I played around with the settings a bunch more, and kept lowering the voltages - trying to find the lowest voltage which would also boot and complete a stress-test.
Weirdly enough, I was able to get everything booting again with the same XMP settings that had originally worked, and had then stopped working... So basically the results I get from the exact same settings seems EXTREMELY inconsistent, but I have heard you kind of need to "hone in" on your clock speed and voltages, so maybe that's why it works for me now? No idea.
Anyways, I booted and completed a stress test with these settings:
XMP On, DDR4-4405 profile
DRAM Frequency: DDR4-4400MHz (set by XMP)
DRAM Voltage: 1.4000 [1.392] (set by XMP)
VCCIO Voltage: Auto [1.376] (set by XMP)
System Agent Voltage: Auto [1.368] (set by XMP)
Maximus Tweak: Mode 2 (set manually)
DRAM CAS# Latency: 19 (set by XMP)
DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay: 19 (set by XMP)
DRAM RAS# ACT Time: 39 (set by XMP)
DRAM Command Rate: 1N (set by manually)
Now I'll actually try to use this for an extended period of time, put it through its paces in some games in 4k, and perhaps perform a 6-hour stress test tonight.
Weirdly enough, I was able to get everything booting again with the same XMP settings that had originally worked, and had then stopped working... So basically the results I get from the exact same settings seems EXTREMELY inconsistent, but I have heard you kind of need to "hone in" on your clock speed and voltages, so maybe that's why it works for me now? No idea.
Anyways, I booted and completed a stress test with these settings:
XMP On, DDR4-4405 profile
DRAM Frequency: DDR4-4400MHz (set by XMP)
DRAM Voltage: 1.4000 [1.392] (set by XMP)
VCCIO Voltage: Auto [1.376] (set by XMP)
System Agent Voltage: Auto [1.368] (set by XMP)
Maximus Tweak: Mode 2 (set manually)
DRAM CAS# Latency: 19 (set by XMP)
DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay: 19 (set by XMP)
DRAM RAS# ACT Time: 39 (set by XMP)
DRAM Command Rate: 1N (set by manually)
Now I'll actually try to use this for an extended period of time, put it through its paces in some games in 4k, and perhaps perform a 6-hour stress test tonight.
Softkore, welcome to the ROG forums and congratulations on purchasing the best hardware available
4400 mhz is at the very upper end of compatibility and the CPU is going to be the limiting factor more so than your Apex, can you please list all your specs and any settings in bios you have changed, also be aware that unstable memory will corrupt and OS faster than anything
Dram voltage, VCCIO, and VCCSA voltages will be need to be adjusted to achieve, at least I believe so, I don't have a 4400mhz kit to test, the fact that it booted and ran at all by only enabling XMP surprises me and tells me you may have a good CPU, VCCIO and VCCSA will probably need to be around 1.25 to 1.35 volts and 1.35 is about max for daily use, also raise dram volts a little over manufacturer specs, 0.2 to .05
I have a 4226mhz kit and around 1.25 VCCIO, 1.275 VCCSA are needed for stability
There is a memory preset in the memory timing section of the bios Raja's 4000 or 4133 at 1.4 volts that works very well for me, the timings are tighter that the factory timings, even though it may be a little lower frequency, it gives better memory bandwidth and system performance than the higher frequency
4400 mhz is at the very upper end of compatibility and the CPU is going to be the limiting factor more so than your Apex, can you please list all your specs and any settings in bios you have changed, also be aware that unstable memory will corrupt and OS faster than anything
Dram voltage, VCCIO, and VCCSA voltages will be need to be adjusted to achieve, at least I believe so, I don't have a 4400mhz kit to test, the fact that it booted and ran at all by only enabling XMP surprises me and tells me you may have a good CPU, VCCIO and VCCSA will probably need to be around 1.25 to 1.35 volts and 1.35 is about max for daily use, also raise dram volts a little over manufacturer specs, 0.2 to .05
I have a 4226mhz kit and around 1.25 VCCIO, 1.275 VCCSA are needed for stability
There is a memory preset in the memory timing section of the bios Raja's 4000 or 4133 at 1.4 volts that works very well for me, the timings are tighter that the factory timings, even though it may be a little lower frequency, it gives better memory bandwidth and system performance than the higher frequency
Hey Menthol, thanks so much for your response and for the warm welcome. I've had a few replied to my post (crossposted in other forums) but yours is the only one that seems to have taken into account all of the information that I provided.
Here is my full setup:
Intel Core i7-8700k 3.7GHz 6-Core
Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Asus ROG Maximus X Apex EATX LGA1151
G.Skill Trident Z 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-4400
Samsung 660 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 SSD
EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB FTW3 Gaming iCX
EVGA SuperNOVA P2 850W 80+ Platinum
And your advice seems to have paid off! I was able to boot and perform a benchmark and a short 5-minute memory tests at 4400 frequency using Raja's 4133 profile as you mentioned, as well as tweaking some voltage settings. After getting that to work, I loaded factory defaults, and tried to set up the RAM timings and voltages myself - as I noticed Raja's profile was set to 3700 frequency, and I still want to try to achieve 4400 (I can achieve 4300 seemingly fine).
