Ryzen , VRM , RAM Speed Question ( Temperature )

Trueno2

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Oct 5, 2017
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Hi , i am planning to build a new pc based on Ryzen 1600 with the focus on low temperature with 1 ssd , 2 HDD , a decent GPU and maybe a sound card . ( I am not planning on overclocking )

a) Ryzen benefit a lot from high frequency RAM . What's the temperature differences on CPU and VRM temperature between 2166mhz vs 2666mhz RAM .

b) Since i am not overclocking , will motherboard with good power phases ( or a lot ) reduce the overall temperaute in CPU and VRM ?

c) Any good recommend for motherboard ?

Extra Note : Please don't recommend good CPU cooler or heatsink as i do believe it does help reducing the reading on the CPU & VRM temperature. But whatever hot air come out from the casing will be felt in my room and i live in a hot country . Currently owning a faulty Amd 7750 ( Kuma ) with 60c CPU idle and that's why i focusing in getting a below 40C idle CPU.
Sorry for the bad english . ( Please do moved this post if i post this thread in the wrong section )
 

coercitiv

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2014
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You're overthinking this. Get a decent motherboard in terms of features and definitely get 2666 RAM over 2133, the power usage difference will not affect your system in a meaningful way even if your room temperature is high.

You can take a look at MSI B350 Mortar, it's a decent board for the price. You can use it as a comparison point in terms of features while looking at cheaper B350 and A320 boards.
 

tamz_msc

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2017
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  1. Depending where you live, pricing and availability of high speed memory will vary. If you're going to spend the least amount of money possible, then get 2x8GB 3000MHz CL16 memory which should run at 2933 MHz with 16 tCL with AGESA 1.0.0.6 BIOS.

  2. Most motherboard VRMs should be fine if you're not overclocking. If you really care about heat you could just set your CPU at a particular frequency with a fixed voltage. It will disable boost and you should be able to get ~3.2 GHz at 1.1V depending on silicon lottery and your motherboard playing nice, at the cost of a very slight decrease in performance.

  3. Asus Strix B350F is the board I'd choose because of Intel LAN.
 

Trueno2

Junior Member
Oct 5, 2017
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Thanks for the recommendations and replies .

1. Getting a 3000mhz RAM should be okay ( although pricey ) since i can set it to run at lower speed too . I read from a post from the internet regarding a 10C or 20C increase after changing to higher RAM speed . I tried searching for review / benchmark / etc to confirm the temperature issue but not much info on it .

2. I just knew about VRM while searching for motherboard ( Gigabytes AB350M Gaming 3 had an issue with VRM MOS overheating ) . If i fixed the voltage for CPU frequency ( for example 1.1V ) , will i get a lower temperature on a motherboard with 8+2 power phases compared with 4+2 or 4+1 or 3+1 power phases motherboard ? Some say it depend on the quality or positioning of the power phases . most motherboard review or benchmark doesn't include VRM result . hopefully anandtech can include it next time though i think it might be a bit troublesome and not much ppl care about it .

3. I will check it out later ( Asus Strix B350F and MSI B350 Mortar ) . Thanks for the recommendations.

Side Note : I prefer to tackle the temperature at the source ( hardware / setting ) .
 

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
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I like the ASRock B350 pro4, $90 last I looked, and it does great for temps@stock on my 1800x (later replaced with 1700x when my Taichi motherboard came in)
 

kawi6rr

Senior member
Oct 17, 2013
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Since you're not overclocking then I would put importance on fast RAM and maybe spending a little more and get the 1600x if not 1600x then at least fast RAM.
 
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bononos

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Aug 21, 2011
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Hi , i am planning to build a new pc based on Ryzen 1600 with the focus on low temperature with 1 ssd , 2 HDD , a decent GPU and maybe a sound card . ( I am not planning on overclocking )
.........
Extra Note : Please don't recommend good CPU cooler or heatsink as i do believe it does help reducing the reading on the CPU & VRM temperature. But whatever hot air come out from the casing will be felt in my room and i live in a hot country . Currently owning a faulty Amd 7750 ( Kuma ) with 60c CPU idle and that's why i focusing in getting a below 40C idle CPU.
Sorry for the bad english . ( Please do moved this post if i post this thread in the wrong section )

I looked into this previously as I helped some people with Ryzen builds. All the B350 boards have mediocre VRM cooling and at least one - the Gigabyte B350 (all their B350 models share the same VRM design but one or 2 models might not have heatsinks) is known to have heat issues which is unfortunate because it might be the only B350 model which CnQ (lower voltage/speed when there is less load) works at least unofficially.

PCGH did testing (Prime95, Witcher game, 1800X stock speeds) with a few models and the Asus prime, Asrock Pro4 passed the load tests, Biostar racing barely passed at 100C at 28C ambient. The Gigabyte throttled at load with 1800X and reaches 80C with the slower 1600X.
 

coercitiv

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2014
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1. Getting a 3000mhz RAM should be okay ( although pricey ) since i can set it to run at lower speed too . I read from a post from the internet regarding a 10C or 20C increase after changing to higher RAM speed . I tried searching for review / benchmark / etc to confirm the temperature issue but not much info on it.
The most important thing you need to know is Ryzen has two modes of operation, let's call them stock and overclock. In stock mode the system is in charge of choosing and adjusting voltages in real time with the purpose of getting best efficiency.

In overclock mode - which does not necessarily mean a true overclock, it may simply be a manually set frequency - the system no longer manages a set of parameters which are left to control by the user. This may indeed result in lower (or higher) efficiency but it heavily depends on what the user chooses (and knows) to do with the settings.

I too remember reading about high power usage on Ryzen after using high speed RAM, but you need to take the following factors into account:
  • High speed RAM enables the CPU to do more work in the same amount of time, hence power will increase but performance/power will also go up. This means that in the long run your system is likely to do the same work while outputting less heat.
  • Some of these tests, if done using manual settings are done in "overclock" mode and may not use the best settings possible for your needs.
To give you a simple example, I have a 1600X system which has been running a continuous load ever since it was assembled 1 month ago. This load amounts to about 60-65W package power as reported by software. Up until last week, because of incompatibility issues, I was forced to run the RAM @ 2933 and the continuous and somewhat fixed load on the CPU resulted in aprox. 64-65W package power. After the last BIOS update I was finally able to increase RAM to 3200, and my application load resulted in 60-61W package power.

A 3-4W drop from using faster RAM? Definitely not, it's more likely the result of better BIOS configuration by the vendor.

Go for faster RAM, you'll have plenty of time to optimize power consumption once you get your system up and running, although I suspect default stock configuration and making sure you have an updated BIOS will be enough for your needs.

[EDITED] for clarity, haste feeds on words
 
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