AMD RYZEN 2000 Builders Thread

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May 11, 2008
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Just looked at the ASrock boards, the B450M-HDV is also suited for apus. But the strangest thing is that it still has an analog VGA output connector.
But then again, this board with a ryzen 2xxx apu is also a great upgrade for people with a small wallet and adding a VGA output connector increases the chance of the board being bought.

https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/B450M-HDV/index.us.asp
If this board is as good as the AB-350M, well then it is a hassle free usage pattern.
 

scannall

Golden Member
Jan 1, 2012
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I'm finally joining the Ryzen party! Yeah, yeah I know I'm late. Between discounts, deal hunting and coupons I have on the way a 2600x, an Asrock B450 motherboard and 16 gigs of DDR4 3200 ram for a total of $420.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,226
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Just looked at the ASrock boards, the B450M-HDV is also suited for apus. But the strangest thing is that it still has an analog VGA output connector.
But then again, this board with a ryzen 2xxx apu is also a great upgrade for people with a small wallet and adding a VGA output connector increases the chance of the board being bought.

https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/B450M-HDV/index.us.asp
If this board is as good as the AB-350M, well then it is a hassle free usage pattern.
Just for the record, the Raven Ridge APU die, of which the Athlon 200GE is derived from, does NOT support VGA output. That only works with the Bristol Ridge (Carrizzo) APUs.
 

snstr

Member
Aug 16, 2017
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Hi,

for a software developer PC at the office, what motherboard / RAM combination would you recommend?

Criteria are:
  • Ryzen 2700X processor
  • 64 GB RAM
  • RAM should run at highest JEDEC spec out of the box, without tweaking OC settings
  • preferably no "Gaming" in name of motherboard :rolleyes:
Cheers :)
 

DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
21,582
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You may find that using 64GB of RAM is problematic on Ryzen. 4x16GB DIMMs may limit you to DDR4-2400 speeds or slower. If I were you, I'd look at the TR2 platform and see if you can find something in your budget there. The additional cores and support for extra memory channels may actually help you, a lot. Unless there's a specific reason why you're avoiding TR2. Regardless I would expect at 4x16GB configuration on a TR2 system to support speeds as high as DDR4-2933 easily, if not DDR4-3200 depending on what you buy. Be aware that most DDR4 kits are designed with Intel standards in mind, though, so doing without UEFI tweaks is maybe going to limit you to DDR4-2133 in a majority of cases. You might be able to get stuff like FlareX to work with minimal tweaking.
 
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Insert_Nickname

Diamond Member
May 6, 2012
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Just for the record, the Raven Ridge APU die, of which the Athlon 200GE is derived from, does NOT support VGA output. That only works with the Bristol Ridge (Carrizzo) APUs.

Correct. I don't think it's too much of an issue. If you really need a VGA port, a DVI/HDMI (has to be active) to VGA adaptor will do. Most of these systems won't be multi monitor anyway.

Unfortunately, dual link DVI seem to have fallen by the wayside too. Raven Ridge therefore requires a Displayport and a pretty expensive active adaptor for older (or Korean) 1440p monitors without DP. I think that a bigger issue. First finding a relatively rare AM4 board with Displayport, and then the adaptor. Might as well just buy a new monitor...
 
Feb 4, 2009
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Correct. I don't think it's too much of an issue. If you really need a VGA port, a DVI/HDMI (has to be active) to VGA adaptor will do. Most of these systems won't be multi monitor anyway.

Unfortunately, dual link DVI seem to have fallen by the wayside too. Raven Ridge therefore requires a Displayport and a pretty expensive active adaptor for older (or Korean) 1440p monitors without DP. I think that a bigger issue. First finding a relatively rare AM4 board with Displayport, and then the adaptor. Might as well just buy a new monitor...

At least they are “up sizing”. I’m still pissed about the gigabyte board I used for a budget FX6300 build. Prominently said supports up to 1080P resolution!!!
Got home and saw it was VGA only port. No HDMI, no DVI. I still feel ripped off by AMD & Gigabyte to allow that to happen in 2013
 

snstr

Member
Aug 16, 2017
29
7
36
You may find that using 64GB of RAM is problematic on Ryzen. 4x16GB DIMMs may limit you to DDR4-2400 speeds or slower. If I were you, I'd look at the TR2 platform and see if you can find something in your budget there. The additional cores and support for extra memory channels may actually help you, a lot. Unless there's a specific reason why you're avoiding TR2. Regardless I would expect at 4x16GB configuration on a TR2 system to support speeds as high as DDR4-2933 easily, if not DDR4-3200 depending on what you buy. Be aware that most DDR4 kits are designed with Intel standards in mind, though, so doing without UEFI tweaks is maybe going to limit you to DDR4-2133 in a majority of cases. You might be able to get stuff like FlareX to work with minimal tweaking.