I loaded the factory default settings, then manually tweaked the CAS timings and DRAM/CPU voltages. I was then able to boot into Windows and login fine, so I went ahead and performed a benchmark and 5-minute Memory Stress Test in Intel XTU. Then I ran a Cache and Memory Benchmark in AIDA64, and got these results:
Do these results seem reasonable for my setup? After this I tried to restart the PC to note my final BIOS settings, and was having trouble POSTing outside of BIOS safe-mode (I think that's what was happening at least, I was getting a black screen and a q code of 55 when failing to boot). I went back into the BIOS and changed these settings:
MCH Full Check: Disabled
MRC Fast Boot: Enabled
Now I'm able to boot into Windows every time without issue. My final settings are as follows:
EDIT: Read my updates below, these settings were not stable!
DRAM Frequency: DDR4-4400MHz
DRAM Voltage: 1.4500
VCCIO Voltage: 1.3000
System Agent Voltage: 1.3250
Maximus Tweak: Mode 2
DRAM CAS# Latency: 19
DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay: 19
DRAM RAS# ACT Time: 39
DRAM Command Rate: 1N
MCH Full Check: Disabled
MRC Fast Boot: Enabled
Everything is seemingly stable. I plan to run longer-term tests to make sure. Do you think these voltages are acceptable to run 24/7, and also under heavy load daily? Thanks so much for your help!
EDIT: Read my updates below, these settings were not stable!
Here is my full setup:
Intel Core i7-8700k 3.7GHz 6-Core
Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Asus ROG Maximus X Apex EATX LGA1151
G.Skill Trident Z 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-4400
Samsung 660 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 SSD
EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB FTW3 Gaming iCX
EVGA SuperNOVA P2 850W 80+ Platinum
And your advice seems to have paid off! I was able to boot and perform a benchmark and a short 5-minute memory tests at 4400 frequency using Raja's 4133 profile as you mentioned, as well as tweaking some voltage settings. After getting that to work, I loaded factory defaults, and tried to set up the RAM timings and voltages myself - as I noticed Raja's profile was set to 3700 frequency, and I still want to try to achieve 4400 (I can achieve 4300 seemingly fine).
I loaded the factory default settings, then manually tweaked the CAS timings and DRAM/CPU voltages. I was then able to boot into Windows and login fine, so I went ahead and performed a benchmark and 5-minute Memory Stress Test in Intel XTU. Then I ran a Cache and Memory Benchmark in AIDA64, and got these results:
Do these results seem reasonable for my setup? After this I tried to restart the PC to note my final BIOS settings, and was having trouble POSTing outside of BIOS safe-mode (I think that's what was happening at least, I was getting a black screen and a q code of 55 when failing to boot). I went back into the BIOS and changed these settings:
MCH Full Check: Disabled
MRC Fast Boot: Enabled
Now I'm able to boot into Windows every time without issue. My final settings are as follows:
EDIT: Read my updates below, these settings were not stable!
DRAM Frequency: DDR4-4400MHz
DRAM Voltage: 1.4500
VCCIO Voltage: 1.3000
System Agent Voltage: 1.3250
Maximus Tweak: Mode 2
DRAM CAS# Latency: 19
DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay: 19
DRAM RAS# ACT Time: 39
DRAM Command Rate: 1N
MCH Full Check: Disabled
MRC Fast Boot: Enabled
Everything is seemingly stable. I plan to run longer-term tests to make sure. Do you think these voltages are acceptable to run 24/7, and also under heavy load daily? Thanks so much for your help!
EDIT: Read my updates below, these settings were not stable!
I played around with the settings a bunch more, and kept lowering the voltages - trying to find the lowest voltage which would also boot and complete a stress-test.
Weirdly enough, I was able to get everything booting again with the same XMP settings that had originally worked, and had then stopped working... So basically the results I get from the exact same settings seems EXTREMELY inconsistent, but I have heard you kind of need to "hone in" on your clock speed and voltages, so maybe that's why it works for me now? No idea.
Anyways, I booted and completed a stress test with these settings:
XMP On, DDR4-4405 profile
DRAM Frequency: DDR4-4400MHz (set by XMP)
DRAM Voltage: 1.4000 [1.392] (set by XMP)
VCCIO Voltage: Auto [1.376] (set by XMP)
System Agent Voltage: Auto [1.368] (set by XMP)
Maximus Tweak: Mode 2 (set manually)
DRAM CAS# Latency: 19 (set by XMP)
DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay: 19 (set by XMP)
DRAM RAS# ACT Time: 39 (set by XMP)
DRAM Command Rate: 1N (set by manually)
Now I'll actually try to use this for an extended period of time, put it through its paces in some games in 4k, and perhaps perform a 6-hour stress test tonight.
Weirdly enough, I was able to get everything booting again with the same XMP settings that had originally worked, and had then stopped working... So basically the results I get from the exact same settings seems EXTREMELY inconsistent, but I have heard you kind of need to "hone in" on your clock speed and voltages, so maybe that's why it works for me now? No idea.
Anyways, I booted and completed a stress test with these settings:
XMP On, DDR4-4405 profile
DRAM Frequency: DDR4-4400MHz (set by XMP)
DRAM Voltage: 1.4000 [1.392] (set by XMP)
VCCIO Voltage: Auto [1.376] (set by XMP)
System Agent Voltage: Auto [1.368] (set by XMP)
Maximus Tweak: Mode 2 (set manually)
DRAM CAS# Latency: 19 (set by XMP)
DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay: 19 (set by XMP)
DRAM RAS# ACT Time: 39 (set by XMP)
DRAM Command Rate: 1N (set by manually)
Now I'll actually try to use this for an extended period of time, put it through its paces in some games in 4k, and perhaps perform a 6-hour stress test tonight.
