Asus Maximus XI Code & TridentZ DDR4-4600MHz Overclocking help

[Alcast]

Hello everyone

I have a question about overclocking my memory. I tried to boost it for about two days now and can not figure out how to get it to work. the items I am talking about:

-G.Skill TridentZ DDR4 4600MHz C18-22-22-42 1.45v https://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-4600c18d-16gtzr
-ROG Maximus XI Code (Intel Z390 ATX-Gaming-Mainboard mit M.2-Kühler, DDR4 4400MHz) https://www.asus.com/de/Motherboards/ROG-MAXIMUS-XI-COD...

I tried to use XMP profiles, but I noticed that my Motherboard only supports up to 4400MHz and my ram sticks are 4600MHz. So I guess my XMP does not work because of that (if that is correct?). I still set up the XMP profile but I lowered the MHz to 4400 and it still does not work.

Next thing I tried was set everything to auto and then I can get it to 3600 without changing anything. If I go higher then the system fails to boot.

Then I tried to manually change settings like DRAM Voltage to 1.45, CPU SA to 1.25, CPU IO to 1.2, with advertised C18-22-22-42 setup and nothing seemed to help to get over 3600 from the auto settings. Is it possible that there is some sort of lock? I also tried to set it to XMP and then turn it down to 4400MHz and that technically should work?

Any help would be appreciated

If you need more info or screenshot please let me know.

Thanks

 

[Silent_Scone]

Hi,

The Code is only validated to 4400 as you rightly state. The boards memory topology also favours 4 DIMM overclocking, so two sticks can actually be more detrimental than using four in certain configurations. Not all CPU will be able to do those speeds unconditionally, either.

Both System Agent and IO voltages are CPU specific, and too much can often be just as damning as too little.

You can try the following, but if looking for plug and play it's often wise to purchase a memory kit a couple of notches below the maximum validated frequency, and more importantly with a kit that is on the memory vendor QVL.

VCCSA: Auto
VCCIO: Auto

DRAM Voltage 1.45v
CAS 17-18-(tRAS auto) 2T
Memory Frequency 4GHz

Maximus Tweak Mode 2 (adjusts deeper memory alignment settings and sub timings)

 

[Alcast]

Hey @Silent_Scone

Thanks for the fast reply, much appreciated. Okay so I would be better off buying 4 sticks 8GB each with 4000MHz?

The thing is on my old PC I put my ram from 2133 to 3000 and I noticed like a 25 fps increase so I thought if I buy a new PC I would just get as high as possible, but I guess going too high is not good because it requires too much voltage. I will try your settings and get back to you, thanks!

 

[Silent_Scone]

Hey @Silent_Scone

Thanks for the fast reply, much appreciated. Okay so I would be better off buying 4 sticks 8GB each with 4000MHz?

The thing is on my old PC I put my ram from 2133 to 3000 and I noticed like a 25 fps increase so I thought if I buy a new PC I would just get as high as possible, but I guess going too high is not good because it requires too much voltage. I will try your settings and get back to you, thanks!

Few reasons, really.

1. Yes, some CPU will require excessive VCCSA in order to operate at those frequencies, and even then stability can be conditional.

2. The sub timings required to run at those frequencies often negate the frequency advantage. Often, the sweet spot is between 3600 and 4000.

3. Real world gains vastly depend on the platform. You're not likely to see anywhere near that advantage moving to 4K+.

Hey

Thanks for the fast reply, much appreciated. Okay so I would be better off buying 4 sticks 8GB each with 4000MHz?

Up to you, but it will offer you a better chance of finding stability, yes. The caveat is that these kits are more expensive.

On the Formula XI (which uses the same DRAM topology as the CODE), I'm running F4-3200C14Q-32GTZ @ 4GHz CAS 16-17-17 1T. (DRAM 1.42v).

 

[Alcast]

@Silent_Scone I returned my 4600MHz ram and got myself 4000MHz ram 4x 8GB sticks and it works flawlessly now. Thanks for the advice.

Cheers
Alcast

 

[Silent_Scone]

No worries, glad to help.