ROG STRIX Z690-E with 2 dual channel RAM kit problem

[W0lfecs]

Hello, Just want to see if other people are having the same or similar problems. I'm convinced the ROG STRIX Z690-E just cannot handle 2 dual channel kits. Hopefully this will change with a bios update soon.

Currently I have one set of G.Skill DDR5 6000 CL36-36-36-76 F5-6000U3636E16GA2-TZ5RK 32 gig running perfectly fine on XMP. This in one of the original sets I bought in Jan when I started this build and I've never had an issue with it.

I originally purchased 2 sets of this RAM , so 64 gig total. With 2 sets of RAM installed I would occasionally get system crashes and finally after about 2 weeks one of the sticks of RAM failed and the PC would not post. I was able to return the set of RAM thinking they were just defective.

I than installed another set and the same thing happened over again, same 2 week time frame. So I now have gone through 2 sets of F5-6000U3636E16GA2-TZ5RK that were either defective or ROG STRIX Z690-E just isn't ready for 2 sets of dual channel RAM or is defective its self.

I've returned the defective set and ordered a third set since it was still in the 30 day return window.

This RAM is getting hard to find and I don't want to get stuck not being able to find a 2nd set to run 64 gigs of it down the road. Currently I'm afraid to try and use it considering its very unlikely I happened to get 2 bad sets of RAM in a row. Its more likely the motherboard is burning them up.

Any thoughts?

System specs:

ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi
i9-12900K
G.Skill DDR5 6000 (PC5-48000) CL36-36-36-76 Dual Channel F5-6000U3636E16GA2-TZ5RK
WD_BLACK 1TB SN850 NVMe Internal Gaming SSD Solid State Drive
WD_BLACK 2TB SN850 NVMe Internal Gaming SSD Solid State Drive
EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 FTW3
Corsair HX Series, HX1000, 1000 Watt
Windows 11 pro
BIOS 1003

I

[hoodiemike]

i just saw this after reading this thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu9U7TVNImI

[W0lfecs]

Thanks for sharing that!

[RavenMaster]

Our specs are very similar OP, I'm using:-

Intel Core i9 12900K
ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi
G.Skill DDR5 6000 (PC5-48000) CL36-36-36-76 Dual Channel F5-6000U3636E16GA2-TZ5RK (2 kits to make 64GB)
ASUS TUF RTX 3080 Ti
Seagate FireCuda 530 (4 TB)
BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 12 PSU (1200w)
Windows 11 pro
BIOS 1003

With 2 RAM sticks in the machine in sockets A2 and B2, I was able to boot with XMP @ 6000mhz no problems, fully stable.

With 4 RAM sticks in the machine, XMP would just get stuck in a boot loop and would not post at all. The motherboard would just default the RAM speed back to 4000mhz after 3 failed boots. At 4000mhz and everything set to auto in the BIOS, the PC booted perfectly without any issues, no BSODs etc. But of course, we've paid for 6000mhz RAM so we want to get it nearer to that score. Unfortunately that is not possible with 4 RAM sticks in the machine. The memory controllers just can't handle it.

Best i've been able to do with 4 RAM sticks in the machine is 4800mhz, fully stable. To get, that I had to turn off AI Optimisation in the BIOS, turn off XMP and manually set the RAM frequency to 4800mhz, set the VDD and VDDQ voltages to 1.3v, set the RAM timings to 40-40-40-77.

[W0lfecs]

RavenMaster wrote:
Our specs are very similar OP, I'm using:-

Intel Core i9 12900K
ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi
G.Skill DDR5 6000 (PC5-48000) CL36-36-36-76 Dual Channel F5-6000U3636E16GA2-TZ5RK (2 kits to make 64GB)
ASUS TUF RTX 3080 Ti
Seagate FireCuda 530 (4 TB)
BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 12 PSU (1200w)
Windows 11 pro
BIOS 1003

With 2 RAM sticks in the machine in sockets A2 and B2, I was able to boot with XMP @ 6000mhz no problems, fully stable.

