Question Overclocking Ryzen RAM newbie question

[JimKiler]

I currently own a Intel 4790K that i do not overclock the CPU (it runs too hot alraedy) but i am using XMP on my RAM to overclock it. Is Ryzen the same, i can overclock the RAM and leave the CPU alone? I plan to get a 12 core Ryzen 3 later in the year and need to determine what RAM to get so i would like to start researching some of this now.

 

[cfenton]

As long as you get a Z or B series motherboard then you can overclock the RAM alone for sure. I'm not sure if you can overclock RAM on A series boards. I imagine things have gotten better since my B350 board came out, but Ryzen can be pretty picky about RAM overclocks. I have DDR4-3200 RAM and I could only run two sticks at 2800 and four sticks at 2400. Hopefully the third generation boards that launch with the new CPUs will be better.

 

[JimKiler]

As long as you get a Z or B series motherboard then you can overclock the RAM alone for sure. I'm not sure if you can overclock RAM on A series boards. I imagine things have gotten better since my B350 board came out, but Ryzen can be pretty picky about RAM overclocks. I have DDR4-3200 RAM and I could only run two sticks at 2800 and four sticks at 2400. Hopefully the third generation boards that launch with the new CPUs will be better.

I think you meant X or B, as Intel uses the Z in their boards. I am frugal so I would get either X or B for sure.

 

[DrMrLordX]

You can OC RAM independently of the CPU, though XMP settings may disappoint you somewhat. I think the only kits that reliably work on AMD systems with XMP settings are the FlareX series. I could be wrong though. Most RAM OC on Ryzen/Ryzen+ requires some hand-tuning of timings, voltages, etc.

Ryzen 3 probably won't change the equation much. Compatibility should be better, but XMP is still an Intel standard.