Aorus Elite x570 memory issues

[cloudy9]

Hi , I have been having issues with a new build which I posted on the memory section of the forums under the heading " is this a memory issue ?" .
The components are as follows

GIGABYTE AORUS ELITE X570 with bios q flashed to f11
CPU AMD RYZEN 5 3600X
POWER COLOR RADEON RX 590 RED DRAGON
PATRIOT VIPER STEEL 16gb ( 2x8gb) dual channel ddr4 3600mhz
M2 SAMSUNG 500GB 970 EVO PLUS
650W SEASONIC PLATINUM POWER SUPPLY
NXT H510i MIDI TOWER CASE
Mostly purchased from OCUK

A quick run down of the problem is that I had great difficulty in installing windows 10 on a new build as it kept on crashing during installation with various blue screen stop codes . I thought that it was perhaps a memory issue and after posting on the forum it was suggested I swap sticks around and try different slots to see if I had bad memory sticks etc .
I did this and when I moved the memory to slots A1 B1 the installation went through without issue . I concluded then I had a bad motherboard slot . The motherboard was returned and replaced by the same model .
Having now installed the new motherboard it seems I am having the same problem with the new board using slots A2 B2 as per manual . I haven't done a new installation of windows ( maybe I should ?) but whenever I try to install something I get the blue screen stop codes again. I carried out a windows memory test which immediately indicated a hardware error and although it completed the test there were no results and it went into recovery but could not fix .
XMP is enabled and memory is showing as 3600 MHz but I did notice when I swapped it to the A1 B1 slots it shows as 2137MHz even with xmp enabled . Could it be that the motherboard/memory isn't stable at 3600MHz ?
I did another memory test with sticks in A1 A2 and it never came back with a hardware error .
I then did another memory test with xmp disabled and memory showing 2137 MHz in slots A2 B2 and again no hardware issues were found?
My question is then do I have memory that isn't capable of running at 3600MHz or a board / bios that isn't configured correctly ?
Any help greatly appreciated .

 

[orbitalwalsh]

@cloudy

which build of windows do you have ? installing with older versions can be a right nightmare !

boards are dual channel, so if you have memory in A1 & B1 or A2 & B2 its just in single channel mode .

weakest link for memory is always the CPU memory controller. But, worth upping Voltage to 1.4v/1.45 - they are safe, might be a case of ram/system needs a little more power

 

[cloudy9]

The windows installation was a clean windows 10 oem from ocuk.
I have a stick installed into A2 and B2 2x8gb as per gigabyte manual isn't that dual channel mode ?
if XMP is enabled should that not automatically set the voltages?
I will try upping the voltages and see if that improves things .
Thanks

 

[orbitalwalsh]

The windows installation was a clean windows 10 oem from ocuk.
I have a stick installed into A2 and B2 2x8gb as per gigabyte manual isn't that dual channel mode ?
if XMP is enabled should that not automatically set the voltages?
I will try upping the voltages and see if that improves things .
Thanks

a2 and b2 is dual mode, sorry my mistake as a typo. A1 and A2 or B1 and B2 populated is Single channel (long day in work).

XMP does, but it's still an Intel thing- why you see memory vendors with 'Ryzen tuned' like corsair- still has XMP but sub timings and voltages may differ slightly

 

[Danny75]

@cloudy9

An alternative cause of motherboard memory slot issues can sometimes be cooler mounting pressure. You could test this thoroughly by bread-boarding outside of the case and merely resting the cooler on top of the CPU without mounting it. Or less thoroughly - loosening the mounting screws while still inside the case. I don't know which cooler you are using so maybe the latter option won't be possible (if it's a push-pin type).

 

[cloudy9]

Thanks for the replies .
@Danny75
Its the standard AMD cpu cooler that was supplied with the cpu . Im not planning on over clocking so assumed this would be sufficient . The mounting screws are of a design which wont allow over tightening ( I think ) and this is the second motherboard with the same issue but will try loosening off a little . Not sure what bread-boarding is but do you mean removing the motherboard from the case ?
@orbitalwalsh
I upped the voltage in stages from 1.35v to 1.45v in increments of 0.05v trying a memory test each time . The memory test failed immediately @1.35 v and @1.4v but got to 30% before failing @1.45v with the same hardware error . So it seems it may well be a voltage issue ?