With 4 RAM sticks in the machine, XMP would just get stuck in a boot loop and would not post at all. The motherboard would just default the RAM speed back to 4000mhz after 3 failed boots. At 4000mhz and everything set to auto in the BIOS, the PC booted perfectly without any issues, no BSODs etc. But of course, we've paid for 6000mhz RAM so we want to get it nearer to that score. Unfortunately that is not possible with 4 RAM sticks in the machine. The memory controllers just can't handle it.

Best i've been able to do with 4 RAM sticks in the machine is 4800mhz, fully stable. To get, that I had to turn off AI Optimisation in the BIOS, turn off XMP and manually set the RAM frequency to 4800mhz, set the VDD and VDDQ voltages to 1.3v, set the RAM timings to 40-40-40-77.

Same experience here. I left XMP off and AI optimisation off with 4 sticks installed. The only difference is I had 2 sticks from 2 different sets die on me. Have you been running with 4 sticks and if so for how long?

[RavenMaster]

W0lfecs wrote:
Same experience here. I left XMP off and AI optimisation off with 4 sticks installed. The only difference is I had 2 sticks from 2 different sets die on me. Have you been running with 4 sticks and if so for how long?

I've been running 4 identical sticks since December now. Used to be I could only get all 4 running at 4000mhz but BIOS update 1003 allowed me to raise that speed to 4800mhz. I haven't had any sticks fail on me.

[Silent_Scone]

Please see this sticky.

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?57038-Don%92t-combine-memory-kits!-The-meat-and-potatoes-o...

RavenMaster wrote:
Our specs are very similar OP, I'm using:-

Intel Core i9 12900K
ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi
G.Skill DDR5 6000 (PC5-48000) CL36-36-36-76 Dual Channel F5-6000U3636E16GA2-TZ5RK (2 kits to make 64GB)
ASUS TUF RTX 3080 Ti
Seagate FireCuda 530 (4 TB)
BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 12 PSU (1200w)
Windows 11 pro
BIOS 1003

With 2 RAM sticks in the machine in sockets A2 and B2, I was able to boot with XMP @ 6000mhz no problems, fully stable.

With 4 RAM sticks in the machine, XMP would just get stuck in a boot loop and would not post at all.

That's because 4x16 6GHz isn't possible. That's also why there aren't any memory kits available in that configuration. The answer? Don't combine kits.

hoodiemike wrote:
i just saw this after reading this thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu9U7TVNImI

There are fundamental reasons why this video is rife with misinformation. Anyone with social standing and outreach to that degree should really, at the very least, understand that memory is binned in the density it is sold in.

[RavenMaster]

Silent Scone@ROG wrote:





That's because 4x16 6GHz isn't possible. That's also why there aren't any memory kits available in that configuration. The answer? Don't combine kits.

Combining these 2 kits may not allow me to run them at 6000mhz (XMP) but I can run all 4 sticks at 4800mhz without any issues thanks to BIOS 1003. I'm happy enough with that result.

[Silent_Scone]

RavenMaster wrote:
Combining these 2 kits may not allow me to run them at 6000mhz (XMP) but I can run all 4 sticks at 4800mhz without any issues thanks to BIOS 1003. I'm happy enough with that result.

No worries. We all have to learn this lesson in some way or another. If we're combining high-speed kits, very often concessions need to be made.

[Elmegaard]

I have similar issues. My first new build in many years. Intel 12900K, Asus Maximus Z690 Extreme, 2 kits ofÂ*Model F5-6000U4040E16GX2-TZ5RK for 64Gb.

At 4000mhz it’s stable. When I first activated XMP at 6000mhz, I had BSOD and boot loop.

After reset cmos and updating to bios Â*to 1101 it runs fine at 4000.

I should probably update the bios to 1304. I’m wandering if I should attempt to raise memory speed to 4800. Does anyone had any advice?Â*