The Threadripper 2990WX and MSI X399 appear to be struggling with performance. Assistance is needed.
The Threadripper 2990WX and MSI X399 appear to be struggling with performance. Assistance is needed.
Hello everyone. I own a brand new build featuring a Threadripper 2990WX, an MSI X399 Creation, 64GB DDR4 3200, an Enermax TR4 360 Liquid Cooler, and an RTX 2080 with a Corsair 1200W PSU. This setup is being used as a rendering workstation, replacing an older i7 that performed well in the high 5000s on Cinebench and Corona Renderer benchmarks.
I'm finding it difficult to reach those scores and can't pinpoint the issue. I'm new to overclocking and rely mainly on Game Boost for stability. I haven't found any guides for manual BIOS overclocking, so some settings don't match what I expect. My Cinebench results vary greatly but average around 2900, occasionally hitting over 5000, while my Corona Renderer times have consistently exceeded a minute. Since Corona is my primary renderer, this means I'm missing out on nearly double the expected speed.
Additionally, only 48GB of my 64GB RAM appears available in BIOS, even though it shows all four sticks as 16GB each. After removing two sticks to try a different configuration, I still have 32GB left. I've tried swapping and reseating the memory but haven't seen improvement.
I'm unsure where to begin. The benchmark scores I see are much higher than what I'm achieving, and CPU temperatures are normal. Should I stick with Game Boost or attempt a manual overclock? If so, what voltage and multiplier should I use for this configuration? Are there other factors I should consider?
I also have Precision Boost Overdrive enabled, but I'm not sure if it's meant to work alongside or instead of regular overclocking. Thank you for your help—I really appreciate any advice or suggestions!
I faced comparable problems when testing the 2990WX on an MSI X399 board as well. Disappointed with MSI support—even emailed them and received a reply saying 'we don't have any motherboards to send you,' despite asking about stability issues during minor overclocking, the provided BIOS version, and the absence of error codes in the LED code. I ended up choosing a Gigabyte Aorus board instead. I might also consider the ASRock TaiChi boards; I managed to reach 4.2 GHz on one of those, almost hitting 4.3 stable.
Does the memory have a part number or a link associated with it?
Calvin7 :
Memory part number and/or link to it?
Sure. It’s Corsair 163301 Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 MHz C16 XMP 2.0
https://www.corsair.com/eu/en/Memory-Siz...M2B3200C16
Your RAM doesn't match your motherboard. You can begin from here. I checked your motherboard and found that the Corsair isn't listed as compatible with your board and processor. This seems to be the issue. I believe it causes instability at 3200Mhz, leading to reduced performance. My RAM also doesn't fit your motherboard, but I managed to run at 2800Mhz (3000Mhz are my RAM, and Corsair with CL16) using some custom timings.
Your RAM doesn't match your motherboard. The compatibility check shows it's not listed, which seems to be the issue. I believe this causes instability at 3200Mhz and reduces performance. My RAM works with a 2800Mhz setup (my RAM is 3000Mhz, Corsair CL16) using custom timings. I was concerned this might happen, so what's your best choice?
You have options to either use an easy replacement method or learn how to overclock your RAM yourself. I tried to ensure stability by finding compatible RAM from the same motherboard, using timings from the same manufacturer with identical CL. In your situation, Corsair is a good choice—look for matching CL and memory size, then adjust those timings. Once you boot up, use Windows tools like HCI Memtest or AIDA64 to check stability.
Your RAM doesn’t match your motherboard. You might need to start over. I checked your motherboard and found that Corsair isn’t listed as compatible with your board and processor. That seems to be the issue. At 3200Mhz you experience instability and performance drops. My RAM also doesn’t fit your motherboard, but I managed to use 2800Mhz (3000Mhz are my RAM, plus Corsair CL16) with some custom timings.
I reviewed the compatibility list and found that the same RAM as yours is actually listed there. I dug deeper and discovered the exact model you bought:
https://www.corsair.com/uk/en/Memory-Siz...M2B3200C16
The only changes are a single letter in the product number and one digit in the latency. Would that really be a big difference?
Yes, it makes a big difference in stability since MSI tested the RAM under those timings and found it stable. Consider adjusting the manual timings from the compatible RAM and try running HCI Memtest or AIDA64. If you still encounter hardware issues, retest the performance. Let me know your progress. For instance, with 16-20-20-38 timings, AIDA64 and HCI Memtest are unstable, but using 16-18-18-36 at 1.2v works well at 2800Mhz. If you try 16-18-18-38 at 1.35v, stability with 3000Mhz is possible.
Yes. It seems to make a big difference in stability since MSI tested the RAM with those timings and it works fine. Try adjusting the manual timings from the compatible RAM and run HCI Memtest or AIDA64. If you still face hardware issues, you can re-test the performance. Let me know your progress. For instance, my RAM has 16-20-20-38 timings; in AIDA64 and Memtest it's unstable. But switching to 16-18-18-36 at 1.2v gives stability at 3000Mhz. I was able to return the faulty RAM and order a compatible one instead, so I’ll try that first. At least if problems persist, I can reach out to MSI for support with the new RAM. Thanks for your help so far. I’ll update you next week once the new RAM is installed.