ramPC shuts down unexpectedly during play when RAM speed exceeds 2133MHz
ramPC shuts down unexpectedly during play when RAM speed exceeds 2133MHz
My earlier setup used a Ryzen 5 1400 with an GTX 1050 Ti 32GB G.SKILL CL16-18-18-18-38. It operated smoothly at 3200Mhz on XMP on a B350 gaming pro. After adding an RTX 3060Ti, I needed to upgrade the motherboard to an Aorus Elite B450 because the system would crash under heavy GPU load. Once the new board arrived, the Ethernet port stopped working—though I didn’t notice it at first since I had a Wi-Fi PCIe adapter supporting 5GHz and my router was nearby. Eventually, I ordered a separate Ethernet adapter. The problem began when gaming: with the Ethernet plugged in, the PC would shut down without any BSOD. Switching to Wi-Fi resolved the issue completely. RAM performance remained stable at 3200Mhz. Recently, I upgraded to a Ryzen 5 3600 and encountered real problems. After booting and setting XMP to 3200, the first game PC simply powered off. Restarting with the original RAM speed (2133) restored playback, but it kept shutting down again. I adjusted BIOS settings, set voltage to auto, and ran diagnostics—everything seemed fine. I used the PC nonstop for several days, playing Apex matches, Fortnite, and GTA 5. About 24 hours later, it randomly shut down once more. After rebooting without changing RAM speed, I returned to Apex and it crashed immediately again (it wasn’t a reboot). Eventually, I set the speed back to 2133 in BIOS, enabled auto-voltage, and the PC ran smoothly for about 12–15 hours while handling multiple tasks. The issue still occurred intermittently. Could this be related to the motherboard? It had similar behavior after the internal Ethernet port failed. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
It seems odd that the motherboard might not work well with the graphics card, especially if it has an PCIe x16 slot. Given the existing faults on the board, I recommend returning it. From the title alone, my first concern was about a power supply issue. Could you tell me which PSU is installed? Also, could you try swapping the components one by one to identify when the problem appears?
It seems you're trying to clarify a complex situation. Let's break it down. The issue appears to involve multiple components, but the key points are: the system only powers down under specific conditions, and it resumes normal operation when certain settings change. You're unsure whether RAM or the motherboard is the culprit, especially since running at 2133Mhz avoids shutdowns. There were also shutdowns with an Ethernet connection active, which adds another layer of confusion. What you're describing suggests a possible interaction between frequency settings, power supply stability, and hardware responsiveness.
Run an 8GB RAM setup at 3200MHz, then switch to the other stick. If one fails to start while the other does, the faulty stick is the issue. Repeat the process to confirm the non-shutdown stick remains stable and the one that did shut down continues to fail. Once both sticks are reliable, test the full 16GB in dual and single channel configurations. These tests could take several days but will help identify the problem area.
You noticed that even after adjusting X.M.P or manually boosting the CPU, the PC stops shutting down during games once it doesn’t power off naturally. However, when you restart after the first sleep, hibernation, or reboot, the system crashes if you launch a game afterward.
Is it a 4x8GB configuration? I suspect the Ryzen 1000 might struggle with memory speeds over 3000, which could lead to instability even after passing memory tests. A fresh Windows installation would be wise if you haven't updated since replacing the motherboard, as driver conflicts from the old board might cause Ethernet problems and other odd behavior.
Currently using a Ryzen 5 3600. The restart problem began after upgrading to this processor; previously, RAM operated at an XMP setting with 2933Mhz and a Ryzen 1400 chip. After replacing the motherboard, I performed a fresh installation.