Overclock AMD Ryzen 5 2600 + Asus ROG Strix B450-F Gaming + Corsair Vengeance LPX

[fjsarmiento]

AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (Base 3.4GHz, Boost 3.9GHz)
Asus ROG Strix B450-F Gaming
Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x16GB 3200MHz CMK32GX4M2L3200C16
EVGA GTX 1070 Ti FTW2
EVGA CLC 240 AIO
EVGA DG-76 Case
EVGA SuperNOVA 1000W G2 80+ GOLD PSU
SanDisk Extreme Pro 240GB SSD Boot OS Drive
Crucial MX500 1TB SSD Game Install & Storage Drive
WD Black NVMe 500GB SSD Scratch Drive (x2 in Raid 0 with RAIDXpert2)
(you can find more in my profile)

Hi All & Happy New Year!

I took advantage of Black Friday and Boxing Day sales and built a new work/gaming rig and have since been obsessed with overclocking. I made sure to download the latest bios and used the Flash utility to update. After that, I enabled XMP for my memory (D.O.C.P.) and the mobo matched the 3200MHz profile.

I've read that the 2600 can easily hit 4.1-4.2 GHz with enough voltage (differing opinions about the safety and longevity of 24/7 OC at 1.4-1.425v) but I don't think I won the silicone lottery. I've tried a number of recommended settings I've found online (ex. 4.1 Ghz, 41 multiplier, 1.375v vcore, 1.1-1.15 soc, LLC medium) but nothing I found online worked for me. Even though Cinebench and 3DMark would pass with validated results, Prime95 would either freeze, crash, reboot, or best case scenario, run for several hours but half the threads produced errors. I then saw videos and posts regarding the B450-F Gaming mobo with not-so-great reviews (particularly re: lackluster vrm).

My temps were max 62degC during Prime95 Blend (idle around 32-37degC) with my EVGA 240 AIO.

I was prepared to give up and revert to factory default settings out of the box but I noticed only 3 cores would boost to 3.9GHz at a time and Prime95 only pushed all the cores to 3.7GHz at full load. Then I read about XMP not always working well so I decided to try something different. After numerous stress tests with various settings, I've finally achieved *stability* (~20hrs Prime95 Blend with no errors).

Here are my BIOS settings with AI Tweaker:

Ai Overclock Tuner = D.O.C.P. Standard
D.O.C.P. = D.O.C.P DDR4-3200 16-16-18-36 1.35V (exact specifications of my RAM)
BCLK Frequency = 100
Performance Enhancer = Auto
CPU Core Ratio = 40.00
Performance Bias = Auto
Memory Frequency = DDR4-2800MHz
Core Performance Boost = Auto
SMT Mode = Auto
TPU = Keep Current Settings

DRAM Timing Control = Left it untouched
DIGI+ VRM: Left it untouched
VDDCR CPU LLC = Auto
VDDCR SOC LLC = Auto
VDDCR CPU Power Phase Control = Optimized
VDDCR CPU Switching Frequency = 300
Tweaker's Paradise = Left it untouched

CPU Core Voltage = Auto
CPU SOC Voltage = Auto
DRAM Voltage = 1.350V (set by D.O.C.P.)

Any higher than 2800MHz on my memory resulted in a crash or unintended reboot (I tried 2866, 2933, 3000, 3200). 2800 looks to be the sweet spot. HWMonitor showed all cores hovering around 4GHz during full load from Prime95, temps 59-62degC, vcore hovering between 1.36-1.38v, vid 1.33-1.35v. Having said that, the max vcore showed 1.428v and max core clock showed 5.6GHz. I have a feeling this is Performance Enhancer (Precision Boost / XFR2) at play?

I know I wanted to keep temps on the cooler side and I wanted to keep my voltage sub 1.4 for safety and longevity and whenever I tried manual settings for 3.9-4.1 GHz at 1.35v or 1.375v vcore, I would still see vcore spikes as high as 1.45v and max core clock spikes up to 6GHz, even with Performance Enhancer set to Default, Performance Bias set to None, and Core Performance Boost Disabled.

