Z170 Pro4S Ram OC problem
Printed From: ASRock.com
Category: Technical Support
Forum Name: Intel Motherboards
Forum Description: Question about ASRock Intel Motherboards
URL: https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1788
Printed Date: 06 Sep 2025 at 9:14am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.04 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Z170 Pro4S Ram OC problem
Posted By: Soft Brick
Subject: Z170 Pro4S Ram OC problem
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2016 at 1:42am
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So I have just built a system using AsRock Z170 Pro4S (CPU: i5 6500) and after unsuccessful attempts to overclock my ram, I decided to look for help here. Firstly, I understand that there are no guarantees when overclocking. RAM Kit: DDR4 Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 2400 MHz 2x8GB (16-16-16-39, 1.2V) I specifically bought this ram kit expecting to OC it to at least 2666MHz, especialy since reviews show that this ram is capable of reaching 2800MHz+. RAM runs with no problems at stock speed, I even reduced timings to 12-12-12-31. I'm also able to overvolt RAM or underclock it without problems However I'm unable to overclock it by any amount, system simply won't post afterwards. This is what I tried (using both sticks): Unable to OC using A2 and B2 slots in dual-channel. Unable to OC using only B2 slot in single channel. Unable to OC using only B1 slot in single channel. I am able to successfuly OC ram when using only A2 slot in single-channel mode (edit: http://www.macmall.com/p/9579520?dpno=13630362&source=zwb12166" rel="nofollow - 2800MHz , 1.3v, 15-15-15-36). This indicates, that ram sticks are capable of speeds 2400MHz+. I haven't tried A1 slot, because it would require unscrewing cpu cooler fan.
(EDIT: A1 slot overclocks just as well as A2.) So, after good OC on both sticks using A2 slot (edit: A1 works aswell), I assume that both sticks are OK and problem lies somewhere within the motherboard. Can my motherboard be faulty or there is something else to it? I have latest bios update - 2.90 (edit: 3.00). System specs: MB: AsRock Z170 Pro4S CPU: I5 6500 RAM: DDR4 Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 2400 MHz 2x8GB (16-16-16-39, 1.2V) GPU: Asus R7 360 PSU: EVGA 600B SSD: Crucial MX100 256GB Any ideas? |
Replies:
Posted By: peroni
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2016 at 4:36am
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Your board is nearly the exact same as mine, http://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1145&KW=vccio&PID=8643&title=z170-pro4-successful-bios-update-but-black-screen#8643" rel="nofollow - this answer should be valid for you too. Let me know how it goes. Are you attempting to overclock your 6500 using SkyOC? ------------- Z170 PRO4 i5 6600 2x8GB Corsair DDR3000 SSD 950 Pro (OS) 850 Evo (data) GTX 960 4GB 2x LCD |
Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2016 at 5:24am
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I've tried these settings: VCCIO: 1.2v VCSSA: 1.35v (max allowed) RAM Voltage: 1.3v But I'm still unable to reach even 2533MHz. I tested SkyOC just to see if it actually works. I ran some benchmarks @4.51GHz 1.325v, without any fine tuning or stability testing. And of course I had to keep my ram under 2400MHz. Average performance gains were about 30%, which is really nice. |
Posted By: peroni
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2016 at 6:21am
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I would not go over 1.2v for VCCIO and 1.25 for VCSSA, not needed. You can however push up to 1.35v/1.4v for the memory just to see if that makes any difference. There is probably some memory subtiming preventing you to overclock the RAM. Get ASRock Timing Configurator 4.0.3 and post a screenshot. Well done on the CPU overclock! ------------- Z170 PRO4 i5 6600 2x8GB Corsair DDR3000 SSD 950 Pro (OS) 850 Evo (data) GTX 960 4GB 2x LCD |
Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2016 at 6:57am
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http://i.imgur.com/5ywacFr.png?1
Managed to boot at 2533MHz, I'll update.. Update: 1.4v on RAM allowed me to boot at 2533MHz (16-16-16-39): http://i.imgur.com/Lnyu2CA.png?1 No boot at 1.35v (2533MHz) No boot when i set 15-15-15-36 timings (1.4v)(2533MHz) No boot 2666MHz, 1.4v, 16-16-16-39 |
Posted By: peroni
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2016 at 3:01pm
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You're getting there, you might try pushing a little more voltage to the ram if you have some sort of active cooling. For reference http://sopali.net/web/Subtimings.png" rel="nofollow - these are my timings Note that tRAS should have a value equal to the sum of tCL + tRCD +tRTP In my case that would have been 40 but I found that 28 gave me a better latency value, apparently the memory controller sets an internal value if tRAS is out of its range. edit: and http://sopali.net/web/voltages.jpg" rel="nofollow - these are my voltages ------------- Z170 PRO4 i5 6600 2x8GB Corsair DDR3000 SSD 950 Pro (OS) 850 Evo (data) GTX 960 4GB 2x LCD |
Posted By: parsec
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2016 at 3:21pm
