RAM instability problem

[NinoYTB]

En français :

Bonjour,

Je rencontre actuellement un problème avec mon PC lorsque j’essaie d’overclocker et de fixer les fréquences de ma RAM.

J’ai testé tous les modes EXPO (I, II, Tweaked, On the Fly+), mais à chaque tentative, mon PC redémarre en boucle sans afficher de signal. Je ne peux pas accéder au BIOS durant ce processus. Après environ 5 minutes, le PC s’éteint, redémarre, et m’affiche finalement un message m’invitant à accéder au BIOS pour résoudre une instabilité.

J’ai également essayé de définir manuellement les fréquences, mais le problème persiste. En revanche, avec les paramètres par défaut dans le BIOS, le PC fonctionne parfaitement. C’est frustrant de ne pas pouvoir exploiter pleinement les capacités de ma RAM.

Voici ma configuration :

Carte mère : ASUS Rog Crosshair X870E Hero (AM5, AMD X870E, ATX)
Processeur : AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (AM5, 4.30 GHz, 16-Core)
RAM : G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB (2 x 32GB, 6000 MHz, DDR5, DIMM)
Alimentation : be quiet! Dark Power Pro 13 (1300 W)
Fréquence souhaitée : 6000 MHz
Fréquence actuelle : 3600 MHz
Tout est à jour, y compris le BIOS.

Le problème semble se limiter à l’overclocking de la RAM, car les autres composants fonctionnent correctement. Si quelqu’un a une idée pour résoudre ce souci, je suis preneur !

In English:

Hello,

I’m currently facing an issue with my PC when trying to overclock and set the frequencies of my RAM.

I’ve tested all EXPO modes (I, II, Tweaked, On the Fly+), but every time, my PC reboots in a loop without displaying any signal. I cannot access the BIOS during this process. After about 5 minutes, the PC shuts down, restarts, and eventually prompts me to access the BIOS to resolve instability issues.

I’ve also tried setting the frequencies manually, but the problem persists. However, with default BIOS settings, the PC runs perfectly. It’s frustrating not being able to fully utilize my RAM’s performance.

Here’s my setup:

Motherboard: ASUS Rog Crosshair X870E Hero (AM5, AMD X870E, ATX)
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (AM5, 4.30 GHz, 16-Core)
RAM: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB (2 x 32GB, 6000 MHz, DDR5, DIMM)
Power Supply: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 13 (1300 W)
Target Frequency: 6000 MHz
Current Frequency: 3600 MHz
Everything is up to date, including the BIOS.

The issue seems to be isolated to the RAM overclocking, as all other components work fine. If anyone has a suggestion to fix this, I’d greatly appreciate it!

[Silent_Scone]

Hi @NinoYTB 

Can you set the following and see if it helps

• increasing VDD and VDDQ by 20 to 40mV to see if things improve.
• Set:  Set ADDR_CMD_MODE: buff
• Set: Set FCLK VDCI Mode Pref to Predictive
• Increase tCAS by 1 to 2 clocks
• Inspect the DRAM Timing Configuration Page and inspect any A-Die memory presets (you will need to set DRAM Frequency manually).
  
  Use F9 search function if unsure of the location of any of these.

[NinoYTB]

Hi,

Thank you for your response! I’ll test it tonight and hope it works.

Should I do it in normal mode, not EXPO?

I had high hopes for EXPO since it seems to optimize performance quite well, but unfortunately, it didn’t work, which is a bit frustrating.

When I tried configuring everything manually, I adjusted the frequency, voltage (1.40V), and the timings written on the RAM’s box, but it still crashed. I also noticed there’s a “High Voltage DRAM” option that is disabled by default.

I’ll try your solution and hope it works. Unless you have another idea?

Thanks again, and talk to you soon!

[NinoYTB]

Hi, @Silent_Scone 

I read another forum post, and it seems the issue might be related to the CPU contact frame.
Since I’m using a water-cooling setup, I chose to keep the contact frame in place. However, if needed, I can remove it to test.

[Silent_Scone]

Yes, if you're using a contact frame it could well be the cause of the problem. Over torque can impede signal margin. There's really no need at all to be running a frame on AM5, the stock retention mechanism and CPU IHS don't benefit from it.

[NinoYTB]

Hi, @Silent_Scone 

Thanks for your response; I’ve removed it.

I didn’t fully understand what I need to do in the BIOS to increase my RAM.

• Should I set my RAM to 6000MHz?

• Can I test the voltage at 1.45V?

• For the timings, should I use the ones recommended on the RAM box?

• Set ADDR_CMD_MODE: Not sure what this is, but I’ll try to find it.

• Set FCLK VDCI Pref mode to Predictive: I’ll look for this in the BIOS.

• Increase the tCAS: What exactly is this? I’ll try to locate it in the BIOS.

• I didn’t quite understand what I’m supposed to do with the A-die memory.

Also, is there an option in the BIOS to display a log of the component tests (like RAM) during boot-up, showing what’s being tested and what might be crashing?

Thanks for your help!

[NinoYTB · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Unfortunately, even after following all your instructions, the issue remains. I double-checked the RAM sticks one by one, and it turns out that one of them is defective. I’ll go ahead and replace it. Thanks anyway for your help!