Ok, thanks :)

So would you think that 32 GB of RAM instead would work well on Ryzen 2700X?
 

ttechf

Senior member
Jun 11, 2012
351
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81
Ok, thanks :)

So would you think that 32 GB of RAM instead would work well on Ryzen 2700X?

I think they'll both work fine. 32GB and 64GB. 64GB would just work better on Threadripper due to quad channel.
 
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SpaceBeer

Senior member
Apr 2, 2016
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In my opinion, 2666 MHz is quite sufficient for Ryzen CPUs. I know most tests show better results with 3000+ MHz RAM, but I doubt it'll be noticed in everyday work. I haven't even tried to go above 2666 MHz, even though I use 3000 MHz modules
 
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DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
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Ok, thanks :)

So would you think that 32 GB of RAM instead would work well on Ryzen 2700X?

32GB would be easier to support at higher speeds on AM4. You wind up making performance compromises on anything above 2x8GB on AM4, really.
 

DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
21,582
10,785
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I'm confused, can you explain more please?

I'll do my best.

The integrated memory controller (IMC) on Zen/Zen+ systems is somewhat limited in how it can handle high-density RAM and/or large numbers of DIMMs. There was a big deal made about this last year when Ryzen was brand new, but basically, you want "single sided" DIMMs for maximum memory clockspeed with tight timings at those speeds. Actually what you want are DIMMs with minimum "ranks", it's generally assumed that single-sided DIMMs are also single-rank (which is not always the case)

Anyway, when it comes to modern DDR4 DIMMs of current density levels (8GB per DIMM or higher), 8GB DIMMs are often single-rank while 16GB DIMMS are dual-rank by necessity. There are some older 8GB DIMMs that are dual-rank from when 4 GB DIMMs were more prevalent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_rank

Anyway, back to the Zen IMC. The Zen IMC is set up "weird" so that it can sort-of benefit performance-wise from using MORE ranks, so that someone using, let's say, 2x16GB DIMMs can (sometimes) eek out as much performance with DDR4-2666 dual-rank versus someone using DDR4-3200 in a 2x8GB configuration. Sometimes! But not all the time. #1 problem on the DDR4-2666 setup is lower IF speeds, meaning higher interCCX latency. Boo. So generally-speaking, you want to populate each memory channel with exactly one rank of DRAM, and that means 2x8GB giving the highest possible DDR4 speeds.

So for example, if you spend a lot of time hand-tuning your RAM, you can get DDR4-3466 or even DDR4-3600 on a 2700x in a 2x8GB configuration using Samsung b-die. If you go for 2x16GB, about the fastest you'll get is DDR4-3200, and that's only if you buy some of the fastest 16GB DIMMs out there - the ones advertised as DDR4-3200 (or higher) AND are confirmed to have Samsung b-die on there.

If you are going to populate all four RAM slots with 16GB DIMMs, you are now running 8 ranks of DRAM off your IMC, which will give it fits. I would not expect to b e able to stabilize RAM at any speed above DDR4-2400 in that configuration. Actual performance? Unknown, I've not seen it benched. I've only seen 2x8GB vs 2x16GB comparisons with some "interesting" results. The lower memory speeds on the 2x16GB configurations aren't ALL that bad. Not as bad as you'd think. But it takes a lot more work to get it functioning.

The worst thing is that most RAM kits have XMP settings configured for Intel, NOT AMD. So on desktop systems, a lot of the time, what happens is you buy some RAM and set everything to default, and it runs at a. . . DDR4-2133. For example, my 1800x on an x370 Taichi + DDR4-3733 DIMMs defaults to DDR4-2133. None of the XMP profiles on my DRAM work, at all. I have to hand-tune everything, no matter what.

FlareX DIMMs have some settings that are *supposed* to work okay on AMD setups. Not sure if there are any 16GB FlareX DIMMs. But in a 4x16GB configuration, I'll bet those settings won't work anyway. So, hand-tuning for DDR4-2400 or maybe DDR4-2666 would be necessary.
 

dlerious

Golden Member
Mar 4, 2004
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I'll do my best.

