XMP, RMA or something else?

[SirConfused]

Hi Folks,

So having never had any issues with XMP or memory controllers in general before, I rather naively went out and just bought a new cpu/mobo/memory and assumed that if the mobo manufacturer said they were compatible, that they would be.

I can get into the OS (didn't to a fresh install, that's what I'm trying next) and do quite a bit without issue, but in games (tried a few so far) at some point I'll get a hard lock requiring a reboot to get back. Having done some searching around I've seen that people had IMC issues with 12th gen and my specific board which lead me to try a few voltage tweaks to no avail, some only increased the speed at which the crash seems to be triggered.

The hardware is a 13600k, Asus strix z690-f wifi and 2x 16 Kingston fury beast 6000MT/s 36-38-40

Things I've tried:
'auto' memory control - letting the mobo handle default settings
XMP1
XMP2 -6000 and 5600 profiles
'tweaked XMP' - seems to be a mobo manufacturer enhancement to XMP settings

Things that work without issue:
memtest
prime blend test
general use (internet browser, video playback etc)

And the million dollar question is... is it a memory/compatibility issue, defective hardware or something I haven't thought of?

 

[Wing-Man]

is BIOS up to date?

 

[SirConfused]

is BIOS up to date?

Yep, latest from Nov last year. It even has memory stability listed as one of the improvements for the update...

I've also now tried a fresh windows install and now it's locking up just browsing the web.

 

[Wing-Man]

locking up just browsing the web

thats a common memory problem...
i would reset bios, and manually set the speed not adjusting timings to see if you can get the rated speeds with lose timing


EDIT: are you running an CPU overclock??
its very rear you get away without changing OC setting when swapping memory

 

[SirConfused]

Didn't get anywhere near OC'ing as it hasn't been stable since first boot.
Tried clearing the CMOS multiple times at this point too, it should be running everything stock.

I've downclocked the memory to 5000MT/s but not as far as JEDEC so I guess I'll keep going to see if I can get it stable at all. Can't say I'm impressed with a kit that has compatibility claimed by the mobo manufacturer though.

 

[Wing-Man]

your ram is on a support litle @ the rated speeds so there is no reason for it to now work.

personlly i would RMA and just grab a different kit, if the problem continues to know to look as CPU or Mobo

 

[JollyJamma]

I had a look at the QVl list and it should support your RAM at 6000 MT/s.

ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI | Gaming motherboards｜ROG - Republic of Gamers｜ROG Global

ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI Intel LGA 1700 ATX motherboard, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, 16+1 power stages, WiFi 6E, Intel® 2.5 Gb Ethernet, four M.2 slots, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 USB Type-C®, SATA and Aura Sync

rog.asus.com

 

[SirConfused]

I had a look at the QVl list and it should support your RAM at 6000 MT/s.

ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI | Gaming motherboards｜ROG - Republic of Gamers｜ROG Global

ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI Intel LGA 1700 ATX motherboard, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, 16+1 power stages, WiFi 6E, Intel® 2.5 Gb Ethernet, four M.2 slots, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 USB Type-C®, SATA and Aura Sync

rog.asus.com

That was kind of my point .

Thanks for the advice both, I guess I'll be sending the memory back then.

 

[JollyJamma]

That was kind of my point .

Thanks for the advice both, I guess I'll be sending the memory back then.

Yeah, just send it back.

The second generation of memory controller on the 13th gen Intel CPUs is reported as very good.

Could be a CPU pin not quite seated properly but hard to tell.

 

[SirConfused]

The thing that I don't get is why memtest and prime95 ran without issue (prime ran a blend for 20 mins which is longer than any game I've tried lasts).

I haven't tried memory overclocking in a long time, is there something else I should be using to test stability?

 

[JollyJamma]

The thing that I don't get is why memtest and prime95 ran without issue (prime ran a blend for 20 mins which is longer than any game I've tried lasts).

I haven't tried memory overclocking in a long time, is there something else I should be using to test stability?

Try testmem5 with the anta777 extreme config.

It's on GitHub as far as i can see

 

[Wing-Man]

The thing that I don't get is why memtest and prime95 ran without issue (prime ran a blend for 20 mins which is longer than any game I've tried lasts).

I haven't tried memory overclocking in a long time, is there something else I should be using to test stability?

You could try capping the cpu boost. Some people have reported unstable CPU’s

Your problem could be ram, cpu, mobo, bios, drivers, chrome install… and the list go’s on.