Am I missing something here? I am no expert by any means. I only started OC'ing a few months ago with my old 2010 build (Intel i7 970 on Intel DX58SO) knowing I was going to build a new computer in the near future.

Like I said, ~20hrs Prime95 stable. Am I "safe" with those vcore spikes hitting 1.428 and clock spikes 5.5+GHz? When I tried the same stable settings but with a 41 multiplier, computer froze after 10mins of Prime95 Blend. Would my memory be able to fully utilize its 3200MHz spec with a future bios update?

Thanks so much for any info!

Sincerely,
FJ

[Arne_Saknussemm]

HWMonitor is unreliable on the new AMD platforms. Use HWiNFO64 for proper readings and go from there. Only use a single monitoring program or you can get bad readings...

Max boost, assuming adequate cooling, is 4.2GHz on some cores using XFR.

[fjsarmiento]

Arne Saknussemm wrote:
HWMonitor is unreliable on the new AMD platforms. Use HWiNFO64 for proper readings and go from there. Only use a single monitoring program or you can get bad readings...

Max boost, assuming adequate cooling, is 4.2GHz on some cores using XFR.

Oh wow, thanks for that! I'm really liking this HWiNFO64 and I am no longer seeing those crazy spikes in clocks and voltages.

What about my ram? I can only run it stable at 2800MHz but it as well as the mobo is rated up to 3200MHz. Am I to believe the ram is defective or is it simply because the model isn't part of the mobo's QVL? Should I exchange to another model or should I just wait until Asus updates the bios and QVL to utilize 3200MHz?

I know 2800 doesn't make a huge difference with 3200 in gaming, but I do a lot of photo and video editing as well. Is there much difference there?

[Arne_Saknussemm]

There won't be a huge difference, no...but it is of course nice to run at rated speeds. Maybe try setting up the RAM manually, not using DOCP.

and try playing with DRAM voltage and SOC voltage. Try SOC up to 1.2v (if auto isn't setting enough already) and maybe a bit over 1.35 for DRAM voltage...1.36..1.375

Just set RAM speed in BIOS and primary timings...

The memory controllers on these CPUs are a bit picky....best to stick with QVL if possible and best to go with Samsung B Die kits if you can get them. Like G.Skill kits with flat 14 timings (14-14-14-34)

[fjsarmiento]

Arne Saknussemm wrote:
There won't be a huge difference, no...but it is of course nice to run at rated speeds. Maybe try setting up the RAM manually, not using DOCP.

and try playing with DRAM voltage and SOC voltage. Try SOC up to 1.2v (if auto isn't setting enough already) and maybe a bit over 1.35 for DRAM voltage...1.36..1.375

Just set RAM speed in BIOS and primary timings...

The memory controllers on these CPUs are a bit picky....best to stick with QVL if possible and best to go with Samsung B Die kits if you can get them. Like G.Skill kits with flat 14 timings (14-14-14-34)

Thanks again for your reply, Arne! I changed to manual 3200MHz and set my timings to the rated 16-18-18-36 at 1.36v. I have also increased my SOC to 1.1925v and started Prime95. I won't get to see the results until I get home later.

I've read that perhaps loosening the timings can also help with stability without having to increase the voltage. Any input on this? If so, how does one loosen timings? haha I have no idea. I know those numbers go up. When I was running 2800MHz, I used 14-16-16-32 (actually found this info via HWiNFO64 when I clicked ram and saw the supported module timings under the certified profile).

The reason why I bought this memory kit is simply because it was the lowest price available. This was my Boxing Day Best Bang for Buck Build! haha The Ryzen 5 2600 was $209, B450-F mobo was $125, and ram was $300 (CAD plus tax). When I checked the QVL for this board, there were hardly any 32GB 3200MHz kits on there. Basically all the parts in this build had significantly reduced prices. I couldn't resist vs waiting for Ryzen 3000.