FlareX DIMMs have some settings that are *supposed* to work okay on AMD setups. Not sure if there are any 16GB FlareX DIMMs. But in a 4x16GB configuration, I'll bet those settings won't work anyway. So, hand-tuning for DDR4-2400 or maybe DDR4-2666 would be necessary.
There are. I have DDR4-2400 2x16GB, there's also 2933 C14 out now - 2400 was fastest 16GB when I bought.
https://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-2933c14q-64gfx
 

DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
21,582
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There are. I have DDR4-2400 2x16GB, there's also 2933 C14 out now - 2400 was fastest 16GB when I bought.
https://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-2933c14q-64gfx

Cool, those are probably b-die too. So I would either get those or some of the known-good bdie that . . . I think @Markfw got some? I don't honestly remember. Corsair has some item codes printed on their DIMMs that will tell you what type of RAM is under the hood, if you know how to read the codes.
 
Feb 4, 2009
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I know this will involve a huge amount of speculation to be answered

I’m planning on a Ryzen 2 system once AMD releases their smaller chips. Ideally I want 32GB of ram with an option to upgrade late on if I choose. I know this means two 16GB chips. What memory speed/type should I be watching to accomplish this?
 

mdram

Golden Member
Jan 2, 2014
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I know this will involve a huge amount of speculation to be answered

I’m planning on a Ryzen 2 system once AMD releases their smaller chips. Ideally I want 32GB of ram with an option to upgrade late on if I choose. I know this means two 16GB chips. What memory speed/type should I be watching to accomplish this?

check the board qvl for a set that works at the speed you want
or look for a samsung b die and hope it works
 
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DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
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I know this will involve a huge amount of speculation to be answered

I’m planning on a Ryzen 2 system once AMD releases their smaller chips. Ideally I want 32GB of ram with an option to upgrade late on if I choose. I know this means two 16GB chips. What memory speed/type should I be watching to accomplish this?

Agree with @mdram , go with some DDR4-3200 CAS/CL14 16GB DIMMs (or faster, if available). near-100% likely to be Samsung b-die. You will have to do some tuning and tweaking to get those running at their rated speed in a 2x16GB configuration. 64GB may limit you even further unless AMD does a major overhaul of the IMC to make it more friendly to large numbers of DRAM ranks.
 
Feb 4, 2009
34,494
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Agree with @mdram , go with some DDR4-3200 CAS/CL14 16GB DIMMs (or faster, if available). near-100% likely to be Samsung b-die. You will have to do some tuning and tweaking to get those running at their rated speed in a 2x16GB configuration. 64GB may limit you even further unless AMD does a major overhaul of the IMC to make it more friendly to large numbers of DRAM ranks.

At the basic planning phase
 

PClark99

Diamond Member
Jan 12, 2000
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Putting finishing touch on this system as I type this.

Ryzen 7 2700x
MSI B450M Mortar Titanium
2x8GB Skill Flare 3200
HP EX920 1TB
Samsung 860 Pro 1TB
MSI RTX 2070 Gaming Z
Asus AC55BT Wireless NIC
Seasonic X850 PSU (only part I reused)
EVGA CLC240
Thermaltake V21 Case

This is my first new system in about 7 years.

I can't install OS tonight, there is no adapter in the vid card box to get from HDMI or display port to DVI so tomorrow I am going to pick up a new monitor.

I am going to get the 32" UHD LG monitor on sale at Costco.
 
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VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
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I can't install OS tonight, there is no adapter in the vid card box to get from HDMI or display port to DVI so tomorrow I am going to pick up a new monitor.

I am going to get the 32" UHD LG monitor on sale at Costco.
You are aware, they make DVI-D to HDMI (bi-dir) cables (around $6-10 on Newegg), and DP-to-DVI-D dongles (similar price).
 

PClark99

Diamond Member
Jan 12, 2000
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You are aware, they make DVI-D to HDMI (bi-dir) cables (around $6-10 on Newegg), and DP-to-DVI-D dongles (similar price).

I do know thanks. I need a new monitor anyway. I’m repurposing my old Machine to my daughter so my old monitor was going to her all along.
 
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Badelhas

Guest
Jan 13, 2012
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I have been thinking about upgrading my good old i5 2500K Oced to 4.6Ghz to the new AMD 2700x. Do you think that upgrade is really worth it?
Cheers