Question Getting warning on PC Part Picker List which I don't understand

axnik

Junior Member
Mar 5, 2022
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I am building a system with following configuration:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
GPU: Asus TUF RX6900XT OC version
Cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer ii 280 A-RGB (this would be the only RGB in an all black build)
Power: Corsair RM1000X 1000W Gold
RAM: 32 GB (8GB X 4) Corsair Vengeance LPX CMK16GX4M2Z3600C14. It is Samsung B-Die. 3600 MHz Cache Latency 14.
Case Fans: Arctic F12 PWM PST 120mm (6 fans)
SSD: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB
Case: Corsair 5000D Airflow Black
Motherboard: msi b550 gaming edge wifi

PC Part Picker gives the following warning: The Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL14 Memory operating voltage of 1.45 V exceeds the AMD Zen 3 CPU recommended maximum of 1350 mv+7% (1444.5 mv). This memory module may run at a reduced clock rate to meet the 1350 mv voltage recommendation, or may require running at a voltage greater than the AMD recommended maximum.

I have already bought everything. Will this be an issue ? Will it damage the system/cpu in any way?

Will really appreciate some detailed answer to understand what's the issue is.

Thanks in advance!
 

UsandThem

Elite Member
May 4, 2000
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Lower speed DDR4 runs at 1.20v.

Most faster modules run at 1.35v.

1.45v is higher, and if you manually reduce the voltage on the modules you selected, it might not be able to run at DDR4 3600 CAS 14. Then you want to use all four memory slots on top of it, so I'd be surprised if it would be able to run at DDR 3600 CAS 14 and be stable.

Higher voltages put more strain on the CPU's memory controller, so it comes to down to what your CPU can handle (aka the "Silicon Lottery"). I wouldn't personally use 1.45v memory kits, as I'd stay with kits that can run their rated speed at 1.35v.
 
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VirtualLarry

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JayzTwoCents (YouTube) recently did a video about RAM, specifically about DDR5, because of it's high clock speeds, but generally applicable I think.

Some people (not necessarily you, OP), buy a huge amount of memory at top clocks/voltages, and it turns out, that those may not be fully supported by a particular mobo or CPU's memory-controller.
 

axnik

Junior Member
Mar 5, 2022
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Lower speed DDR4 runs at 1.20v.

Most faster modules run at 1.35v.

1.45v is higher, and if you manually reduce the voltage on the modules you selected, it might not be able to run at DDR4 3600 CAS 14. Then you want to use all four memory slots on top of it, so I'd be surprised if it would be able to run at DDR 3600 CAS 14 and be stable.

Higher voltages put more strain on the CPU's memory controller, so it comes to down to what your CPU can handle (aka the "Silicon Lottery"). I wouldn't personally use 1.45v memory kits, as I'd stay with kits that can run their rated speed at 1.35v.
Thank you so much.
 
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Shmee

Memory & Storage, Graphics Cards Mod Elite Member
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I wouldn't worry about it. Samsung Bdie scales well with a bit of extra voltage, and runs well on Ryzen. Many also OC/tweak the memory a bit on Ryzen platforms, for better performance. You could also get the kit and try running it at 1.44V or something. Basically could try undervolting it a bit.
 

aigomorla

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1.45V on ram is insanely high on DDR4 especially.
Looking at spec's its 1.45v, which worries me a bit.
You can damage the cpu from running the ram voltage too high.

Honestly with Ryzen 5000 series, its not as picky with ram as the original's were, so i would not worry too much on B-Die.
I would definitely keep the ram at 1.35V max, and see if it works with 3600mhz.
 
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axnik

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Mar 5, 2022
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Thank you so much.

"I would definitely keep the ram at 1.35V max " -- I am a complete noob. Can you please point me to the exact steps I need to follow for this ?
 

axnik

Junior Member
Mar 5, 2022
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I wouldn't worry about it. Samsung Bdie scales well with a bit of extra voltage, and runs well on Ryzen. Many also OC/tweak the memory a bit on Ryzen platforms, for better performance. You could also get the kit and try running it at 1.44V or something. Basically could try undervolting it a bit.

Thanks. Could you please let me know what undervolting is and how to do it ?
 

