Very long RAM test on boot (1 min) when clocking RAM to rated speeds, not sure what is going wrong.

grandpaflump · 7 Oct 2023 at 12:34

Hello.

I have a brand new rig with the following specs:

ROG STRIX X670E-F GAMING WIFI (link)
Ryzen 9 7900X
64GB Kingston Fury Beast DDR5 @ 5600 (KF556C40BBAK2-64)
RX 6800 XT
WD_BLACK SN850X 2TB

If I leave the RAM at default settings it runs at 4800. But if I attempt to turn on XMP/DOCP and get the memory to it's proper speed (with any of the profiles), the computer takes almost a minute to test RAM before going on to boot.

The orange RAM debug LED on the mobo stays lit for about 55 seconds. Then it turns off and the other LEDs cycle and the machine boots no problem into windows. When in windows the RAM is running at its proper speed of 5600. This 55 second delay happens on every single boot.

If I turn off DOCP it boots up fine.

I'm a bit of a noob on manual clocking as I haven't done it for many years, and I haven't had an AMD CPU ever in my life. But here's some things I tried:

I've re-seated the RAM modules
Put it through memtest for a good few hours and there were no errors.
Tried to manually set timings and the speed to 5600 but same behaviour
Took out one module to see if it still happened, it did
Checked the motherboard support page for memory compatibility and the module is listed as compatible

I'm not really sure what else to do at this point so would appreciate some ideas!

Tetras · 7 Oct 2023 at 14:07

It is not unusual with ddr5 I'm afraid, see the list of boot times here (@ 18:39):

Cheapest AMD B650 Boards Tested, VRM Thermals: 100c+ Temps

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grandpaflump · 7 Oct 2023 at 17:53

Thanks for the info!

I also saw on reddit that this was a known issue with AM5 boards

I seem to have fixed it by enabling Memory context restore in the BIOS. It stops the RAM retraining each time after a cold boot. Might lead to BSODs but I'll see how it goes.

The Asgard · 8 Oct 2023 at 11:30

I would not disable retraining. I tried it and it did lead to instability. Last thing you want is a corrupt OS, been there, done that, not fun.

JollyJamma · 8 Oct 2023 at 13:58

Update BIOS and be patient. One it's done it shouldn't be too bad the next time and a more recent BIOS will train faster.

AMD takes ages to train RAM timings.

nlel1975 · 22 Feb 2024 at 20:53

I had the same problem with my new build and turning on Memory Context Restore has solved it. Only difference for me is that it did it at default memory settings too, not just when enabling EXPO.

rodders · 23 Feb 2024 at 15:55

I turned on MCR, yea it boots quicker, but I might switch it back off and just wait to boot the extra 20seconds.
Might cause less pain then if things go wrong.

Jamin280672 · 23 Feb 2024 at 16:02

rodders said:
I turned on MCR, yea it boots quicker, but I might switch it back off and just wait to boot the extra 20seconds.
Might cause less pain then if things go wrong.

You will find that if you have enabled MCR then Power down has also automatically enabled which effects ram latency in a big way, MCR doesnt work without it, you get BSOD's and crashes, power down is a power save mode for the ram when your PC is idle.

you can check this by downloading a little app called zen timings and see if power down enabled = enabled : https://zentimings.protonrom.com/

rodders · 24 Feb 2024 at 15:22

Was set to auto and checked with zentimings and is disabled

jigger · 24 Feb 2024 at 15:39

Wait one minute, I think I have a solution.