Two strange RAM issues, not sure what’s behind them...
Two strange RAM issues, not sure what’s behind them...
I noticed two unusual issues here. Could they be linked to a single problem? I assembled this machine in 2019 and these difficulties have persisted throughout its use. I initially dismissed them, but restarting brings RAM consumption back within normal ranges. System Specifications: Motherboard – ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-E Gaming CPU – i7-8700K OC @ 4.3Ghz RAM – 32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 (4x8GB) at 3000Mhz OS – Windows 10 Home 64bit build 19043.1826 Reference images: https://imgur.com/a/wpjKDoq Symptoms: 1 – Windows claims excessive RAM usage, yet open tasks show minimal activity. Chrome alone can't explain the high numbers; even with many tabs and background apps, RAM usage remains suspiciously high. I suspect games like Beamng.drive or Prison Architect are still allocated memory despite not running. Using RamMap reveals games still have memory assigned even when idle. This pattern is unusual unless my understanding is incorrect. Symptom 2 – Windows warns about full RAM but reports only 32GB installed. Despite knowing the motherboard supports up to 64GB, diagnostics show only 32GB present. After launching and closing games repeatedly, RAM usage climbs steadily without clear cause. In Task Manager, I rarely see more than ~21GB used, yet crashes occur when approaching 20-21GB. Restarting clears the issue. I’m unsure if this relates to clock speed concerns, but I’d expect stability problems at higher usage. Please help clarify from the screenshots or provide further details.
Asus lists several 4x8 DDR4-3000 kits on their QVL for this board, however, I have no way to know which one you have or if yours is one of them. https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LG...191226.pdf Edited August 9, 2022 by An0maly_76 Revised, more info
Your RAM part number appears to be missing from the list, but similar numbers are available up to CMK32GX4M4C3. This suggests compatibility might be questionable. Additionally, based on research, even though the 3000 series is present, a clock speed of 2133Mhz was likely intended, and adjusting it didn't resolve the issue. Opening many browser tabs caused crashes and freezing.
I wouldn't wager everything on that. It seems doubtful they're suitable. Thought-provoking piece. I purchased the Crucial Ballistix BL16G32C16U4B.16FE for a 1700 rig back in 2020. It resisted two other upgrades, causing the board to shut down completely and requiring an RMA. Post that, it didn't quite perform as expected, and I never suspected RAM could be the issue. Recently, I bought the same set for a 5900X build, which experienced a rare POST failure with no video—just once every 8-12 cold starts. Troubleshooting suggested the board itself, but swapping identical RAM didn't always resolve the problem. Eventually, the board came back from RMA with a "could not duplicate issue," and the machine with the working DIMM began showing strange audio-only or cutout behavior during gameplay, especially when MP4 videos were played. Interestingly, these specific DIMMs worked in the same system, so I swapped one into another machine for confirmation. Odd lag and POST errors appeared, and installing a different DIMM caused failure. Eventually, the board returned from RMA, but now the functional DIMM had audio-only or cutout issues while gaming. Notably, these BL16G32C16U4B.16FE models aren't listed on the QVL for the previous MSI B450M Bazooka, nor for the current ASRock B450M HDV or Asus TUF B550-PLUS boards. The 1700 rig still exists in my hands, and it turns out these two RAM sticks are showing different speeds—something that shouldn't be. Additionally, the Asus board's QVL lists several Patriot Viper kits with identical timings, voltage, and speed as the BL16G32C16U4B.16FE, yet the BL16G32C16U4B.16FE isn't present. I'm cautious about this. The Asus board will receive the Patriot Viper Blackout 4 PVB432G320C6K (2x16 DDR4-3200), while the ASRock will get the Ballistix BL2K16G36C16U4B (2x16 DDR4-3600)—both of which are on their respective QVL lists. Interestingly, the timings for the BL2K16G36C16U4B are 16-18-18-38, whereas the BL16G32C16U4B.16FE kit uses 16-18-18-36. I used to be a big Ballistix supporter, hearing they were top RAM for Ryzen, especially with strong Cinebench results. However, I discovered something intriguing: these kits were made in single-rank (chips on one side) and double-rank (chips on both sides). Apparently, this difference matters on certain boards. That's why I learned the hard way. So, I wouldn't bet that your RAM fits your board. Its absence from the QVL suggests it won't work well if it does. My debug lights showed a short-circuit pattern—DRAM amber, CPU red, VGA white, BOOT white, and green if it managed to POST. After several attempts, the 5900X now seems to have an issue with incompatible RAM. This build has been a real challenge. I assembled it in March and disassembled it twelve times just for troubleshooting. Twelve times over RAM. People keep saying RAM is RAM, but I won't be convinced again. My board's lights lit up like a traffic signal when it failed—DRAM amber, CPU red, VGA white, BOOT white, then green if it booted. Now that the 5900X has likely hit a problem with the wrong RAM, I'll never build another machine with something outside its QVL again. This project has been a huge hassle for me.
Consider this perspective: trying it won’t solve the issue, and you’ll never be sure what caused it. The only clue that helped me was a single faulty stick that stopped other machines from working properly just before the problem began. It seems these components have been unreliable since the start. This leads to another thought—could DIMMs actually have different part numbers because they’re produced separately for Intel and AMD? That would explain why the SKUs don’t match between models. I’m planning to check the QVL lists for Asus B560/B660 to confirm if the RAM codes align with my B550. It would be surprising if they didn’t. Edited August 9, 2022 by An0maly_76 Updated with more details
In Task Manager, are the applications ending? Is the program just pausing and not fully exiting, or is there an issue keeping the "games" open? Do any of the games you use often lead to memory problems? This question comes up when all troubleshooting steps have been tried.
I’ve checked Task Manager and it seems games aren’t actually running in the background. In RamMap, they appear under 'File Summary' while not open. Clearing them with 'Empty' reduces RAM usage by a bit but still leaves high memory consumption for open apps. The issue isn’t tied to any specific game, as it happens even when I skip BeamNG for weeks or longer.
It's Beam NG Drive. Are there many broken mods? I'd delete all of them. Keep only the ones that function and are installed. Clearing unused memory on the spot is possible with QuickCpu. On their site, the DL link is near the bottom. After setting it up, go to the "memory" tab at the top. A button labeled "clean" will appear in the center. That should remove items from the priority list that aren't visible in Task Manager. Threads they refer to might not be full processes.
Yeah, my BeamNG.drive got messed up because of the "F0rd Engine Pack" mod. It messed up map surfaces—like falling through plateaus on the Utah map and driving through some trees on the Automation Test Track. Also, glass, exhaust, and other parts turned orange and didn’t load textures on certain vehicles after applying the mod. Even after removing the problematic mod, things were still broken. At that point, I had 88 mods installed and had to sort through them, eventually having to reinstall the whole game before it worked properly. Guest 5150 isn't just warning about BeamNG.drive—mods can cause big issues in any game. Some mods even overwrite files and create chaos. Updated August 9, 2022 by An0maly_76