Shmee

Memory & Storage, Graphics Cards Mod Elite Member
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1.45V on ram is insanely high on DDR4 especially.
Looking at spec's its 1.45v, which worries me a bit.
You can damage the cpu from running the ram voltage too high.

Honestly with Ryzen 5000 series, its not as picky with ram as the original's were, so i would not worry too much on B-Die.
I would definitely keep the ram at 1.35V max, and see if it works with 3600mhz.
1.45V isn't that high IMO. Remember Bdie scales well with voltage, and can OC very well with a bit added.
Thank you so much.

"I would definitely keep the ram at 1.35V max " -- I am a complete noob. Can you please point me to the exact steps I need to follow for this ?
If you are not into tweaking and OCing, then this might not be the right kit for you if you want to run the RAM at 1.35V. You will need to set the memory voltage manually to 1.35V or below in the BIOS. Note that the kit you bought might not be stable at the rated XMP speeds when it is only at 1.35V.
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
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ote that the kit you bought might not be stable at the rated XMP speeds when it is only at 1.35V.

If its 1.45v ram, im fairly sure setting to XMP will auto to 1.45V
1.45v without active cooling is high.
Im about 95% sure s/he will be able to do about 3200 to possibly the entire 3600 depending on lottery, with B-Dies.
But having all 4 populated sticks may work against him, as its harder to overclock your ram with a fully populated board.
But again, its up to lottery, as B-Dies are IMO the best ram i have gotten to play with (they all overclocked way higher then rated), but none of them i recall had a XMP profile of 1.45V, so this is a shocker to me.

Or maybe they all defaulted to 1.45v and i never really checked... i'm gonna have to reinspect the systems i built with B-Dies and see if XMP was enabled at 1.45v

Thanks. Could you please let me know what undervolting is and how to do it ?

Your not really undervolting, because DDR4 has JEDEC of 1.2v
That means @ 1.2v that is ground standard without overclocking, out of the box with everything set on auto, it will set @ 1.2v and 2100mhz.

You want to overclock your ram, but not to XMP profile standards, because again XMP will probably throw you very high in to 1.45v
You want to set your voltage to 1.35v and manually insert your timings.

The timings on your ram is as follows:
14-16-16-36
CL-Trcd-Trp-Tras <--- this is what those numbers represents. You hard set those values, and can leave everything else like prefetch to auto.

You want to set those timings in your bios manually as again you most likely can not set XMP due to the reasons described above.
You basically need to manually overclock your ram.
This can be sort of stressful because it can brick your system until you reset CMOS and have to restart the overclocking proceedure.

And yes you most definitely want to tweek your ram, so you can start small, by putting those timings in, setting dram volltage to 1.35v and then for speed start at 2900mhz and work your way up until your system bricks, which then you will have to reset CMOS. Redue the settings to the last good known config on the ram, and keep it there.

Its a long tedious process we tuners did back in the days before XMP dummified everything.

Here is a ok video for MSI:

Remember you do not want to set to XMP and leave it, as it will probably default your voltage to 1.45v since that's what the ram is programed for, so do it manually.

And i recommend you at least play and tune your Ram to your best ability, because running them at stock JEDEC and overclocked 3000mhz+ can lead to a noticeable difference in performance.

Also while your at it, you probably want to enable SAM. (Smart Access Memory) as your using a 6000 series GPU.
And yes SAM enabled is VERY NICE boost especially with your 6900XT.

 
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Shmee

Memory & Storage, Graphics Cards Mod Elite Member
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^ Good advice, but that I disagree with you saying that 1.45V is too high for Bdie. Remember newer DDR3 kits ran at rated voltages of 1.35V to 1.5V, and before that they were 1.65V and higher before. I don't think these ever got to hot, to my memory (pun intended).

I am not sure the OP is really into memory tweaking from the sounds of it. Not that this is a bad time to get into it, just that it could be a fair learning curve for a newbie. To be fair, with 4x8GB, he may need to adjust the VSoC voltage anyway, to get stable on his board at any reasonable speeds. Personally, I would load XMP profile, but then set memory voltage to 1.4V, a good intermediate. Then save and reset, and run memtest/test for stability. And go from there. I would also check what VSoC is set to on the XMP, because that you don't want too high, but you want it high enough to be stable. For reference, on my 5900X with my current RAM config, I have VSoC stable at about 1.08V, I think. Some memory controllers may need more for the same given FCLK. Mine is at 1900MHz, with DDR4 3800. It depends on the silicon, and you will need to test.

