Need assistance with OCing RAM?
Need assistance with OCing RAM?
I had my memory artificially adjusted to 3600 at CL14 using the XMP profile. After about a year and a half, my 5950x IMC performance dropped significantly. I learned that certain RAM configurations can influence VCCIO settings. I’m unsure if it’s just my motherboard attempting to auto-adjust the IMC voltages or something more specific.
My configuration:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950x
MB: Asus x570 Crosshair VIII Hero (Wi-Fi)
RAM: 2x16 G.skill Trident Z Royal - F4-3600C14D-32GTRG
Cooler: Corsiar iCue H150i Elite Capellix
PSU: Be quiet! Straight Power 11 1000w
GPU: EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2TB + 3 standard HDDs
I activated the XMP profile and enabled PBO. After a year and a half, my system began to freeze frequently, with the DRAM LED illuminating on the motherboard every couple of weeks. I spent many months tweaking settings, returning everything to defaults, but the issue persisted. Initially, I suspected the RAM, then moved to the PSU, which also didn’t resolve it. When I tried replacing the motherboard, it worked, and finally I considered the CPU. I thought it was sturdy, but if it fails at all, it’s out of warranty soon.
During troubleshooting, others advised that overclocking RAM wouldn’t affect the CPU, but they mentioned that IMC voltages—possibly VCCIO or similar—could be automatically adjusted by the BIOS. Some suggested manually setting those values, while others claimed they weren’t adjustable. I found an OC spreadsheet for DDR4 that detailed these settings, so I thought manual adjustment might be necessary.
I’m not very experienced with overclocking and was hesitant to use premium RAM at stock speeds. I’m seeking gentle yet stable configurations that maintain 3600 without stressing the CPU. It seems 3600 is the optimal setting for AMD, and I should be able to achieve it safely without damaging the IMC.
What advice do you have? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Truthfully, computers nowadays are incredibly powerful, so there really isn't a necessity to overclock the CPU, adjust memory timings, or push the processor beyond its limits. Running the CPU at standard settings and using the XMP configuration for RAM will keep you safe from damaging any components. The balance between effort and reward is simply not present in modern PCs.
That is all I would like to do at this point, but I think xmp is part of the (potential) problem, I don't really wanna go base speed at 2133 I think it defaults to, but I am trying to find out if 1.45v from the xmp is causing my BIOS to raise my VCCIO and VCCSA and such, which I think is VTTDDR on my board.
I found this video last night that seems to show the this on a similar board:
View: https://youtu.be/b4ss2eeJcTc
So there must be a link between the 2 voltages, but I don't think 0.725v VCCIO is very high for a 1.45v DRAM.
Maybe I just got a bad chip and the IMC going bad had nothing to do with any of this, I just want to confirm that that is the case and that I am ok to run xmp and not have it die in another 1.5 years. I will likely lower the timings to CL16 just because I think CL14 is a bit much for Ryzen anyway.
But I just need to know if it was a fluke or if that XMP made my IMC degrade that fast. Thank you for your input, now that I have all new parts, I am just gonna run it all stock accept (hopefully) the RAM XMP.
After much searching and confusing responses, I believe I’ve located the solution. The OC guide suggests this:
So it appears the IMC is influenced by the DRAM voltage, but the suggested daily driver max was 1.65v while I was using an XMP of 1.45v. This implies the issue likely came from a faulty BIOS update. I’ll stick to XMP and trust that this new CPU is a better fit, avoiding early degradation. I might also apply a slight undervolt in CO for temperature control and skip PBO and Auto OC.
I'll attempt it, though Samsung B-die and CL14 might be insufficient. I'll try anyway, aiming for the lowest possible settings.
UPDATE: 1.35 didn't post, 1.38 was the minimum I could reach without issues, but I set it to 1.39 for extra stability. I'll monitor its performance over time.
ram timing plays a bigger role than boosting voltage. I recall I was able to overclock my ddr2 from 667 to 1000mhz simply by adjusting the ideal ram timing, even though both voltage and timing matter. High timing and voltage don’t always improve stability. A good cpu with a strong i/o controller is essential; you might also consider increasing the cpu ring ratio (i/o) for better performance at high frequencies.
You noticed improvements from using a degraded CPU until it was necessary for replacement after 18 months. Did your applications gain much by increasing XMP RAM voltages beyond 1.35V? Currently, I'm running two 32GB DDR5 DIMMs at 1.20V and 4800MT/s on my 7950X, hoping this setup will still function in a few years. It's uncertain if the next CPU will be a Threadripper, but I'm willing to invest if it makes sense.