My system will randomly black screen and full lock up with chrome. And only in chrome

 

[SirConfused]

To close the loop:

I spent another day or so trying various things including all manual timings, voltages etc and while I got a good few hours out of it without a crash at one point with the memory at 5600, eventually it gave up.
I did find that there were some 'asus ai OC' settings that were still on auto and seemed to make a difference to how quickly/frequently it would crash when I turned them off/to manual but ultimately nothing I could do would get it stable.

So the memory is on its way back and I'm ordering a different kit with some chips that aren't SK Hynix to see if that helps. I really hope it does as I don't want to have to send the CPU/mobo back too!

 

[ltron]

Hi Folks,

So having never had any issues with XMP or memory controllers in general before, I rather naively went out and just bought a new cpu/mobo/memory and assumed that if the mobo manufacturer said they were compatible, that they would be.

I can get into the OS (didn't to a fresh install, that's what I'm trying next) and do quite a bit without issue, but in games (tried a few so far) at some point I'll get a hard lock requiring a reboot to get back. Having done some searching around I've seen that people had IMC issues with 12th gen and my specific board which lead me to try a few voltage tweaks to no avail, some only increased the speed at which the crash seems to be triggered.

The hardware is a 13600k, Asus strix z690-f wifi and 2x 16 Kingston fury beast 6000MT/s 36-38-40

Things I've tried:
'auto' memory control - letting the mobo handle default settings
XMP1
XMP2 -6000 and 5600 profiles
'tweaked XMP' - seems to be a mobo manufacturer enhancement to XMP settings

Things that work without issue:
memtest
prime blend test
general use (internet browser, video playback etc)

And the million dollar question is... is it a memory/compatibility issue, defective hardware or something I haven't thought of?

I had a similar problem with an Asus X99 system and it turned out to be the motherboard. Have you been monitoring temperatures, what GPU and PSU are you using? Did you try the RAM at 4800MHz JEDEC (SPD) settings?

 

[ltron]

Didn't get anywhere near OC'ing as it hasn't been stable since first boot.
Tried clearing the CMOS multiple times at this point too, it should be running everything stock.

I've downclocked the memory to 5000MT/s but not as far as JEDEC so I guess I'll keep going to see if I can get it stable at all. Can't say I'm impressed with a kit that has compatibility claimed by the mobo manufacturer though.

I don't know whether this really is widespread or just affects a small minority, but some are claiming Asus has widespread memory issues with Zen 4:

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

 

[ltron]

The thing that I don't get is why memtest and prime95 ran without issue (prime ran a blend for 20 mins which is longer than any game I've tried lasts).

I haven't tried memory overclocking in a long time, is there something else I should be using to test stability?

I've found Aida64 to be good (make sure the stress test includes cache and memory). Otherwise OCCT can sometimes find errors that other programs can't (supposedly).

 

[SirConfused]

I had a similar problem with an Asus X99 system and it turned out to be the motherboard. Have you been monitoring temperatures, what GPU and PSU are you using? Did you try the RAM at 4800MHz JEDEC (SPD) settings?

The system is wc'd and CPU/chipset temps didn't get anywhere near concerning when I was running prime for 20+ mins. Maybe 80 odd on the CPU when it was boosting to 5.1ghz and no more than 40's on all the chipset reads.

I did try jedec, even at 1.35 volts with super loose timings but got the same results.

GPU is a 3080ti and psi is a kolink continuum 1200W.

 

[SirConfused]

I don't know whether this really is widespread or just affects a small minority, but some are claiming Asus has widespread memory issues with Zen 4:

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

Thanks, but I'm on Intel and also memtest was reporting no issues, hence why I was asking for something else to test with. I've seen plenty of reports of zen5 having issues with ddr5 but as far as I've found, Intel 13 seems to have a much better/more stable IMC for d5.

 

[ltron]

Thanks, but I'm on Intel and also memtest was reporting no issues, hence why I was asking for something else to test with. I've seen plenty of reports of zen5 having issues with ddr5 but as far as I've found, Intel 13 seems to have a much better/more stable IMC for d5.

Sorry, force of habit to assume people have AMD CPUs. Could you try disabling C-States in the BIOS and see whether that makes the issue go away?

 

[SirConfused]

Sorry, force of habit to assume people have AMD CPUs. Could you try disabling C-States in the BIOS and see whether that makes the issue go away?

No worries, it's a fair assumption to make these days but Intel made more sense on price/performance for me right now.

I haven't tried messing with c states but I'm afraid it's not an option any more as the memory is with DPD on it's way back to ocuk .

I've got a Corsair kit arriving tomorrow that's based on Samsung chips so I'm hoping that will just plug and play with no issues.