Have trouble with the tracking system freezing? Let me know how I can assist.
Have trouble with the tracking system freezing? Let me know how I can assist.
Recently I started from scratch on a completely new setup, something I'd been planning for years. But it's facing a major lockup issue that's proving difficult to resolve. I'll keep it short but thorough as much as possible.
I used the Asus Zenith II Extreme Alpha motherboard, an AMD Threadripper IceGiant Elite Prosiphon CPU with 128GB G.Skill RAM, a 3600Mhz 14-15-15-35 1600W Leadex SuperFlower PSU, and a 24-pin power adapter with an extension. The 80+ Ti Lian-Li power supply was connected via a Strimer cable.
I also installed a Samsung 980 Pro 2TB x2 and 250GB x1 drive. I tried to troubleshoot the problem, but it was frustrating. Most freezes would cause a reboot, sometimes twice. The first time I'd freeze was during ClockTuner use—Windows would show errors like "Load VGA BIOS" or "Memory Test." The second time was with Asus AI Suite 3; it handled overclocking but froze during the fan phase at 51%.
I discovered my case wasn’t configured to let the motherboard control fans properly. Fixing that stopped the freezes, and it worked smoothly afterward. There were a couple of times the system froze during sleep mode or when entering hibernation, but I didn’t witness it.
Cinebench ran without issues even after overclocking via Asus software. Still, I removed the AI Suite 3 and disabled auto-tuning settings. After a few games, it locked up within minutes—sometimes under 10 minutes. I tried running a game and it failed quickly, suggesting possible GPU or power issues.
I eventually went to RMA the GPU after uninstalling it, but the problem persisted. Once I got a new board and reset everything, the PC stabilized and ran smoothly.
Some things to note:
- The issue started with ClockTuner and then escalated.
- Power delivery seemed to be the main culprit at first.
- Overclocking helped temporarily but caused overheating.
- BIOS settings and fan control were likely involved.
I’m still trying to figure out exactly what needs fixing, but I’ll keep sharing updates as they come in.
Is the RAM running DOCP or stock? If DOCP, repeat tests at stock.
Prime95 is operating without the DOCP feature, and the system remains stable so far. I’ll let it run longer before considering it safe. I’ll post the outcome here later. To be clear, I bought the higher-rated RAM for those performance gains. Does this indicate a problem with the RAM or the motherboard? If not, can I still achieve the speeds advertised on the box? In the end, this upgrade will be better than my old 666.5Mhz RAM, but I’ll be let down if I end up paying more without using it.
It doesn't matter if the board dislikes it; you still need manual adjustments, particularly when handling more than four modules at high speed or full slots. One approach is to boost the voltage, while another is lowering the speed. Zen 2 officially supports up to 3200mhz.
I got the direction right but misjudged the ideal configuration. I switched to a threadripper for rendering and load times, not the 5950x originally planned. I recalled 3600 as a good number for the 5950x but not for the threadripper, so I didn’t verify it. Now I just need Asus to confirm everything is fine and return the GPU. It seems there are tougher issues than shipping fees—like overpaying for RAM. Thanks for the guidance. The system is still stable, and I’m planning to run it for a few hours to be sure. I’m not confident about manually setting the RAM clock yet, but I’d like to learn and get some performance close to what I paid for. Any suggestions for safe speeds or tools for a 3960x would be appreciated?
3600 is ideal, though many set it with just two modules—sometimes four if you're lucky. Certain motherboards struggle to run smoothly with fully filled slots unless you adjust the settings, especially the voltage. AMD caps RAM speeds at 3200mhz even on the latest chips. To manually slow down RAM, open the BIOS, go to memory settings and pick manual instead of XMP. Enter 3200mhz, save the changes, and test it out. Adjusting memory won’t cause issues. If it doesn’t work, simply reset the BIOS and it’ll revert to defaults.
You can experiment, but if you encounter issues, switch it to auto. If the chip is a Samsung B-Die, it should operate at those clock speeds. The motherboard typically chooses the safest timing, even if not the quickest. For your programs, prioritize stability rather than speed.