"The prior overclock configurations have not worked,..." Error
"The prior overclock configurations have not worked,..." Error
Hi,
I noticed my Windows 11 desktop occasionally encounters an error. I've been using MSI Center overclock software, but only activated XMP in BIOS. A technical service was sent to investigate, yet they didn't detect any hardware issues. The problem seems infrequent, not constant. What could be causing this? Any insight you have would be appreciated.
I have been utilizing MSI Center overclock tools.
Overclocking via BIOS is not reliable; MSI's Center app often gives inconsistent results. For AMD Ryzen systems, Ryzen Master's Curve Optimizer is recommended.
My Windows 11 desktop setup
Considering the nature of troubleshooting posts, it's standard to share your complete system details. Provide specifications such as:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
RAM:
Storage: SSD/HDD:
GPU:
Power Supply:
Chassis:
Operating System:
Monitor:
Also include the PSU age along with its make and model, the current BIOS version for your motherboard.
Hi,
Your system details are as follows: CPU Intel i9 9900K, cooler NZXT x62 Kraken, motherboard MSI MEG Z390 ACE, RAM includes two GSkill F4-3600C16 8GB modules, SSD is a 1TB Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus, graphics card is an EVGA GTX 1080 Ti FTW3, power supply Corsair HX1000i, chassis Corsair 500D RGB SE Mid-Tower, operating system Windows 11, monitor AOC Agon AG271QG, PSU age 8 years, BIOS version 1.50 from American Megatrends Inc., model name 1.50 with default serial number and Alaska - 1072009.
What speed did you configure for the RAM? Setting it at 3600MT/s could exceed the limits of your CPU's built-in memory controllers.
CPU World provides the official specifications for the 9900K, which state a maximum of 2666MT/s. Exceeding this is possible only through the Slicon lottery.
https://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Core_i9/Intel-Core i9 i9-9900K.html
Memory controller details: one controller with two channels each, supporting DDR4-2666.
Test the RAM at 3000MT/s using MemTest86. If stable, try 3200MT/s and recheck. Adjust XMP settings if any errors appear.
https://www.memtest86.com/
Some users have successfully pushed this CPU to 5GHz, suggesting further testing could be beneficial:
https://www.msi.com/blog/intel-9th-cpu-o...therboards
Hi,
Thank you for your explanation.
When I accessed the XMP settings in BIOS, my RAM speed increased to 3600Mhz. After closing the XMP option, it dropped back to 2133Mhz.
I didn’t manually change the RAM speed using any program; I relied solely on the motherboard’s built-in XMP feature in BIOS. It offers an on/off toggle, which I kept enabled.
Regarding CPU performance, running MSI Center with the Extreme Performance profile boosted it to around 5Ghz.
Given this, should I disable XMP? The speed drop in RAM seems significant too. Also, would it be better not to use MSI Center?
I tested memtest86 but didn’t see any RAM speed adjustment when booting from USB.
You can select different XMP speeds in some motherboard BIOS, but you'll probably have to find the 'Manual" option, as opposed to the 'Automatic' XMP setting which normally picks the fastest speed of your RAM. If you check your RAM with programs like CPUID CPU-Z (I prefer Aida 64) you can see multiple different XMP timings and speeds, programmed into the SPD (Serial Presence Detect) chip on each DIMM. Some SPD chips hold dozens of different Memory Timings, others only a few https://forums. N.B. Aida 64 displays the true memory clock frequency in MHz, as opposed the DDR (Double Data Rate) of MT/s (Mega Transfers per second) more commonly used by manufacturers when describing their RAM. In the example above a clock frequency of 2400MHz multiplied by 2 (for DDR) gives 4800MT/s (for DDR5 RAM in this example). Your i9-9900K uses slower DDR4 RAM, so the frequencies indicated in Aida 64 will be lower than those for DDR5 RAM. If your GSkill F4-3600C16 RAM defaults to JEDEC DDR4-2400, Aida 64 will indicate 1200MHz (2 x 1200 =2400). At DDR4-3600, Aida 64 will indicate a memory clock frequency of 1800MHz (2 x 1800 = 3600). The Intel spec shows the maximum supported memory speed for the i9-9900K is only DDR4-2666. This means that Intel doesn't guarantee your CPU will work at speeds higher than 2666MT/s. You should be able to achieve somewhat higher speeds, but DDR4-3600 might be too fast for your CPU and mobo. It's a question of luck, also known as the Silicon Lottery. https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...