Help building an AMD system

[Things change I've changed]

hi there, just require a bit of advice building an AMD system, I've had intel since Athlon 64 days,


Currently I have

Mobo: ROG STRIX X670E-A


Now ram is next, I thought I'd grab this,

Kingston FURY Beast EXPO 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (KF560C36BBEK2-32)

Order Kingston FURY Beast EXPO 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (KF560C36BBEK2-32) now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

This ram is on the compatibility list for this motherboard, but then a customer review says the following,

"DOES NOT RUN AT 6000MHZ ON AMD; Context: To run the ram at advertised speeds, you have to enable EXPO, otherwise you'll run at 4700mhz, NOT 6000mhz, if you enable EXPO, it'll cause random crashes, issues, and memtest will come back with errors, (As it requires 1.35v, and current AMD bios limitation is 1.3v) So to run the ram in expo, you'll need to run it at 5400mhz, as currently, there is no way for this ram to reach 6000mhz on Ryzen systems. According overclockers support, that is normal, and not sure if it was confusion or what, but it felt like they assumed enabling EXPO = Manual RAM OC. TLDR: ACTUAL SPECS OF THIS RAM IF NOT ENABLING EXPO 4700mhz base, and 5400mhz EXPO low voltage option (As the 6000mhz, no longer works) Performance loss is marginal, only around 3% - 9% so do with this information what you please."

Can someone recommend 32GB RAM that will work with my motherboard 100% with expo enabled?

 

[Tetras]

I thought it was the SOC voltage that was capped @ 1.3 in most boards, not the DRAM voltage.

G.Skill memory is more widely recommended for AMD though, from what I've seen.

Edit: yeah, from what your motherboard BIOS update list

ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI BIOS 1415

Version 1415
10.47 MB 2023/05/16
"1. Update AGESA version to Combo AM5 PI 1.0.0.7.a
2. Support 48/24GB high-density DDR5 memory module.
3. Memory QVL amended to account for AMD 1.3V SoC voltage limit.
4. EXPO/XMP prompt notice removed.

Before running the USB BIOS Flashback tool, please rename the BIOS file (SX670EA.CAP) using BIOSRenamer."

ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI BIOS 1410

Version 1410 Beta Version
10.47 MB 2023/05/02
1.Update AGESA version to Combo AM5 PI 1.0.0.7.
2. Support 48/24GB high-density DDR5 memory module.
3. SoC voltage for Ryzen 7000 series limited to a maximum of 1.30V to protect the CPU and motherboard.

Before running the USB BIOS Flashback tool, please rename the BIOS file (SX670EA.CAP) using BIOSRenamer.

ROG Strix X670E-A Gaming WiFi

ASUS ROG Strix X670E-A Gaming WiFi features 16+2 power stages, DDR5 support, four M.2 slots with heatsinks, PCIe® 5.0, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 front-panel connector, and onboard WiFi 6E. It also features AI Cooling II, AI Networking, Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation. ROG Strix X670E-A Gaming WiFi caters to...

rog.asus.com

 

[Things change I've changed]

I thought it was the SOC voltage that was capped @ 1.3 in most boards, not the DRAM voltage.

G.Skill memory is more widely recommended for AMD though, from what I've seen.

Edit: yeah, from what your motherboard BIOS update list

ROG Strix X670E-A Gaming WiFi

ASUS ROG Strix X670E-A Gaming WiFi features 16+2 power stages, DDR5 support, four M.2 slots with heatsinks, PCIe® 5.0, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 front-panel connector, and onboard WiFi 6E. It also features AI Cooling II, AI Networking, Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation. ROG Strix X670E-A Gaming WiFi caters to...

rog.asus.com

Sorry, not sure I understand, I've never really had to look into this stuff with intel before, what does this mean then, I'm going to struggle running memory on expo/xmp settings? all DDR5 chips say 1.35V but the motherboard is limited to 1.3v is that correct?