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You should set all the timings to Auto when you increase memory speed, if you prefer to have the PC boot more likely than not. Yes the timings will be very high on Auto, but at least you know the speed is possible. I suggest checking the memory voltage with a third party program. My ASRock Z170 board produces about 0.015V more than the setting displayed in the UEFI. I have my cheap Crucial 2133 DDR4 (not even Ballistic Sport) in my X99 board running at 2666, with the 2133 timings, by some miracle. That's even with mixed kits and six DIMMs in a quad channel board. ------------- http://valid.x86.fr/48rujh" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2016 at 4:28pm
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For some reason I am no longer able to achieve 2533 that i managed earlier... I tried changing various timings. Sometimes system restarts a few times and asks me to change settings, sometimes it restarts a few times but boots to windows (using same settings in both cases at 2533). Leaving all settings on Auto doesn't help.. btw, update 2.90 just got removed from download section. |
Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2016 at 7:56pm
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UPDATE: So update 3.00 just got released and I immediately flashed it. Sadly however, problem still persists. This update brought an interesting feature. By pressing X on bios splash screen you can activate SkyOC function, which automatically overclocks CPU slightly (BCLK -110) and bumps voltage +100mV. CPU runs at 3.52Ghz (stock 3.2GHz). CPU temps are still at "100C" however. Funnily enough, this feature also overclocks ram to around 2660, and of course I am not able to boot unless I underclock it to around 2350.  |
Posted By: peroni
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2016 at 9:05pm
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After changing the ram settings are you waiting long enough until the bios comes back with a boot error? Sometimes it takes a long time to boot and you might think it is failing. ------------- Z170 PRO4 i5 6600 2x8GB Corsair DDR3000 SSD 950 Pro (OS) 850 Evo (data) GTX 960 4GB 2x LCD |
Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2016 at 9:18pm
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I wait until it tells me that pc failed to boot several times and i need to change settings. If I do nothing computer boots to windows using default speed (2400MHz)
I have a suspicion that this issue has something to do with subtimings. My guess is that some of the settings I leave on auto are set incorrectly. Update: If I manually set tREFI timing to 65535 (max allowed) i can boot at 2533MHz 1.4v while everything else is set to auto. |
Posted By: peroni
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2016 at 10:56pm
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Ok, sounds like you will have to go through a painful exercise to find the best value for many sub-timings. Sometimes a higher value is better and sometimes is the other way around. Are your voltages similar to mine? ------------- Z170 PRO4 i5 6600 2x8GB Corsair DDR3000 SSD 950 Pro (OS) 850 Evo (data) GTX 960 4GB 2x LCD |
Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 12:44am
| At first it seems that I get bootable settings. Then I change something and pc no longer boots. I change settings back to what they were previously and pc also no longer boots. I tried various combinations of voltages. It's all very random and very frustrating. If only someone could pinpoint which timings to set. |
Posted By: peroni
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 1:15am
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I've seen the same behaviour when trying to maximize my memory timings. The memory controller can be a pain to deal with. This is my approach I always save UEFI changes to disk. In case of failure to boot with known working settings I reset UEFI to default, save and exit, re-enter UEFI and load my saved settings. Save and exit and usually windows boots. ------------- Z170 PRO4 i5 6600 2x8GB Corsair DDR3000 SSD 950 Pro (OS) 850 Evo (data) GTX 960 4GB 2x LCD |
Posted By: peroni
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 1:50am
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Here's a great tip to work with memory timings ang get around the no boot issue with known working settings. Go to OC Tweaker\DRAM Configuration then scroll to the bottom and check the entry MRC Fast Boot, if enable set it to disabled! Excellent explanation here https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18441754 ------------- Z170 PRO4 i5 6600 2x8GB Corsair DDR3000 SSD 950 Pro (OS) 850 Evo (data) GTX 960 4GB 2x LCD |
Posted By: wardog
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 1:59am
Dead, dying, or defective CMOS battery? Those button cells are produced by the millions so I wouldn't be surprised to learn a dead one got by. Worth a shot for a buck USD. |
Soft Brick wrote:Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 2:24am
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I somehow managed to successufly boot at 2533MHz 1.2v, but only once. I have these settings saved to disk, but I am no longer able to boot using them. Disabling MRC Fast Boot doesn't help. I've tried putting CMOS battery from my old MoBo, but it changed nothing. |