-1...tions.html With a notional limit of DDR4-2666, you need to work out how to manually select XMP speeds lower than DDR4-3600. You should be able to find a stable setting somewhere between JEDEC default (DDR4-2400?) and the maximum speed of your RAM of DDR4-3600. If you can find the Manual section in your BIOS for RAM timings, you may find a menu of XMP overclock options, such as XMP-2666, XMP-2800, XMP-3000, XMP-3200, XMP-3400, XMP-3600. By selecting one of these pre-set speeds. you won't have to type in dozens of separate Primary, Secondary and Tertiary settings, which is more the province of professional overclockers, prepared to spend hours fine tuning the system. If you can change the XMP speed manually, start at DDR4-2666, the official Intel speed for your CPU. The system should start up fine at this "mild" overclock. Run a short game benchmark, or a quick stress test for a few minutes, then shut down. Restart the system, enter the BIOS, increase the XMP speed by one step, e,g. DDR4-2800 (orsimilar). Boot into Windows, check stability. Shut down again. Set BIOS to XMP-3000. Check stability in Windows. Try DDR4-3200, but spend a little longer checking stability. If still seems OK, try DDR4-3400. By now you might be reaching the limits of stability and it's worth running a full MemTest86 scan lasting one to two hours. You could go back up to DDR4-3600, but it may well be a step too far. Even one error in MemTest86 means the XMP setting is not stable. Reduce your XMP speed by 200MT/s and run another full MemTest86. If there are no errors and you feel happy with the setting, keep and eye on the system and consider running multiple passes of MemTest86 (preferably overnight). There's probably no point running MemTest86 at speeds below DDR4-3000, but at DDR4-3200 and above, it's a good idea to run a full test at each new speed setting. I've never used MSI Center. Many "experts" prefer to overclock using the BIOS, not some fancy utility in Windows, which can lead to instability. Learn how to use the BIOS. There's no speed setting available in MemTest86. All it does when you boot from USB is indicate the current RAM speed set in the BIOS. Adjust RAM speed in the BIOS, then boot MemTest86.
Thank you for the detailed explanation. I will attempt middle rate RAM speeds as mentioned in the bios, then gradually increase stage by stage and test with benchmarks at each step. I believe the issue lies with XMP (fastest speed) for RAM, as discussed. Another forum also confirms this. Thank you again.
The original message mentions no overclocking beyond XMP, yet the extreme profile was chosen via the MSI app. If a failed overclock occurs, I recommend resetting all MSI settings back to defaults, as this seems more likely than memory issues. The software can be unpredictable at times. I no longer install the MSI centre for any build, as it often causes more problems than it solves. The issue might lie with the CPU memory controller; although I've used 9900k chips with fast memory (up to 4000), the IMCs on these parts are still reliable. The main hurdles are trying to apply pre-made overclock profiles, which can overload the chip and cause instability. Something needs to be checked.
I believed the MSI Center software was managed through predefined overclocking rather than manual adjustments like voltage settings. I referred to XMP since it's set via the BIOS screen. So far, I haven't encountered any overclock errors with a black screen. I lowered the RAM speed to 2666Mhz from BIOS XMP, but I should wait a bit longer to see if the issue persists. Thank you for your thoughts.
The problem with fixed overclocking is that not every chip reacts the same, which leads to varying results. I notice that any pre-set overclock tends to increase voltage to compensate for silicon variations. The motherboard usually offers similar settings. My old board (Asus Z370 Maximus Hero) would apply a significant voltage boost (1.4v+) when using the extreme profile as the default. If you plan to overclock a 9900k, I’d advise using BIOS for more precise control. I’d suggest setting the CPU to its maximum core turbo—around 4.7ghz—and leaving it that way. The additional 0.3ghz provided only slight gains. At first, I would revert everything back to stock while testing memory, making sure all CPU overclocks are disabled during memory tests to avoid any unexpected issues.