First Overclock, Need Advice (G.Skill TridentZ RGB DDR4)

[AstroCEO]

Hello,

So, I have been trying to get my RAM to achieve the highest speed my motherboard (AsRock Taichi Ultimate Z390) can support (4200 MHz or 4133Mhz). I have an Intel Core i9 9900k processor. I own the:

G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Intel XMP 2.0 Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C16D-16GTZR

I have been doing some tests and am at a bit of a blockage for my lack of experience. I managed to get the XMP Profile to show stability with no errors at 3200 MHz 16/18/18/38, but I want to do much better than that.

I was able to POST with 3466 MHz 16/18/18/38 at 1.35V DRAM, 0.95V VCCIO, 1.05V VCCSA, but I get memory errors/lack of stability.

I was also able to POST 3733 MHz 17/19/19/38 at 1.365V DRAM, 1.1V VCCIO, 1.2V VCCSA, but I get memory errors/lack of stability too.

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I have been yet to get the computer to boot any speed greater than 3733 MHz, which is substantially under my objective of 4133 MHz or 4200 MHz... What are some tips for me to get stability at these higher clock speeds? I added Voltage to the points I felt comfortable with gradually, but it never booted.

Additionally, 3466 or 3733 isn't listed as supported on my mobo, so why does it boot at all?

Finally, what's the best method for lowering CL speeds from a testing perspective? For the frequency, I have been applying the minimum voltage necessary to achieve stability and gradually increasing the speed, but CL speeds feel like I'm missing a "method" to optimize them.

*I am using OCCT for my testing.

Thanks, AstroCEO.

 

[Zerileous]

You're going to need to A) relax the timings and B) increase the voltage and C) temper your expectations. I don't know that adjusting VCCIO and VCCSA is necessary or even a good idea at the speeds were dealing with.

Now I can't be certain that the sticks reviewed in the following link use the same IC or that they will perform in the same ballpark, but the primary timings are similar so there is a good chance you'll see similar performance. https://www.funkykit.com/reviews/memory/g-skill-trident-z-16gb-ddr4-3200-cl16-memory-kit-review/4/
They required 1.5v or greater to manage 3600, but did pretty well at 3466. You'll find timings to use in the review as well which you can use as a starting point but may have to further adjust yourself.

Overclocking isn't magic, if you're sticks were capable of 4000+ then they would likely either be sold with much more tighter timings (3200 CL 14-14-14) or at a higher XMP profile. The memory manufacturer would be throwing money away to sell 4000Mhz sticks at 3200 CL 16-18-18. There will be a limit to what can be done regardless of increasing voltage and relaxing timings.

 

[AstroCEO]

@Zerileous, I'll look into that. So, when I researched it, it sounded like my chipsets were Hynix A-Die. I know Hynix is not as good as Samsung from what I hear but I also read their A-Die isn't that bad either?

 

[Zerileous]

You can find out by using taiphoon burner. On second thought the review I linked is from 2015, so it is most likely not using the same IC as your kit. That said, the general principal of relaxing timings and increasing voltage until you hit a wall still applies.