 

[tamzzy]

all DDR5 chips say 1.35V but the motherboard is limited to 1.3v is that correct?

You're getting mixed up with the voltages.
Yes vsoc is limited to 1.3v
Dram voltage is not vsoc. You can run the dram voltage at 1.35v

 

[Things change I've changed]

You're getting mixed up with the voltages.
Yes vsoc is limited to 1.3v
Dram voltage is not vsoc. You can run the dram voltage at 1.35v

ok thanks for the clarification, I've got a bit out of touch with this stuff as I've gotten older.

 

[momo56]

Ignore that customer review. That Ram you listed will run fine.

 

[Tetras]

Sorry, not sure I understand, I've never really had to look into this stuff with intel before, what does this mean then, I'm going to struggle running memory on expo/xmp settings? all DDR5 chips say 1.35V but the motherboard is limited to 1.3v is that correct?

When there were reports of 7800X3D burning up with early BIOS on Asus motherboards, there were new BIOS released that capped the SOC voltage @ 1.3v. Afaik, the SOC is equivalent to the functions that a northbridge used to perform before it was integrated into the CPU.

When you enable EXPO, the motherboard doesn't only raise the DRAM voltage, it also has to boost voltages that apply to the CPU, because running the memory at high speed overclocks the CPU (particularly the memory controller). Your memory might be rated to perform at 6000, but the AMD CPU is only rated for 5200 if you use stock voltages.

It is possible that the reviewer was confusing the capped SOC voltage in the newer BIOS and the DRAM voltage, or that their motherboard BIOS actually capped both, but I'm not aware of any motherboards (apart from OEM) that caps the DRAM voltage to 1.3.

 

[sx_turbo]

hi there, just require a bit of advice building an AMD system, I've had intel since Athlon 64 days,


Currently I have

Mobo: ROG STRIX X670E-A


Now ram is next, I thought I'd grab this,

Kingston FURY Beast EXPO 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (KF560C36BBEK2-32)

Order Kingston FURY Beast EXPO 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (KF560C36BBEK2-32) now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

This ram is on the compatibility list for this motherboard, but then a customer review says the following,

"DOES NOT RUN AT 6000MHZ ON AMD; Context: To run the ram at advertised speeds, you have to enable EXPO, otherwise you'll run at 4700mhz, NOT 6000mhz, if you enable EXPO, it'll cause random crashes, issues, and memtest will come back with errors, (As it requires 1.35v, and current AMD bios limitation is 1.3v) So to run the ram in expo, you'll need to run it at 5400mhz, as currently, there is no way for this ram to reach 6000mhz on Ryzen systems. According overclockers support, that is normal, and not sure if it was confusion or what, but it felt like they assumed enabling EXPO = Manual RAM OC. TLDR: ACTUAL SPECS OF THIS RAM IF NOT ENABLING EXPO 4700mhz base, and 5400mhz EXPO low voltage option (As the 6000mhz, no longer works) Performance loss is marginal, only around 3% - 9% so do with this information what you please."

Can someone recommend 32GB RAM that will work with my motherboard 100% with expo enabled?

This is the same with pretty much all ddr5 ram, to get the faster speed expo needs to be enabled.

When am5 was still a new platform there was a number of bugs, some of which were random.


I had a regular amount of game crashes when ram was under heavy use, regardless of whether expo was on or not, other turning expo off stopped the crashes.

With the latest bios updates it's been perfectly stable for me at least. Only crashing I seem to have is in tomb raider (can't remember which one) which I think is because of the dx12 drivers, run it in dx11 seems fine

 

[Things change I've changed]

Thanks.

Memory ordered, new case ordered (Lian Li Lancool 216).

Now just need a PSU, any recommendations for a quiet 1000w power supply?

 

[Tetras]

Now just need a PSU, any recommendations for a quiet 1000w power supply?

The prices are pretty high for everything at the moment @ OCUK. I can't see any good deals.