Posted By: wardog
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 2:34am
Next time out, if you feel like spending $1.00 on this, buy a new battery, shut it down, clear the CMOS by battery removal and CLRCMOS jumper, then reverse and see how it goes. I've seen strange things remain in early tries at replacing the battery but not jumpering to clear the CMOS. Another you might try is remove power from wall, pull the CMOS battery, press the cases power button for 10secs or so, jumper to CLRCMOS, and let it sit this way overnight. I jumped in here an hour ago when I "thought" I recognized you say what you did there looked reminiscent to me a battery/BIOS issue. ie: random settings stick, but not always. Here posting just trying to help is all. |
Posted By: peroni
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 2:52am
LOL, we need to get Soft Brick to clock up that RAM, he cannot be so unlucky  First try wardog suggestion with clrcmos Then set default SPD values, set voltages to a higher value, disable MRC Fast Boot, save and exit. If booting normally re-enter UEFI set looser timings, save and exit If booting normally re-enter UEFI set the next higher speed value, 2533MHz, save and exit Hopefully it boots. Wait a long time before declaring a fail boot. With MRC disabled sometimes it double boots. You might also want to try bios 2.70, for me the November bios is the one that gets me much higher RAM memory, up to 3400MHz, cannot reach the same value with any of the new bios. Of course 2.70 does not have SKY OC ------------- Z170 PRO4 i5 6600 2x8GB Corsair DDR3000 SSD 950 Pro (OS) 850 Evo (data) GTX 960 4GB 2x LCD |
Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 3:45am
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I've tried clrcmos after 3.00 update - no success. I've just tried downgrading to 2.70, but it doesn't help too. I sometimes can reach 2533MHz (if I use peroni's steps), but I'm yet to boot at 2666MHz. Overclocking RAM is not something I can't live without. Some sources on the internet indicate that higher speed memory can improve FPS in cpu-heavy scenarios (not that my current GPU would let that to happen  ). Reviews of this RAM kit show that you can easily reach 2666MHz even on lowered timings. |
Posted By: Xaltar
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 4:14am
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Overclocking any PC component is never guaranteed, you may simply be unlucky and have a kit that will not overclock very well. I have had budget DDR3 1600 kits that OCed to 2100 and high end DDR3 2400 kits that would not even reach 2500, it is the luck of the draw or "silicon lottery" as it is often referred to. When I bought my Pentium G3258 every review I read on it said 4.8ghz was reachable but mine never let me past 4.4ghz.
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Posted By: peroni
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 4:31am
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Well my friend, I'm out of ideas. Don't give up though, somebody might come forward with other tips and of course you will want to try the overnight clear cmos suggested by wardog ------------- Z170 PRO4 i5 6600 2x8GB Corsair DDR3000 SSD 950 Pro (OS) 850 Evo (data) GTX 960 4GB 2x LCD |
Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 4:57am
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So i did some experimenting with my memory sticks individually in single-channel mode. Both dimms booted successfully at 2800MHz, 1.3v, 15-15-15-36 using A2 slot. I'm certain that my memory is in excellent shape. I am not able to reach any overclock on B2 slot however. Is it "silicon lottery" on AsRock motherboards? |
Posted By: wardog
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 5:01am
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I don't remember if I've asked for this of you or not. Fire up CPU-z and post screenies of both sticks Memory and SPD tabs please |
Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 5:04am
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You mean dual-channel stock or single-channel overclocked?
Stock settings: http://i.imgur.com/iDLGReZ.png?1 |
Posted By: Xaltar
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 6:35am
Overclocking in single channel isn't the same as dual channel overclocking but none the less, the B2 slot should overclock just as readily as A2 so that is a little odd. Unfortunately the system is running "as intended" at stock speeds so even if there is a problem with the B2 slot that prevents a decent OC it likely won't fall under warranty terms. It may be worth reseating the CPU and checking for bent pins/poor contact.
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Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 6:54pm
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Xaltar, is it actually possible that bent pins would cause such behavior? Especially since I can SkyOC my CPU to 4.51Ghz. Maybe I'm a victim of CPU warp? I use Zalman CNPS10X Extreme cooler, but it has springs on screws and I was already aware of this issue and extremely careful not to overtighten the screws.
