Yes, the Ryzen 5 3600 can support 4000 MHz RAM.
Yes, the Ryzen 5 3600 can support 4000 MHz RAM.
Hello, I own a PC from a few years back and discovered a solid RAM offer at Microcenter. I’m wondering if my system can support the upgrade to 4000 MHz with 2x 16 GB sticks. Currently, I’ve been using 2x 8 GB at 3600 MHz, but some school projects have exhausted most of that memory, causing a bit of lag. I need to know if my Ryzen 5 3600 processor and MSI b450 Tomahawk Max motherboard can handle the higher speed. The price difference between 3600 and 4000 MHz sticks is minimal thanks to the discount.
99.9% chance it won't happen. It might function with a 1:2 setup instead of 1:1. At that stage it seems somewhat irrelevant.
Only if the RAM you purchase from Micro Center is DDR4, not DDR5. Even then, performance might be inconsistent, requiring you to overclock DDR4 to hit 4000. DDR4 usually doesn't handle such high clock speeds, and unstable overclocks can cause errors and issues.
Typically, most motherboards support the 3600 to reach at least DDR4 4400 with single-rank memory. However, at those high speeds you may enter desynced FCLK mode, leading to much lower performance compared to DDR4 3600. If you force it into synced mode, you're likely limited to around 3733MT/s, possibly up to 3800 under good conditions, but 4000 is unattainable. Stick with the 3600 setup.
Likely requires significant advanced adjustments. A superior setup could be used to apply a tailored profile, as a 4000 kit might support multiple XMP configurations. Regardless, 3600MHz stands out as the peak for AM4 due to synchronization needs between clock, base clock, and memory bus. Running at 1800MHz on the FCLK is an overclock but remains stable with a compatible RAM system. Beyond that, you greatly raise the chance of instability without substantial benefit.