If you're content with 850 and older (pre ATX 3.0/PCIE5) these are maybe the best available right now for the money:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Seasonic Focus GX-850 850W 80+ Gold Modular Power Supply (SKU: CA-06T-SS) = £119.99
• 1 x Corsair RMx Series RM850x 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (CP-9020200-UK) (SKU: CA-267-CS) = £119.99

Total: £247.97 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

I wonder if OCUK are waiting for the ATX 3.1 PSUs, because stock is very thin.

 

[sx_turbo]

I wonder if OCUK are waiting for the ATX 3.1 PSUs, because stock is very thin.

It's been thin for some time, when i was building a pc last year I struggled to get a PSU with OCUK, I ended up having to go elsewhere.

 

[Craig_d1]

Thanks.

Memory ordered, new case ordered (Lian Li Lancool 216).

Now just need a PSU, any recommendations for a quiet 1000w power supply?

I've got the rm1000x shift and it's basically silent..at low power the fan doesn't spin, and high power it does, but to be honest I can't hear it..i hear the case fans spooling up if I'm really testing pc but that's about it. the connections are on the side of the psu unit so you an plug/unplug while the psu is in the case. I did check compatability on the corsair website and it says it'll work in the 216 case. It's on offer at mo..might be as it's memorial day weekend in US..corsair generally do sales for hols etc

edit. also the rm1000e is quiet also and has the regular connection placements..it's a tier down form the rmx models but still a good psu..

to be fair, most new psu nowadays have a silent mode or don't have the fans spin up at low power use...but anyway, from personal use, I know the rm1000x is quiet

if you scroll down page they have noise section

Corsair RM1000x Shift PSU Review: They Shifted the Modular Panel! - Hardware Busters

Hardware Busters - Corsair RM1000x Shift PSU Review: They Shifted the Modular Panel! - PSUs

hwbusters.com

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Corsair RM1000x Shift ATX 3.0 80 Plus Gold Power Supply (CP-9020253-UK) (SKU: CA-27A-CS) = £159.95
• 1 x Corsair RMe Series RM1000e Fully Modular Low-Noise ATX Power Supply v2 (CP-9020264-UK) (SKU: CA-27P-CS) = £139.99

Total: £299.94 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

 

[Craig_d1]

Thanks.

Memory ordered, new case ordered (Lian Li Lancool 216).

Now just need a PSU, any recommendations for a quiet 1000w power supply?

the ram at £120 for 6000c36 is quite expensive for non rgb version and C36 timings, but that might just be OCuk prices
if they haven't shipped it, I'd think of holding off, esp as you still have a psu to buy, so can bundle it in the same package

 

[Things change I've changed]

the ram at £120 for 6000c36 is quite expensive for non rgb version and C36 timings, but that might just be OCuk prices
if they haven't shipped it, I'd think of holding off, esp as you still have a psu to buy, so can bundle it in the same package

I got the following in the end for £116, fingers crossed it works ok, it says AMD EXPO and seemed specced while for the price,

 

[Threepwood]

on my amd system my 6000 ram, runs at 3000mhz, that is then double data so, 6000MT/s (mega transfers) it's really confusing, but ofc it won't run at 6000 mhz, because that is quite a leap from 6000MT/s to 12000 MT/s,
I was told they just list it on website as mhz so not to confuse people, but It's pretty confusing anyway
I tried over and over to get the ram to actually run at 6000mhz, but it just won't do it, 3000 native is the best I can get, maybe it is more for intel systems, though my RGB cosair vengence is AMD ' optimised' apparently
they must have a million confused people complaining about this, personally, I would be happy if I could get mine to run at 4700mhz., that's 9400 MT/s

 

