Memory Information Contradiction, why?

[ceffi]

Hello Forum,

HWInfo is a wonderful tool to get to know the details of your PC HW, wonderful.

But in displayed measures I recognized a contradiction. Can anybody explain to me why.
On Main Screen my memory modules are displayed right.
On Memory Detaild Screen, it seems the modules are not right configured
Am I wrong?

Thank you very much for assistance.
Br
ceffi

 

[Dalai]

This is no contradiction. The Current Memory Clock is the speed the modules currently run at. The Memory Speed is a piece of information read from the modules (SPD) themselves, which is usually used by the BIOS/UEFI to set the memory speed upon first installation (or when loading Setup Defaults). DDR4-2133 is the default speed specified by JEDEC, everything above that - in your case DDR4-3200 - is technically an overclock, including anything XMP does.

Regards
Dalai

 

[Martin]

As Dalai already noted - the memory speed displayed for particular memory modules reflects the declared speed capability (JEDEC or XMP).

 

[ceffi]

Thank you Dalai,
thank you Martin,

my memory modules are specified as 3200MHz modules in general by G.Skill.

F4-3200C14D-32GFX-(EOL) - Overview - G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd.

Designed for AMD Ryzen platforms with DDR4 memory support, the Flare X series DDR4 memory kit marks the return of the legendary Flare memory that provided awesome performance in the previous generation of DDR memory. Upgrade your next AMD system into a gaming beast or a powerful PC system with...

www.gskill.com

Threfore I understood for this modules the clock rate 3200Mhz is the default speed not the overclock speed.

Unfortunately, if I set the mainboard to defaults it detects the speed 2133.
Did I buy the wrong memory?

Br
ceffi

 

[Martin]

Higher clock rates (above the standard JEDEC values) require XMP, which needs to be explicitly enabled in BIOS.

 

[Dalai]

@ceffi:
DDR4-3200 is NOT 3200 MHz but 3200 MT/s, megatransfers per second. Since we're talking about DDR memory, it doubles the data rate per transfer cycle (or clock). Your memory runs at 1600 MHz which is then doubled, i.e. resulting in 3200. Memory vendors - who should know it better - also seem to get this wrong, as can be seen on the G.Skill website.

To answer your question: No, you didn't buy the wrong memory. The BIOS does what it's supposed to be doing and setting a speed of 2133 by default. When you load/activate XMP, the BIOS applies the values of the XMP profile, i.e. frequency, timings, voltage and perhaps sub-timings, in your case DDR4-3200 with a voltage of 1.35 Volts.

Regards
Dalai

 

[ceffi]

Good morning Martin & Dalai,

thank you for your quick answer and assistance.
Sorry for wrong explanation by me, I meant 1600MHz/3200MT/s.
I supposed that the board will run the modules with the default clock rate (1600MHz) on its own (automatically).
But it is like Dalai explained, the board sets the memory automatically only to 1066MHz/2133MT/s (see picture 20200408_163745):

Only if I set the values manually the memory gets the proper clock rate (see picture 20200406_172437):

But sometimes I've trouble to reactivate the board after hibernation, it seems to me that the board is not able to set the proper memory clock and freezes during BIOS boot.
Interestingly the memory voltage is a bit below, only 1,344V not exact 1,35V. Maybe this could be the problem?

Have a wonderful da and stay safe and healthy.

Br
ceffi

 

[Martin]

That's normal. By default the BIOS sets the highest JEDEC clock (1066 MHz) and you need to manually activate the higher XMP profiles (called D.O.C.P. by ASUS).

 

[Dalai]

But sometimes I've trouble to reactivate the board after hibernation, it seems to me that the board is not able to set the proper memory clock and freezes during BIOS boot.

Try pushing the reset switch once when that happens. Sometimes I have the same problem with my ASUS X370-A when waking it from hibernation, and pushing reset always works, although I know it's only a workaround. So far I haven't been able to narrow down what could be causing this.

Regards
Dalai

 

[ceffi]

Thank you, from my perspective it is a bit confusing, but it seems like it is and I can't change it.
I thought for an 3200MT module the highest JEDEC clock should be 1600MHz not 1066MHz because the modules were advertised for this clock rate.
Probably my opinion is wrong.

The reset button solution is the same as mine, I have no idea how I can narrow down this problem.
I'm also in contact with ASUS to find a solution.

Many thanks and stay tuned

br
ceffi

 

[ceffi]

Hi Dalai,

reset button itself doesen't work always. mostly I have to push the power button for more than 5sec then I get a reboot. In case of stuck of the board the reset button is inoperative. If you have an idea what is the reason for that please let me know.
br
ceffi

 

[Dalai]

So far I didn't have the situation that the reset button wasn't able to resolve being stuck during BIOS POST. When it happens on my system, it doesn't show an image or any text on the screen, although the monitor is not in standby (blue LED instead of orange). The system fails to initialize/reset the drives or the SATA interface or something, because when it's stuck, the "reset" noise from the optical drive is absent. Unfortunately my board doesn't have a two-digit error code display (like some of the more expensive ones do) which probably would make things easier. But I needed a PCI slot, so ... I'm stuck I guess .

What you could do, is to reset the BIOS to defaults and apply all changes you made again. However, this is of course not guaranteed to help. Also, a BIOS update might help, provided there is one available. Using the components at stock clocks and voltages, i.e. also disabling XMP (at least for a while), might help as well. Unplugging and replugging any expansion cards and memory sticks could also help.

Regards
Dalai

 

[ceffi]

Good morning Dalai,

when my board (ASUS Pro WS X570-ACE) is being stuck during BIOS POST, it appears in the same error condition as you described. No first beep, monitor ist not in standby, black screen and no reset of the sata devices happens, too. The reset button doesn't work in this condition. Often a switch off of the power supply fixes the problem.

I've already the latest BIOS release in place. To reset the BIOS to defaults works, but the error condition appears again after I'm using XMP in combination with fixed memory clock rate to 1600Mhz.

My hope, ASUS will fix the problem soon.

Br
ceffi

 

[ceffi]

Hi Dalai,

please have look to the attachment, regarding the specs of my board the memory speed 3200MT/1600MHz doesn't require an OC, does it?



Am I wrong?

Br
ceffi

 

[Dalai]

The (O.C.) just means that running a speed that's not supported out of the box by the installed CPU is an overclock, for both CPU and RAM. For example running DDR4-3200 on a Ryzen 2000 CPU (like in my case). However, running any speed above DDR4-2133, even on a Ryzen 3000 CPU, is still technically an overclock (for the RAM) because JEDEC certified memory modules/chips only up to this speed. Maybe that's changed in the meantime, because Wikipedia lists standards up to DDR4-3200 (and the JEDEC website also mentions such speeds). Still, it doesn't mean the memory won't run at that speed, especially when AMD says the Ryzen 3000 can run DDR4-3200 out of box.

Maybe try to lower the speed a bit, e.g. DDR4-3000. Also verify (in the BIOS) that both sticks use the exact same timings. My brother had Asrock boards in the past that ran the second module at some insane tight timings compared to the first one, which caused the mainboard to reboot immediately when trying to boot any OS.

Regards
Dalai

 

[ceffi]

As soon as I lower the speed to 2133 the pre boot of the board doesn't stuck, that's quite a 1/3 less speed :-(.
The idea of different settings is good, I'll try it. But I left everything on default, except the settings I mentioned in my first posts above.

Thank you very much.
br
ce