Looking for a fresh set of RAM and feeling unsure where to start.
Looking for a fresh set of RAM and feeling unsure where to start.
Hello everyone, after many hours trying to fix my BSODs, I chose to buy new RAM. Here’s what my setup looks like: Ryzen 5 3600 ASUS TUF B450M Plus Gaming Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz C16 EVGA RTX 2070 SuperAntec EA750G Pro 750W Gold Win 10 Pro 2004. I decided to switch from Corsair and explored G.Skills's RAM Configurator for my motherboard. After some research and comparing prices and reviews, I picked the F4-3200C16D-16GTZRX, which seemed reasonable in both cost and ratings. The issue arose when I searched ASUS’s QVL list and couldn’t find this model. After checking other RAM options, none of my preferred ones appeared there either... I’m puzzled—why? Which site should I rely on? I don’t want to end up with faulty RAM that triggers blue screens again because it doesn’t support the required 3200MHz with my CPU and motherboard. I really need guidance for this time. Any advice would be appreciated.
Consider selling your existing motherboard and switching to a higher-end B550 model since your Ryzen 3600 is compatible with those boards. You can later upgrade to faster RAM if desired. A trident Z is priced around $80... a solid B550 board ranges from $110 to $130, allowing you to sell your current setup for roughly $60 to $75 depending on condition. A B550 motherboard is a great choice even with an overclocked Ryzen 3950x, though avoid pushing it beyond safe limits to prevent overheating.
I really don’t want to disassemble my PC and sell my graphics card and RAM just to get better parts. It’s been around a year and a B450 should handle everything fine since I’m not making any extreme changes—just some gaming. Upgrading to a B550 might make more sense if I plan to upgrade the CPU too. I’m not sure about moving to AMD’s 4000 series anytime soon, so I don’t think I need the B550 right now, do you?
You wouldn't have to sell your RAM. Apparently it's just your current motherboard in combination with the current ram that's causing you issues... I assume you tested the sticks with memtest and/or other programs and I assume they'd work fine at advertised 3200 mhz on other boards that are better designed (more motherboard layers, better routing of memory traces going to cpu socket etc) A B550 motherboard will give you better VRM for the cpu, which means you'll have more upgrade options in the future, and to higher core CPUs. Your current motherboard has a weak VRM with a weak (undersized) heatsink, if you don't add extra cooling in form of a fan blowing over the vrm heatsinks, it's recommended not to use more than a 8 core at stock frequencies. A 3900 may throttle (lower its frequencies) due to VRM overheating. Your current Ryzen 3600 doesn't consume enough energy to cause the VRM to heat too much, so your board works fine with it. There's also NO guarantee the motherboard will work with Ryzen 4xxx processors. Support will only be available with BETA bioses and depending on motherboard updating the bios may cause the board to stop supporting Ryzen 1xxx and 2xxx processors due to some quirks about organization of data inside the bios chips (you may say who cares, i have 3600, but you lose resale value, maybe someone wants to buy it from you and use it with a 2200g). Asus was also very reluctant to agree to this, they were the ones who most pushed for AMD not adding support for Ryzen 4xxx on B4xx motherboards, so I assume they're not gonna rush to release bioses and test them thoroughly. A B550 motherboard will also bring you additional features, like better integrated sound (your board has ancient ALC887 while most B550 boards have ALC1200 or ALC1220), usb 10g connectors (your board has only 1 as far as I can see), front panel usb type c 10g (depends on mobo), and b450 boards have only pci-e 2.0 slots besides the main pci-e x16 and m.2 that comes from cpu, while B550 boards have pci-e 4.0 for m.2 and video card and everything else is pci-e 3.0 So I'd take advantage of this period and try to sell the motherboard, while people are still interested in buying such boards to use them with cheap used 2xxx processors. If you wait more, there's gonna soon be plenty of B520 motherboards for 60-70$, and those do pretty much all B450 chipset does and more (it's all pci-e 3.0 compared to b450 which has pci-e 2.0 slots), but only disabled cpu overclocking (which isn't that big of a deal)
Thanks for your feedback. I'll check out our nearby market to find out if anyone is interested in purchasing motherboards, especially given the current trends in gaming and hardware.