 

[Danny75]

The mounting screws are of a design which wont allow over tightening ( I think ) and this is the second motherboard with the same issue but will try loosening off a little . Not sure what bread-boarding is but do you mean removing the motherboard from the case ?

Yes. Term's derived from how an actual breadboard lets you easily test a prototype for an actual PCB/motherboard etc.

 

[orbitalwalsh]

Enable XMP and run memory at 3200hz and 3400hz at 1.45v , see how it goes ...

Could be luck of the draw of poor IMC .

Could try 1.5v - what I run my 4000hz kit at with 3733hx on x470 Aorus 7

 

[hominid]

1.5V is high, if it's not working @1.45V then it's safe to say it's not going to long term.

You could try another kit of RAM, or lower the RAM timings to 3200MHz and see if that helps. I would go the route of lowering RAM speeds as it looks like your CPU has a weak memory controller unfortunately.

 

[cloudy9]

@orbitalwalsh
I have set the memory to run at 3400 mhz @ 1.4v and system seems stable and Memory test completed without failure .
So it does indeed look as if I have a poor Imc on the cpu something I assume I will have to live with ?
I might have a further play around and see if I can get to the 3600 MHz but in the meantime thanks for your help the overclockers forum as usual is a great source of knowledge .

@Danny75
Thanks for your help also but I am relieved I haven't had to strip the system apart again …. yet

 

[cloudy9]

@hominid
Thanks . Yes that is the route I have taken .
This being a new build and all new kit do you think it would be worth returning the CPU or just live with the limitation . As you say it could be the ram kit that's at fault ?

 

[hominid]

@hominid
Thanks . Yes that is the route I have taken .
This being a new build and all new kit do you think it would be worth returning the CPU or just live with the limitation . As you say it could be the ram kit that's at fault ?

I would say it's more likely to be the memory at fault, but it could be the IMC on the CPU too - unless you had a known good kit to test with you wont know..

AMD only spec 3200MHz for the CPU's IMC, anything above that is overclocking and therefor not guaranteed. If the memory works ok @ 3200MHz keep bumping it up one notch at a time, you could get to 3533MHz(one below 3600MHz). One other thing you could try is upping the SoC voltage, it should be somewhere around 1V, up it by 0.05V at a time but don't go over 1.1V if you are desperate to get 3600MHz.

 

[Doogles]

I've got this exact same kit and have not been able to get it running XMP, for me the best I've got it so far is to slam 1.45v into the RAM run the IF @1800mhz disabling gear down mode and running command rate 1t, it was still massively unstable but would boot into windows at least and I'll continue working on it another day but hate not having my PC while having to stress test it.

I'm pretty sure I can get the XMP to work it's just the matter of fine tuning some settings and voltages, like you 3400mhz looks pretty attainable though so might end up settling for that.

 

[cloudy9]

I am afraid I don't have known good ram to test .
I am not desperate to get to 3600 MHz I just assumed that the kit should run at that and read before I purchased it that ryzen 3000 series would happily run that speed of ram .
Its currently running just below 3400mhz but wont go anywhere near 3600mhz .

 

[orbitalwalsh]

If you go for 3400hz then tighten up the CL timings.
Elite is a 4 layer PCB, highest are ITX and flagship £450+ boards with 8 layers , but that kit should run fine

 

[cloudy9]

@Doogles
So looks like I made the wrong choice of ram to begin with .. damn black Friday deals .
I don't tweak or do new builds very often so at least I am learning a little on the way .
Im currently running at 1.4v but would upping to 1.45v help stability along with the other settings ?

 

[Joxeon]

Try 3600 with xmp but manually change the cas latency to from 17 to 18 and enable gear down mode and see if that helps.

 

[orbitalwalsh]

More voltage would help, again 1.45v is safe

 

[cloudy9]

Thanks for the replies . Looks like I have some fine tuning to do .
I have noticed a few mentions of gear down mode excuse my ignorance but can I ask what does this actually do ? and is it in the memory section of the bios as I don't recall seeing it as a setting .

 

[Doogles]

Thanks for the replies . Looks like I have some fine tuning to do .
I have noticed a few mentions of gear down mode excuse my ignorance but can I ask what does this actually do ? and is it in the memory section of the bios as I don't recall seeing it as a setting .

Don't really know much about it but gear down mode IIRC allows the RAM to run at half speed sometimes, like on booting if you get a cold boot issue, although it will set the CL to an even number so 17 becomes 18 and 19 becomes 20 etc.