Another approach, which would may be easiest if you want to stay with memory at 1.35V, is to set that voltage manually, and then manually set the memory to 3200MHz, at given timings. In anycase, I don't think you will need or should have VSoC higher than 1.1V for memory at or under 3600MHz. Some people will go higher, but I think that is more for RAM around 4000MHz, and too much will hurt your CPU.
 

axnik

Junior Member
Mar 5, 2022
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^ Good advice, but that I disagree with you saying that 1.45V is too high for Bdie. Remember newer DDR3 kits ran at rated voltages of 1.35V to 1.5V, and before that they were 1.65V and higher before. I don't think these ever got to hot, to my memory (pun intended).

I am not sure the OP is really into memory tweaking from the sounds of it. Not that this is a bad time to get into it, just that it could be a fair learning curve for a newbie. To be fair, with 4x8GB, he may need to adjust the VSoC voltage anyway, to get stable on his board at any reasonable speeds. Personally, I would load XMP profile, but then set memory voltage to 1.4V, a good intermediate. Then save and reset, and run memtest/test for stability. And go from there. I would also check what VSoC is set to on the XMP, because that you don't want too high, but you want it high enough to be stable. For reference, on my 5900X with my current RAM config, I have VSoC stable at about 1.08V, I think. Some memory controllers may need more for the same given FCLK. Mine is at 1900MHz, with DDR4 3800. It depends on the silicon, and you will need to test.

Another approach, which would may be easiest if you want to stay with memory at 1.35V, is to set that voltage manually, and then manually set the memory to 3200MHz, at given timings. In anycase, I don't think you will need or should have VSoC higher than 1.1V for memory at or under 3600MHz. Some people will go higher, but I think that is more for RAM around 4000MHz, and too much will hurt your CPU.
Thanks a lot Shmee.

To summarize, are these steps correct for me. Can you please correct me if I am wrong.

(1) Put the build together
(2) Go to BIOS and enable XMP profile.
(3) But before saving, go to memory voltage and set it to 1.4V from 1.45V. (I believe this is what is called undervolting).
(4) Also go and check the value in VSoC. If it is 1.1V, don't do anything. If it is greater than 1.1V, bring it down to 1.1V.
(5) Save and Exit. May be restart the machine.
(6) Run memtest/test for stability. ----- Could you please clarify here a bit. How would I know if the system is unstable ? And what should I do if the system is unstable ? Bring the voltage down more ? Would really appreciate some video link explaining the process.

Thanks,
Nik
 

Shmee

Memory & Storage, Graphics Cards Mod Elite Member
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Sep 13, 2008
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Thanks a lot Shmee.

To summarize, are these steps correct for me. Can you please correct me if I am wrong.

(1) Put the build together
(2) Go to BIOS and enable XMP profile.
(3) But before saving, go to memory voltage and set it to 1.4V from 1.45V. (I believe this is what is called undervolting).
(4) Also go and check the value in VSoC. If it is 1.1V, don't do anything. If it is greater than 1.1V, bring it down to 1.1V.
(5) Save and Exit. May be restart the machine.
(6) Run memtest/test for stability. ----- Could you please clarify here a bit. How would I know if the system is unstable ? And what should I do if the system is unstable ? Bring the voltage down more ? Would really appreciate some video link explaining the process.

Thanks,
Nik
This is one approach you could take. To clarify though: on point 5, saving and exiting the BIOS will do a restart automatically.

6. I would recommend running memtest86, here is the link. https://www.memtest86.com/ you will need a fresh USB flashdrive that you will install memtest86 to and boot from it. Make sure you are booting in UEFI mode. This is free and will run 4 passes checking for memory errors. If there are errors, chances are that when you reduced the memory voltage, the memory is no longer completely stable at the XMP speeds. You can either reduce speeds, loosen timings, or increase voltage again to stabilize. If you don't want to go any higher than say, 1.4V, (or maybe 1.35V if feeling more cautious) then the next thing to try would probably be to loosen the timings, from say, 14-16-16-36 to something along the lines of 16-16-16-36 or 16-18-18-36 etc. Or you could just reduce memory frequency a bit. Tweaking like this will be some trial and error.

