Ryzen and RAM still an issue??

[ssjwizard]

So I am hopefully finally going to get around to building my Ryzen based system in a month or two. Is memory still a big issue with the Ryzen platform, or is it basically back to RAM is RAM?

Also what is the most common speed that yall are running on this platform? 2666? 3200?

Im hoping to find something with some nice white or silver heat spreaders just for ascetics, but I am not opposed to painting them if I need to.

 

[bassnut]

The ram issue is not as bad as it used to be ..... the guys that have splurged on good ram "Samsung B" are getting the 3200 ..... my Gskill RGB 3000 "Hynix" will run 2966 without issues simply by selecting to run XPM

 

[Woomack]

It's still an issue if you expect stable 3200 or more. 2133-2666 memory kits work good but anything above that depends on BIOS and luck. There are issues with many memory kits 3466+. Even though new BIOS supposed to help with higher frequency than 3200, then a lot depends on the motherboard. Some are working up to 3600 ( not really without issues but can set it at 3600 ) while some are barely stabilizing at 3200. Many users who got 3200 or higher kits run them at 2933.
It's not even because of used IC as I have couple of kits on the same samsung IC and not all are stable at 3200 ( 3200-3600 kits ).

 

[DaveB]

I was pleasantly surprised when my open box BioStar X370GTN mITX motherboard arrived today. I had no problem getting my Corsair Vengeance DDR4-3000 to run at 2933. My previous ASRock B350 boards wanted to run it at 2666.

 

[ssjwizard]

AMD hasn't had the best memory controller around for a long time running, so my expectations were in line for that. I just remember that initially the RAM compatibility was kind of a nightmare.

 

[Woomack]

I was pleasantly surprised when my open box BioStar X370GTN mITX motherboard arrived today. I had no problem getting my Corsair Vengeance DDR4-3000 to run at 2933. My previous ASRock B350 boards wanted to run it at 2666.

- First BIOS is meh
- 2nd BIOS is the best for stable 3200 and some other things, no issues at 3200 14-14-14 1.35V but can't set higher memory clock
- 3rd BIOS ( the latest one ) is meh, can set more than 3200 but even 3200 has stability issues, they also removed P-states and is harder to OC/have to set higher voltage for the same frequency as on older BIOS, no way to undervolt CPU, it runs at 1.35V or above, offset is only +, no LLC so you end with 1.45V when you set 3.9GHz+

On all BIOS releases there is no problem to set 2933. Problems are starting at 3200 while new AGESA supposed to let it work at higher clock than 3200. Last BIOS has already 3 months. Biostar support ignores most mails and they only replied once about 4 months ago before new AGESA release ... it still took them 2 months longer to release BIOS with new AGESA than other brands and it's worse than the older BIOS but they can't see any issues.

I had no issues with DDR4-3200 on my memory kits just after premiere while testing 3 different motherboards ( ASUS, GB and Biostar ). However XMP was not working in most cases. I've seen many users complaining but most of them didn't know how to set their memory manually. Compatibility issues were ( and still are ) related to the timing tables in SPD/XMP profiles. Some mobo brands improved that while some did barely anything.
As usual the most issues after premiere were with Corsair memory. It was fixed for most brands in ~2 months after premiere. G.Skill on some motherboards still has issues with their dedicated Ryzen memory kits but manual settings work without issues.
I had no issues at all with Kingston Fury ( Ryzen series ) and any of the Crucial memory kits. Actually on all my Ryzen boards, Ballistix Elite was working the best ... better than TridentZ even though both have the same IC.

 

[DaveB]

Biostar support ignores most mails and they only replied once about 4 months ago before new AGESA release ... it still took them 2 months longer to release BIOS with new AGESA than other brands and it's worse than the older BIOS but they can't see any issues.

I had a similar experience with ASRock. They were uninterested in any feedback on BIOS issues. I sent them screen shots to make the problems clear and their last response was to tell me to return my ASRock board and go buy an Asus or Gigabyte board.

As usual the most issues after premiere were with Corsair memory. It was fixed for most brands in ~2 months after premiere. G.Skill on some motherboards still has issues with their dedicated Ryzen memory kits but manual settings work without issues.

ASRock's problems with Corsair memory continued after the release of their AGESA 1.0.0.6 updates. It might be fixed now but I can't say one way or the other.

 

[Woomack]

That's weird about the ASRock. Usually they have the best support and they send me beta BIOS or offer other solutions. However I had no chance to test their AM4 boards. All their AM4 boards were released much later than other brands and I didn't want to wait.
I see that AM4 is selling good but mainly to users who want to save money. Also manufacturers don't care to waste time/money on cheaper products. If it's high end board then there are more updates and special teams are working to make them perfect.
Biostar was always pretty average and their marketing was always pathetic. They have good and bad boards. So far I can't complain at X370GTN. It's perfectly stable and at least on 2nd BIOS all works fine. It could OC memory better but can live with 3200.

 

[DaveB]

Yes I'm into AMD AM4 strictly for budgetary reasons, especially since I've retired and have to live on about 70% of my former salary. I played with X99/i7-5820K several years ago and was very happy with complete stability @ 4.4 GHz with no RAM issues. All things being equal, I would go with an Intel X299/i7-7800X setup, but the price differential is insane. I only paid $260 (regular price is still under $300) for my open box X370GTN and Ryzen 5 1600 while a new X299 with a 6C/12T i7-7800X would cost $600, more than double the price. Plus no ITX, not even any mATX LGA 2066 motherboards at all. I have no need for all the extra PCIe lanes or multiple x16 slots for Crossfire or SLi, but do find 6C/12T CPUs to be the sweet spot for smooth running.

I've used a couple of BioStar motherboards in the past, both for Intel and AMD rigs. Never had any bad ones, but the BIOSes are not the most sophisticated and updates are few and far between. Most of my single-socket motherboards have been Gigabyte or Asus over the years with a few ASRock and MSI boards, and mostly Supermicro and Intel for dual socket setups.