Here is a simple question about what's new with the first generation of Ryzen chips.
Here is a simple question about what's new with the first generation of Ryzen chips.
Hi everyone, I'm helping my friend tune up her computer for gaming. She has a Ryzen 5 1600 processor, two sticks of 3200MHz RAM, and a GTX 1060 graphics card. The machine has been running at stock settings all day, including when the RAM was set to 2133MHz. She asked me to push it harder so she can use more games. I have trouble getting a stable speed that works for both the CPU and the memory. If I raise the CPU clock above 3.5GHz, I can't go higher than 2666MHz on the RAM without crashing or freezing. If I keep the CPU slow at 3.4GHz or less, I can run the full 3200MHz speed with no issues. For gaming though, she would prefer a faster CPU clock like 3.7GHz paired with just 2666MHz memory since that's what works for her without problems. But since this setup is mostly used for editing photos and videos (and it's an older Ryzen processor), I'm not sure what to choose. My question: As she spends a lot of time at the computer, especially with more apps open on two monitors, which do you think is better? Faster CPU speed at 3.7GHz with slow RAM, or slower CPU speed but faster RAM speed at 3200MHz? Note: The motherboard is B350-F Strix
Ryzen needs a lot of RAM for high speeds, especially from the first generation. If your computer doesn't overheat at all, you should probably stick with stock clock speeds and run the memory faster instead. I guess there isn't a setting in the BIOS to change the XMP profile? Did you mess up the timings or just set raw frequencies on the RAM? Have you updated the BIOS? Maybe it's just that your current version doesn't support 3200MHz.
Ryzen likes high-speed RAM, especially from the first generation of processors. If a computer can't overclock anything at all, the best move is to stick with stock CPU settings and boost the speed on the RAM sticks instead. I think there isn't an option in the BIOS to change an XMP profile. Was it possible that you messed up the timings or just set raw speeds for the RAM? Have you updated your motherboard BIOS? Maybe your current version of the BIOS doesn't even support 3200MHz yet.
I've updated my BIOS to a recent version, though not all newest AGESA updates because I don't need them. There was no XMP setting available, but I turned on DOCP instead, which makes the RAM run at 3200MHz and uses the right timing settings for it. The voltage stays at 1.35v. I think I'll keep the clock speed at 3.4GHz while keeping the memory at 3200MHz.