Outside of memtest errors, other signs of instability would be games crashing or apps crashing, windows errors and BSODs, and reboots/freezes.
 

axnik

Junior Member
Mar 5, 2022
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This is one approach you could take. To clarify though: on point 5, saving and exiting the BIOS will do a restart automatically.

6. I would recommend running memtest86, here is the link. https://www.memtest86.com/ you will need a fresh USB flashdrive that you will install memtest86 to and boot from it. Make sure you are booting in UEFI mode. This is free and will run 4 passes checking for memory errors. If there are errors, chances are that when you reduced the memory voltage, the memory is no longer completely stable at the XMP speeds. You can either reduce speeds, loosen timings, or increase voltage again to stabilize. If you don't want to go any higher than say, 1.4V, (or maybe 1.35V if feeling more cautious) then the next thing to try would probably be to loosen the timings, from say, 14-16-16-36 to something along the lines of 16-16-16-36 or 16-18-18-36 etc. Or you could just reduce memory frequency a bit. Tweaking like this will be some trial and error.

Outside of memtest errors, other signs of instability would be games crashing or apps crashing, windows errors and BSODs, and reboots/freezes.
Thank you so much. This will definitely help.

Just waiting on the ssd to get delivered and I will be good to go. so excited!

Update: I directly wrote to corsair tech support with my configuration. And they confirmed memory, cpu and the mobo are all compatible with each other. Nothing will get damaged.
 
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aigomorla

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Reminder to make sure you enable SAM!
It comes disabled for some reason in initial setup.
 
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Shmee

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Also, you may need to update your BIOS to enable SAM support, it is possible that your board might ship with an older version. From what I can gather, you may need to update the BIOS to support the 5950X, (if it ships with a very old one) but I am not sure. Luckily, it looks like you have a flash BIOS button on the back of your board, so you can update without actually booting.
 

axnik

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Mar 5, 2022
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Also, you may need to update your BIOS to enable SAM support, it is possible that your board might ship with an older version. From what I can gather, you may need to update the BIOS to support the 5950X, (if it ships with a very old one) but I am not sure. Luckily, it looks like you have a flash BIOS button on the back of your board, so you can update without actually booting.
Yes. I can do bios update using usb. Fortunately there are videos for the same motherboard showing the process. So I will be good. Thanks.
 

DrMrLordX

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I have been running my DDR4-4400 b-die modules @ 1.46v since 2019 on a 3900x. The actual speed is currently DDR4-3666 (not 4400). Neither the RAM nor the memory controller have shown appreciable signs of degradation. Though the RAM used to be stable at 3733 (it isn't anymore).
 
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aigomorla

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Though the RAM used to be stable at 3733 (it isn't anymore)

thats the exact definition of degradation. :rolleyes:
It will slowly start to not do things it used to be able to do, then eventually just die flat out.

Think back on earily micron DDR2 days.
Micron asked you pump so much voltage in them, and then they started poping like pop corn in a kettle.
I personally recall having to rma at least 5 pairs of micron based DDR2 sticks.

The high voltage requirement, is probably also one of the reason why they retired the B-die entirely.
I know there are still a lot floating on the server sector tho, but unfortunately they are all Registered ECC.
 

DrMrLordX

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thats the exact definition of degradation. :rolleyes:

Meh. The useful lifespan of this product is not the 10+ years it can last at 1.35v or lower. It has lasted nearly three years at this speed. And in truth 3733 may always have been crashy. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt. That's one of the problems with overclocking: can you be honest about your achievements, or are you ignoring crashes?

Truth was I was ignoring crashes, and eventually I slowed the RAM down and they just went away. Been there for around two years.

3733 seemed stable for awhile, and yeah maybe there was some degradation, or maybe I was too quick to claim as much speed above 3600 as possible. Either way, the product has performed admirably at elevated voltage. Plus it isn't under direct cooling. The case is well-cooled, but I don't use the stupid little RAM fan included with the product.
 
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@axnik *if* I remember correctly the performance difference between 3200 & 3600 ram is fairly trivial with ryzen machines, as in a 3% performance increase in some games and a better performance increase in synthetic benchmarks.
I wouldn’t get too hung up on 3600 ram.
 
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