G.Skill DDR4 and Z170 Pro4S XMP issue

Lets try something easy first.

1. Clear the BIOS so we have a fresh beginning.
2. Put one stick in the B2 slot, boot, enter the BIOS set the 3200 XMP, Save and reboot back into the BIOS.

3. ?? Did it boot with the XMP settings?
3a. If no, stop here and reply back
3b. If it did, power down and inset the other stick into A2, Save and reboot back into the BIOS.

4. ?? Did it boot with both sticks using the XMP settings?

riklaunum wrote: wardog wrote: 1. Clear the BIOS so we have a fresh beginning. 2. Put one stick in the B2 slot, boot, enter the BIOS set the 3200 XMP, Save and reboot back into the BIOS. 3. ?? Did it boot with the XMP settings? 3a. If no, stop here and reply back Did not boot. After save and exit it restarted and then shut down.

Not Good. IMHO, short of some tweaking, I'm gonna say these sticks are incompatible. That's not saying they won't, only that it'll require work.

That and G.Skill doesn't state this kit as compatible. Actually the QVL is a very very short list of compatible motherboards. Again, not good #2.
G.Skill QVL for F4-3200C15D-16GVR
http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f4-3200c15d-16gvr#tabs-qvl


Personally, unless you plan/want to attempt these sticks to maybe function I'd choose one of the kits from the below link. G.Skill themselves certifies this list as compatible. No muss, no fuss. They'll just work. First time.

Otherwise it's monkeying with the ram voltage, SA voltage, and or VCCIO.

http://www.gskill.com/en/configurator?manu=52&chip=2484&model=2515

riklaunum wrote: It booted at 2933MHz. 30XXMHz and it does not boot. Running some benchmarks now to see how it performs.

You can see the UEFI version in your board on the Main screen of the UEFI. The latest version for your board is 3.50.

Most if not all 8GB DIMMs are Double Sided (DS), and should be used in the A1 and B1 slots on your board. That is stated in the manual and in your board's memory support list. If your memory has chips on both sides of its board, it is DS memory.

If we check the memory support list for your board, here:

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z170%20Pro4S/index.us.asp?cat=Memory

We can see that once the memory speed is above 3000, then only one DIMM/stick can be used for all but one model of memory. We can also see there are only two models of 8GB DIMMs that have been tested at 3200, and then only one DIMM can be used. The majority of the memory at speeds above 3000 are 4GB DIMMs used in single channel mode.

You are most likely at the limit of memory speed and capacity for your memory, board and CPU. The memory controller in your CPU (IMC), and any Intel Skylake processor is guaranteed to work at a speed of 2133. Any speed above that is a memory over clock, and not guaranteed.

Usually, Skylake processors are good for memory over clocks up to 3000. At that point, the board's quality is a factor, as well as the memory and the CPU's IMC. As wardog said, the VCCSA and VCCIO voltages play important roles in memory over clocks.

If you are not using the XMP profile, which is fine since they tend to not work very well so far with DDR4 memory, your VCCSA and VCCIO voltages are likely set to Auto. If you check the H/W Monitoring screen in the UEFI, you should see what those voltages are currently for you 2933 memory OC. What values do you have now for those voltages?

Your DRAM/memory voltage should be at least 1.35V for speeds approaching 3000. It may take voltage beyond 1.35V to reach 3000, particularly with two DIMMs, if it is even possible.