X370 Killer bios and temps questions

stonewall wrote: Asrock X370 Killer Sli (non ac version) AMD Ryzen 5 1500x Wraith Spire (stock AMD cooler) Hyper Fury 8gb CAS 15-15-15-36 (2x 4gb 2666MHz HX426C15FBK2/8) EVGA 650w G1 Supernova PSU EVGA 1050Ti nVidia GPU (04G-P4-6251-KR) Samsung PM961 128GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD WD 1T Sata HD 1080p Iiyama monitor Hi, Was hoping someone a bit more knowledgeable could answer a couple of questions I have on this new setup I've put together.  So far I have these parts assembled and running fine, outside of the case (not got windows installed yet). Firstly the Hyper Fury RAM was chosen from the Asrock Memory QVL, and having loaded the XMP settings and rebooted I believe this memory is running fine at the XMP settings, (although the BIOS is slightly confusing as there are 2 columns of timings the first showing 2667MHz timings and the second column the XMP 2666MHz timings - see pic.). The Asrock CPU support list also states that - 'AMD Ryzen 5 CPU is able to boot up with all BIOS versions. To optimize AMD Ryzen 5 CPU, please update the BIOS to P2.00 or later version.'  The board I have came with BIOS ver. 2.10, so if this RAM is actually running correctly, and as I'm not likely to be overclocking it (cpu or ram) or upgrading it any time soon is there any requirement to load a newer BIOS or are all the CPU optimizations contained in the 2.10 version, or to put it another way will the system be missing any essential optimization by not upgrading the BIOS? http://i.imgur.com/lng5zQt.jpg (sorry about the flash - only way I seemed to get a decent pic!) Secondly I'm using the stock Wraith cooler.  I did not change the thermal paste that came applied with it.  With the BIOS setting the CPU 1 fan speed to 'standard' (about 2000rpm) the CPU temp at idle is 42c. Setting the fan to full speed (2800rpm) it gets down to 38.5c but I presume that 'standard' is the default or should I be looking at the custom settings to allow for increased cooling under various loadings, and if so what sort of temperature and speed increments should I set?  As I stated the rig is outside the case at the minute and Windows has not been installed so it has not been under any load other than 4 hours of memtest so far, and with no case fans to assist, the ambient room temp has been pretty warm the last few days.  Are these temperatures normal for the Ryzen 5 and how much improvement would changing the thermal paste see.  A web search suggests the temps are a bit high but will the case fans help once the rig is fully installed? Thanks

Regarding the memory timings shown in the DRAM Timing Configuration screen, you just don't understand the purpose of the two columns.

The column of timings and memory speed on the left, which we cannot access, show the current timings and speed being used by the memory. They always show the timings that are currently applied and being used.

The column of timings and memory speed on the right that we can access, are the timings that will be applied if and when we Save and Exit the UEFI/BIOS. You have applied the XMP profile of your memory, so we see the timings and speed programmed into the XMP profile. We also see the basic timings, speed, and memory voltage of the XMP profile displayed in a line near the top of the screen.

You can see that the CAS setting has been automatically changed to 16, from 15, in the current column. That is not uncommon to see with ASRock Ryzen UEFIs, explaining it is not worth the long paragraph necessary, but nothing to worry about. There is another DRAM Configuration screen in the Advanced\AMD CBS\ DRAM Timing Configuration screen, that may let you change it to 15 if you desire.

The Ryzen processor's memory controller supports a memory speed of 2667, which is why you see that speed as the current memory speed. Your memory, which was no doubt originally designed for use in Intel systems (the only PC systems that used DDR4 prior to Ryzen) has a speed of 2666 programmed into the XMP profile, to match the Intel memory controllers. The difference between the two speeds is insignificant and not a problem for your memory or processor.

Your CPU temperature seems fine in the UEFI for the CPU cooler and fan speed, for the CPU at stock speed. Since the maximum fan speed is 2800 RPM, you need to run the PC in Windows with the board installed in the PC case with all your other hardware and use it before you can determine if you need to adjust the fan's speed. There is no way to predict what the CPU temperature will be until you have everything installed in the PC case as described above.

As mentioned above, the CPU temperature will normally be higher in the UEFI/BIOS than in Windows under idle conditions. Changing the thermal paste will not change the CPU temperature more than two or three degrees at best, and also depends upon the application technique.

stonewall, in my opinion you should definitely update to the latest BIOS.  There are some major changes, especially memory, in the latest.  Be sure to use the Instant Flash method.  Use F12 while in the BIOS to capture a screen shot on a FAT formatted USB stick.  The CPU temperatures look a little high, but I would not worry about it until you are running Windows in a case.  Have fun, John.