I'm also not happy about AsRock's decision to put ram slot clips only on one side, inserting ram sticks is quite hard. Although I've gotten pretty good at this :D I could try returning MoBo to my local shop that I bought it from, but it's a hassle and there are no guarantees.. so I guess I'll live with 2400MHz. Thanks for your help guys. |
Posted By: wardog
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 7:22pm
Ha! You type as bad as I do.  "" I was already aware of this issue and extremely careful to to overtighten the screws. "" I was already aware of this issue and extremely careful to not overtighten the screws.
I'm undecided on these. I have them on my 990FX Professional. |
Posted By: peroni
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 11:31pm
Just to confirm, out of 4 memory slots only A2 allows you to get anything more than 2400mhz on the RAM? It is somewhat unlikely 3 out of 4 slots being faulty. The memory controller is built in the CPU, could that be at fault? I'm just shooting on the dark here. ------------- Z170 PRO4 i5 6600 2x8GB Corsair DDR3000 SSD 950 Pro (OS) 850 Evo (data) GTX 960 4GB 2x LCD |
Posted By: wardog
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 11:37pm
Yea, bent pins can cause all sorts of weirdness. Too, while you do have the proc out, check that isn't doing any warping. |
Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2016 at 11:46pm
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I unscrewed CPU cooler fan which allowed me to put RAM stick into A1 slot. Just like A2, it overclocks just fine.
Oh, and any tips on how should I straighten bent pins, if I find any? Update: So I've removed cooler and a cpu, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Resetting cpu did not help. I also tried removing GPU, disconnecting ssd and data hdd (just to be sure :D). |
Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2016 at 5:02pm
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Update: Even though I gave up looking for a fix to this issue, I had a very bad feeling that I might've damaged a CPU by using my tower cooler. So a good neighbor of mine allowed me to try out his i3 6100 (used with stock cooler) on my machine. Aaaand problem is still there... At least now I can have good nights sleep, knowing that CPU is ok.
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Posted By: Xaltar
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2016 at 5:09pm
Good to hear you alleviated the possibility of a damaged CPU  The warping substrate issue isn't anywhere near as common as many seem to think, there have only been a few reported incidents and as is always the case these days those incidents got a lot of media attention. Most CPU coolers operate without issue on Skylake CPUs, there are only a few particular models that run a high risk of damaging the substrate and socket. Did you check for bent pins while you had your CPU out?
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Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2016 at 5:32pm
| I've inspected the socket several times, but found nothing. |
Posted By: Xaltar
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2016 at 5:36pm
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In that case, enjoy your system and rest easy knowing you don't have any hardware gremlins lurking
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Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2016 at 5:34pm
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oh, looks like gremlins are still stalking me. But at least there is hope.. Now. I feel realy stupid for not trying or noticing this earlier... So yesterday I was playing some games with RAM usage monitor on. And noticed that my ram never goes above 8GB, always stays about 7-7.8GB. What would happen if I forced system to use more RAM by opening same apps and games? Whenever RAM usage reaches exactly 8-8.1GB in task manager, system starts lagging badly and quickly freezes altogether. You can already see where this is going do you? So of course I did same testing: I put both RAM sticks to A1 and A2 slots (both in single-channel) and was able to stress 13GB of usage without too much problems. Then I put both sticks to B1 and B2 slots (also both in single-channel) aaaaand.... System failed to post completely. But for some reason I can put RAM sticks to B1 or B2 slots separately, and not only system boots, I can stress RAM ram without problems (8GB). I've set my virtual memory to 4GB max. Now I will definitely be returning this board. I still want to enjoy some games until my lectures start in February. 8GB is still plenty for now.
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Posted By: Xaltar
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2016 at 5:50pm
| That definitely sounds suspicious. Hopefully an RMA will resolve your issues. If you plan on using the PC for a little while before returning the board you can try just using the RAM in single channel in slots a1 and a2 as that will give you access to your full RAM pool and should still be fast enough for gaming on a discrete GPU. |
Posted By: Soft Brick
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2016 at 4:22am
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For some bizarre reason I'm able to utilize 16GB of ram in dual channel. Tested it several times. Bummer. No OC though. Looks like MoBo is not getting an RMA.. I did some research on the internet and found that it is possible to bend cpu socket backplate when tightening cooler. I removed my MoBo and inspected it. And there is very slight, but visible bend on cpu socket backplate, which causes my motherboard to warp very very very little. Now I don't want look obsessed, since my machine is operating normally at the moment, but is it worth trying to remove the backplate and, maybe, straighten it? Could such experiment make it worse? And most importantly could it fix my issues? |
Posted By: wardog
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2016 at 5:27am
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Contact ASRock or look at eBay for a new one. I wouldn't monkey with attempts at straightening it. A new one resolves any future thoughts you may look at it and consider later down the road. My 2c anyways. |