Another thought, if you're investing $100-150 in a new graphics card, why not allocate nearly the same for an x570 instead? https://www.newegg.com/global/il-en/asro...klink=true
Since the b550 chipset is newer, manufacturers have updated their designs. They're redirecting funds previously allocated for heatsinks and chipsets to other components. For instance, compare the Asrock x570 Phantom Gaming 4 with the Gigabyte B550M Aorus Pro. The latter features ALC1220 sound with 7.1 and digital output, while the former uses ALC1200 with basic 5.1 analog. Gigabyte includes ALC for audio, whereas Asrock offers a simpler 5.1 output. Gigabyte supports gigabit Ethernet natively, whereas Asrock provides a slightly improved Intel Gigabit LAN (similar performance, minor upgrade). The B550M also has PCI-E 4.0 x16 for graphics and PCI-E 3.0 x4 on the same slot, while Asrock offers PCI-E 4.0 x16 for graphics and PCI-E 4.0 x4 on x16 from the chipset. Both support up to 128 GB DDR4, Gigabyte up to 4000 MHz, and Asrock up to 4600 MHz (though real speeds are usually around 3600 MHz). Ryzen reaches its peak here. Both boards have two M.2 slots; Asrock provides two PCI-E 4.0, Gigabyte has one PCI-E 3.0 x4 and one PCI-E 3.0 x4. Asrock includes eight SATA connectors (some may be disabled with certain configurations), while Gigabyte offers four. The B550M supports up to 3766 MHz max, whereas Asrock can go up to 4600 MHz. That's where Ryzen truly shines. Both models come with dual M.2 drives. Asrock uses PCI-E 4.0 x16 for graphics and PCI-E 4.0 x4 on the same slot, while Gigabyte uses a 3.0 x4 configuration. Both support up to 128 GB DDR4, Gigabyte supports up to 4000 MHz, and Asrock reaches about 4600 MHz—though in practice it's often lower, around 3766 MHz. This is the peak for Ryzen. Each board includes two 2.5-inch drives; Asrock has eight SATA ports, Gigabyte has four. There are two display outputs and digital audio options. The B550M also features a BIOS flashback function, allowing updates without a CPU installed in the socket—useful if future Ryzen models require a BIOS update and you no longer have an older processor. Overall, you gain more value with better VRM design, improved sound, enhanced USB support, quieter heatsink operation, and generally lower cost (around $10-15 less). It's a clear win. If you're okay with the basic IO shield, spending about $95 on the Gigabyte B550M DS3H is a smart choice: https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-b550m-ds...6813145210 Asrock version: Gigabyte B550M Aorus Pro
Your interest in comparing M vs non-M models is clear. For the B550 Aorus Elite, the B550 Aorus Pro offers added features that may justify the cost depending on your needs. The non-micro ATX version provides a more budget-friendly option without the extra bells and whistles.
The Aorus Pro offers better value compared to the Elite when you really need an ATX setup. The VRM (components and cooling) remains similar. They assert the Pro supports higher memory speeds, suggesting a different memory layout or additional PCB layers, though I’m not sure. Regardless, the clock speeds are 4400mhz or 5000mhz—those numbers don’t matter if you’re above 3600. The B550 Aorus Elite features ALC1200 sound, while the Pro uses ALC1220. The B550 Aorus Pro includes an extra PCIe x16 from the CPU, and the second PCIe x16 doubles the chipset bandwidth but is turned off if a NVMe SSD is used. The third PCIe x16 provides double the bandwidth or single if dual SATA ports are present. Compared to the Elite, the Pro allocates more PCIe lanes effectively. You could even use a high-speed PCIe x4 capture card or pair two 10G network cards in the second PCIe x16 slot if you don’t need an NVMe SSD on the second M.2. Even the third PCIe x16 delivers about 1.8 GB/s to the CPU, which is manageable. Since MATX models lack three PCIe x16 slots, it’s easier to adapt around chipset limitations—usually only the x4 lane gets used, or the chipset handles it without issues.
I need to learn more about this topic since I'm not as familiar with PCIe lanes and their purpose for my requirements. My motherboard will only have an RTX 2070 Super and a single NVMe SSD. There are no capture or sound cards, and my current RAM modules are rated at 3200 MHz, which could be upgraded to 3600 MHz in the future—possibly even switching to a 4000-series RAM one day. The only boards from the links that support my RAM, according to their sites, are the Aorus models. MSI and ASRock don't, so I'll likely choose either an ATX or mATX from Gigabyte, depending on which version suits me best. Also, what about the ASUS TUF GAMING B550-PLUS?