[Arne_Saknussemm]

fjsarmiento wrote:
The reason why I bought this memory kit is simply because it was the lowest price available.

Yeah, I can understand that! DDR4 prices have fallen but it's still definitely not cheap!...but you found some good prices for a build!

I don't know if you have AIDA64 Extreme...it has a cache and memory benchmark. Or use Maxxmem benchmark...do some testing. Find what gives you better performance. Looser timings or keeping timings and lowering frequency...if your 3200 testing doesn't hold up that is.

Basically if you loosen timings or lower frequency..it's easier for the memory controller to cope at any given voltage...

You can also look in the BIOS and see if any of the RAM profiles work for you...though they might be mainly targeted at Samsung B die kits...

Maybe have a look at Mr Rocford's thread...he set up a similar system and played about with RAM...(of course similar is not same and results vary)
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?104456-Oj-i-bought-ASUS

[Varmintbaby]

fjsarmiento wrote:
Thanks again for your reply, Arne! I changed to manual 3200MHz and set my timings to the rated 16-18-18-36 at 1.36v. I have also increased my SOC to 1.1925v and started Prime95. I won't get to see the results until I get home later.

I've read that perhaps loosening the timings can also help with stability without having to increase the voltage. Any input on this? If so, how does one loosen timings? haha I have no idea. I know those numbers go up. When I was running 2800MHz, I used 14-16-16-32 (actually found this info via HWiNFO64 when I clicked ram and saw the supported module timings under the certified profile).

The reason why I bought this memory kit is simply because it was the lowest price available. This was my Boxing Day Best Bang for Buck Build! haha The Ryzen 5 2600 was $209, B450-F mobo was $125, and ram was $300 (CAD plus tax). When I checked the QVL for this board, there were hardly any 32GB 3200MHz kits on there. Basically all the parts in this build had significantly reduced prices. I couldn't resist vs waiting for Ryzen 3000.

So what happened with this? I'm having a similar problem. I have G Skill Aegis 3000mhz ram and I can't run past 2800mhz either. What is the issue? I'm not familiar with how to set RAM timings manually. Did this work for you?

[fjsarmiento]

Varmintbaby wrote:
So what happened with this? I'm having a similar problem. I have G Skill Aegis 3000mhz ram and I can't run past 2800mhz either. What is the issue? I'm not familiar with how to set RAM timings manually. Did this work for you?

I won't get home till later tonight but I'll reply back with my results. I'm hoping manually setting my values will be better than using DOCP. I'm also hoping that my increased SOC voltage will solve the problem without having to exceed the 1.35v rating for the ram.

40.5 multiplier also looks stable with AUTO settings.

[Varmintbaby]

fjsarmiento wrote:
I won't get home till later tonight but I'll reply back with my results. I'm hoping manually setting my values will be better than using DOCP. I'm also hoping that my increased SOC voltage will solve the problem without having to exceed the 1.35v rating for the ram.

40.5 multiplier also looks stable with AUTO settings.

I'm able to get 41.0 with my Coolermaster 120mm AIO water cooler. I have the same processor and motherboard as you which is why i came in here.

[fjsarmiento]

Varmintbaby wrote:
I'm able to get 41.0 with my Coolermaster 120mm AIO water cooler. I have the same processor and motherboard as you which is why i came in here.

I came home and Prime95 was still running with no errors. I'm going to try to bring my ram voltage back down to 1.35v (set manually) and bring my SOC down to 1.15v. Keeping my multiplier to 40.5 for now, I'm going to keep my ram manually set at 3200MHz and timings set manually as well according to profile. Everything else I've kept to auto/default.

I'll report back with my progress.

What are your bios settings for your oc? (Also, can you fill out your PC Specs in your profile so I can see your full build?)