PC resetting after adding memory

Craig R · 19 Dec 2022 at 16:46

My motherboard (MSI Gaming 470 plus) had 16gb ram in it (2 x 8gb 3200mhz PC4-25699 Patriot Viper stick with timings 16-18-18-36 CL16).

It's been running fine with those for a few years but I decided it was time to beef it up to 32gb and add another couple of 8gb sticks.

I ordered Patriot Viper again with what was advertised as the same timings as the above sticks on the product page.

However I was getting random PC resets after sticking them in. I've removed the original 2 sticks, put the 2 new ones in, and it seems to be stable with no reset so far.

However, using CPU-Z, it says the timings of these new sticks are actually 16-20-20-40. Not what was listed on the product page (16-18-18-36).

Is this likely the cause of the crashing when all 4 sticks are in? Should I return the new ones?

Craig R · 19 Dec 2022 at 17:00

CPU is Ryzen 9 5900x.

Spoke too soon, just reset itself with only the new ram connected.

How do I set the board timings and voltage? I don't see these options in my bios.

Craig R · 19 Dec 2022 at 18:10

Tetras said:
It will likely just use default timings if XMP is off and you set a manual frequency. Not sure where DRAM voltage is in your BIOS, I looked at buildzoid's BIOS walkthrough of a MSI X470 board and it was in: overclocking: DRAM voltage, if that helps.

Hmm, manually set it to 1.35v (it had set auto to 1.365) but it doesn't seem to have helped, still getting crashes.

Put the old ram back in and it shows all the correct timings in bios right away.

Craig R · 19 Dec 2022 at 18:39

It's now crashing with just the 2 old ram sticks in now too.

Craig R · 19 Dec 2022 at 18:55

Same slots they were in previously (2&4).

Just back on auto for frequency and dram voltage.

Craig R · 19 Dec 2022 at 19:07

It looks like auto stuck it on 1.2v and 2400mhz by default.

I've manually set this to 1.38v and 3200. Fingers crossed that gets me back to stability on the old sticks. Held for almost 10 mins so far.

Craig R · 19 Dec 2022 at 19:07

Nope. Crashed.

Craig R · 19 Dec 2022 at 19:28

Tetras said:
With XMP enabled? Sometimes XMP increases other system voltages too, to ensure stability.

If your system is random rebooting with 2400 @ 1.2v then I'm afraid the problem might not be RAM related.

Did you touch anything else when you put the RAM in, like reseating the cooler, or pulling power plugs?

By 'crashed', do you literally mean it resets, with no blue screen, or nothing?

Straight reset. No error. Xmp disabled.

Didn't pull any plugs (at least that Im aware, everything still looks to be connected ok) or reseat the cooler.

Craig R · 19 Dec 2022 at 19:36

It literally just suddenly resets and reboots itself with no warning or error messages.

Craig R · 19 Dec 2022 at 19:55

There are kernel errors but they just randomly appear with nothing obvious happening in the run up.

It's not stable with 2 sticks any more either

Craig R · 19 Dec 2022 at 19:57

Could this be a dodgy psu?

There's a spare I might be able to pull out of my old work pc when I'm in the office tomorrow.

Craig R · 19 Dec 2022 at 20:43

I tried unplugging 2 of my storage hard drives and the case USB connectors. So far holding firm for around 40 mins on the original 2 ram sticks. Possible progress.

Craig R · 19 Dec 2022 at 20:53

Tetras said:
Logically, if the system worked 100% fine before you installed the new memory and you touched nothing else, then the answer should be no.

My best guess would be that you haven't restored the settings to whatever they were, when it was previously stable.

But, if the new memory is a red herring (i.e. concealing an existing problem) then yes, a dodgy PSU can cause resets, but then, so can other things, like the RAM, the CPU & the board, or even the case if something is shorting (or the front panel is faulty). Another left-field example: malfunctioning usb device that shorts or trips the ports.

Does it always reset doing the same things, or can it reset when gaming, when idle, when browsing?

It was totally random. Sometimes reset while idle, sometimes when launching a programme, sometimes even mid-boot.

Still holding firm at the moment though after launching a game.

Craig R · 19 Dec 2022 at 21:10

Tetras said:
Some Ryzen CPUs don't like being idle (can be tested by turning off c-states), but I think those resets would rule that semi-common issue out and I don't believe it's a problem that develops (they're like it out of the box).

RE: USB drives / case USB

When you put the PC back together, did you change which ports your hardware is plugged into? I wonder if you plugged them into ports with less power available and that is causing trips, but I don't know if your board has USB 2.0 ports.

Both usb 2 and 3.1 - I've reconnected these back in the same ports and tried sticking the new ram in again too. So far so good.

Yet to try reconnecting the hdds.

Craig R · 19 Dec 2022 at 22:16

Everything now reconnected. All 4 sticks of RAM now in. Seems OK so far.

What the deuce??

Craig R · 20 Dec 2022 at 09:45

Tetras said:
USB 3 offers nearly double the power of USB 2, so it's possible if you plugged a heavy using device (like a large hard drive) into the USB 2 ports, it was tripping. It's also possible that a driver was malfunctioning due to the change in port, though I'd have thought they'd be designed for that occurrence and would be more likely to BSOD than reset the computer.

I didn't have any devices connected to the ports though when it was tripping.

I can only think there might be a dodgy cable somewhere in my set-up.