—and still encountered problems. The issues seem widespread, even though my current system has an Intel i3-10100 and runs at a stable frequency of around 2667 GHz.