The system isn't recognizing your RAM's listed speeds. Check compatibility and update drivers.
The system isn't recognizing your RAM's listed speeds. Check compatibility and update drivers.
RAM: Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO SL DDR4 32GB (2x16GB) 3600MHz CL18 Motherboard: ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming CPU: Intel i5-12600K I'm facing trouble getting my system to start at the RAM speeds advertised. My memory is rated for 3600MHz but isn't showing up on the motherboard's specifications. It claims support up to 5333MHz in perfect conditions. Previously, I managed to run at 3200MHz, but adjustments were needed to hit 3600MHz—though it would crash before stabilizing. Now it won't boot at all, even at lower speeds. This problem has persisted since I built the PC a few months ago. I've set everything to auto and gradually increased the MHz range, successfully reaching frequencies under 3000MHz except for 2900MHz where it fails to start or powers off. XMP is active, RAM slots A2 and B2 are used, and the BIOS is up to date. Can you suggest ways to resolve this compatibility issue?
These ratings often turn out to be misleading. I’d love for motherboard makers and DRAM suppliers to face a class-action lawsuit over clear false RAM claims. Most issues come from the CPU side, but the way DDR is traced on the board can also play a big role. 3200/3600mhz should work, though 5333 isn’t practical without special IMC chips and premium RAM. It looks like one of the three parts might be faulty—CPU IMC, the RAM package, or the board itself. You could try turning on XMP and adjusting the voltage a bit higher, maybe around 1.45v or 1.4v; it runs at 1.35V when using XMP.
your ram seems likely faulty, so consider getting a new one from rma. corsair isn't known for top-notch ram performance overall. you might also check g2 to see what options exist, though i'm skeptical it will help much. if it stabilizes things, it could mean your vccsa/io settings are too low or the chip itself is bad—those numbers probably apply to g2 as shown, even though someone ran 5400 on an asrock z690. you're probably nearing the imc limit too, since those boards can only reach so fast. these speeds mainly come from known high-speed models like 8gbit djr or 16gbit rev b, and it's unlikely a random corsair kit will hit djr or any decent rev b. the ratings are probably misleading for regular users; they don't actually reach those speeds even if you spend money on higher-end boards. overclockers can still use these as references, though, because the numbers are getting more accurate lately about how far a board can go—usually just a few hundred MHz. this mostly matters if there are no imc restrictions, which is common with older chips and poor imc quality (like zen+). for ram 1700, it's usually fine unless some z690 boards have inaccurate drd5 specs.
After sharing this, I noticed a newer BIOS release recently, even without any mention of RAM compatibility. I encountered a BSOD warning about "Inaccesible_boot_device" and realized my BIOS didn't recognize my drives. I reached out to ASRock and their support suggested sending an RMA for a replacement board. A day later, I tried clearing the CMOS and everything worked fine with the updated BIOS. Still unsure if replacing the board is worth it—depends on what they say. I plan to submit an RMA to Corsair today to find out their stance. I recall getting the motherboard 4-5 months ago, so I'm not very experienced with overclocking. Did you mean G2 refers to BIOS version 2 settings? Also, what does that actually do? Thanks for all the assistance so far.
g2 is essentially gear 2, allowing your rams to clock at the moon level. The latency cost from the slower IMC clock is usually handled beyond the 5000 mark. It’s a good test to see if the issue lies with the IMC rather than voltage. Since you don’t have access to check voltages, just confirm you didn’t overclock and kept it at XMP settings, you should still obtain an RMA. High-end chips (4600+) typically ignore voltage changes, so running them above 2V is fine—though some models hit a scaling limit like the 16Gbit rev (~1.7V) or the 8Gbit DJR (~1.9V).