XMP issue I think

Evilvito wrote: I didn't know that certain memory doesn't work with certain motherboards, figured ddr4 was the same for all. I went and exchanged the ram for  something that works with z-170. I bought the F4-3200C16D-16GTZ. http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-3200c16d-16gtz I loaded the XMP profile of 3200 and had the same issue as before. It so far only works at 2133 mhz.  By change the bios I meant if I had made any changes in the values in the bios.

Wait... what...   I just noticed in one of your pictures, the CPU Cache speed is 4200, while the CPU core speed is 3500.

Does the PC boot with things set like that? The CPU Cache speed cannot be higher than the CPU speed. That cannot happen by itself. Was that supposed to be a CPU over clock? Regardless, that needs to be fixed before anything else!

This is an excerpt from the Z170A-X1/3.1 Memory Support List:



Find the line with your F4-3200C16D-16GTZ memory, second from the top of 3200 speed. Note it shows "1pcs", meaning one piece, in the column whose heading (that is not shown) is Single Channel.

That means only one DIMM may be used at that speed in single channel mode. If you check the memory support list for your board, you'll see as the memory speed becomes higher, the amount of memory you can use is lower, and at the highest speeds, only one DIMM may be used.

Sorry to say, your board is not included in G.SKILL's list of compatible board for that model of memory. New UEFI/BIOS versions may enhance memory compatibility, but all mother boards are not built to the same level of ability to over clock memory.

Your CPU, and all other Skylake processors, are only guaranteed by Intel to work at a memory speed of up to 2133. Any speed above that is an over clock, that is not guaranteed:

http://ark.intel.com/products/88191/Intel-Core-i5-6600K-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz#@specifications

I know the memory manufactures give the impression that you can simply put their high speed memory into any mother board and it will work, plug and play style. If only that were true.

I'm surprised you can't get the memory working above 2133 at all, even at 2400. Are you using the A1 and B1 slots? DRAM voltage set to 1.35V? All memory options besides speed and voltage set to Auto? MRC Fast Boot disabled?

Just noticed the CPU Cache clock setting in your picture, moved my comments to the top. How long has it been like that?

hatch789 wrote: Guys I'm also having the same issue with the Z170A-X1 board. I got G. Skill F4-3000C15D-16GVR RAM Mine is also stuck at 2133 ...any time I try to move it up to a faster speed I can't boot my PC. Is there no way that we can get the better performance out of our RAM? I feel like I wasted money buying the faster speed if I can't go above 2133. I got this board specifically because I thought I would be able to use the faster RAM speeds. /sigh

For beginning, G.Skill doesn't certify that memory on your board which may or may not mean it will function as intended/designed. This particular kit is only, by G.Skill's own testing, certified to work on the outstanding Z170 OC Formula and comparable top end OC'ing boards from the other board manufacturers.

Have you tried setting these sticks up manually in the BIOS? What CPU OC are you running?

What parts does your system contain, and also how old is the PSU you're using.

hatch789 wrote: Guys I'm also having the same issue with the Z170A-X1 board. I got G. Skill F4-3000C15D-16GVR RAM Mine is also stuck at 2133 ...any time I try to move it up to a faster speed I can't boot my PC. Is there no way that we can get the better performance out of our RAM? I feel like I wasted money buying the faster speed if I can't go above 2133. I got this board specifically because I thought I would be able to use the faster RAM speeds. /sigh

hatch789 wrote: In my case this is a brand new build. New 500w power supply and running an I3-6100 chip. To answer your question I'm not running any CPU OC at the moment. I just let the motherboard at default settings. I would need help in setting up my OC parameters as I am a complete NEWB to overclocking. I thought I'd just be able to set the RAM to a higher setting and let the motherboard bios do the rest. Apparently I was mistaken. The RAM works fine at the default 2133 setting. I will try to increase it by just 1 jump tonight and see what happens. If you can tell me what settings to configure manually I'm certainly willing to have a go at that as well.

You have a 8GB x2 kit of this memory? 16GB total?

What UEFI/BIOS version do you currently have in your board?

All Intel Skylake processors like yours are guaranteed to work at memory speeds up to 2133. Any speed above that is an over clock of the memory.

Which DIMM slots are you using? 8GB or larger DIMMs should be used in the A1 and B1 slots.

We can find the G.SKILL F4-2400C15D-16GVR version of your memory in your board's Memory Support list. But none of the higher speeds of the same model, "VR". As wardog pointed out, neither does G.SKILL include the F4-3000C15D-16GVR memory as compatible with your board. Click on the QVL tab on the page below:

http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-3000c15d-16gvr

We can try to get the memory working at a faster speed, but it is not a given that it will work at 3000.

Yes, you were mistaken about simply changing the memory speed and the board automatically doing the rest. There is an option in the UEFI/BIOS to do that, called the Load XMP Setting, in the DRAM Configuration screen.

Have you enabled the Load XMP Setting option?

Among other things like the DRAM Voltage, VCCIO and VCCSA voltages, the memory speed will be set to 3000 when you enable the Load XMP Setting option. That is a start, although it is not guaranteed that your memory will work at the full 3000 speed.

Next, in same DRAM Configuration screen, at the very bottom find the MRC Fast Boot option. Set it to Disabled.

When you are done, go to the Save and Exit screen, and click on Save and Exit. All this assumes you are using the Advanced interface to your board's UEFI/BIOS. Is that what you use?

If the PC does not boot, go back into the UEFI/BIOS, leave Load XMP Setting enabled, but just change the memory speed to 2400. Save and Exit again, and see what happens.

You have a decent board, but a $100 board is not a high end over clocking board, which includes the CPU and memory.

Thank you both for the great replies. So I realize I messed up and didn't check the board compatibility matrix before I purchased my RAM. That was my bad. I can probably still send it back but from the sound of it, others even with approved RAM are still having similar issues.

Thanks Xaltar, I just thought it was interesting since I don't have crossfire or anything odd turned on. I merely enabled my iGPU because I wanted to try to run dual monitors and it gave me another DVI connection. My dedicated video card only has one DVI. So that's how I discovered it by accident in the first place.