[sx_turbo]

on my amd system my 6000 ram, runs at 3000mhz, that is then double data so, 6000MT/s (mega transfers) it's really confusing, but ofc it won't run at 6000 mhz, because that is quite a leap from 6000MT/s to 12000 MT/s,
I was told they just list it on website as mhz so not to confuse people, but It's pretty confusing anyway
I tried over and over to get the ram to actually run at 6000mhz, but it just won't do it, 3000 native is the best I can get, maybe it is more for intel systems, though my RGB cosair vengence is AMD ' optimised' apparently
they must have a million confused people complaining about this, personally, I would be happy if I could get mine to run at 4700mhz., that's 9400 MT/s

Odd, my ram runs at 4800mhz, with expo runs 6000mhz, according to Armoury crate anyway

 

[Threepwood]

Odd, my ram runs at 4800mhz, with expo runs 6000mhz, according to Armoury crate anyway

hmm, My cpu-Z shows it fluctuating between 3000, and 2999, with xpo 6000 on ofc, any other bright ideas? maybe I should try expo again for the millionth, and one time? my pc won't even start with xpo on, have to clear bios, and try turning it on again, it never works, so I doubt it ever will, sadge.

 

[Craig_d1]

hmm, My cpu-Z shows it fluctuating between 3000, and 2999, with xpo 6000 on ofc, any other bright ideas? maybe I should try expo again for the millionth, and one time? my pc won't even start with xpo on, have to clear bios, and try turning it on again, it never works, so I doubt it ever will, sadge.

could be just the confusion bewtween mhz and mt/s. Mt ram is running expo 6000c30 (corsair vengeance rgb) in bios...if i open task manager and go to memory, it also shows 6000. If i open hardware info though it shows 3000.0mhz

so my hwinfo showing
clock 3000 cl 30 rcd 36 rp 36 ras 76 rc 112 Ext. Expo V 1.40
also have at my disposal some slower expoand below that
clock 2400 cl 40 rcd 40 rp 40 ras 77 rc 117 ext - v 1.10.......which would be stock speed(as no expo)

below from corsair

However, with the introduction of Dual Data Rate (DDR) for RAM, the data rate (MT/s) and frequency (MHz) are no longer synchronized 1:1. DDR is a technology that doubles the data rate of standard SDRAM. By shifting data on the rising and falling edges of a square wave, DDR RAM can transfer twice as much data at the same clock speed.

This does not mean that measuring RAM speed in MHz is wrong, any more than measuring it in MT/s is. Data rate and frequency are both good measures of RAM speed.

It has therefore become necessary to advertise RAM at twice the clock speed in order to make comparisons with SDRAM.

For example, modules advertised as running at 3600 MHz actually refer to the amount of data that DDR RAM can transfer per second (MT/s), not its clock speed (MHz). So instead of 3600 MHz, you would expect 3600 MT/s or 1800 MHz.

The use of MT/s instead of the usual MHz could have also led to further confusion. Therefore, in order to properly communicate the speed and efficiency of the new DDR RAM products, manufacturers should have displayed the figures in MT/s, while continuing to mention the usual MHz to make it easier for the public to understand. Of course, this practice has continued to this day, with MHz still being used instead of MT/s.

so you could in fact be running ast 6000 speed(though I would have thought expo would be on or you'd be running stock 4800 mt/s 2400 mhz), just the monitoring is actually showing you mhz correctly, rather than your mt/s

 

[Tetras]

if i open task manager and go to memory, it also shows 6000. If i open hardware info though it shows 3000.0mhz

Microsoft are moving to MT too apparently, I saw a story about that somewhere, since a lot of people have said that they're technically incorrect to tell everybody their DDR RAM speed in Mhz.

 

[Threepwood]

Microsoft are moving to MT too apparently

I guess the question is what are ocuk advertising things as, mhz, sticks that won't run at statedted mhz, or not?
My corsair rgb vengence don't run at 6000, but I'm not that bothered right now because they run at 3000mhz happilly, and I paid a lot less for them from somewhere else that you would need an umbrella to walk around in