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How do I recognize which voltage is right for my RAM

F_Luke_F
Level 7

‎05-16-2021 07:26 AM - last edited on ‎03-05-2024 07:01 PM by Community Admin

Hi all,

Long story short: Is the lowest stable voltage of RAM better, or it could affect performance?

Hi all,
I would like to ask for a help with RAMs running in DOCP profile. When I switched into DOCP I observed instability and screen flickering. In events monitor in Windows 10 there were couple of entries, that display driver stopped responding and it was recovered. I suspected the GPU, but when I switched off the DOCP, it all ran smooth. So I thought that voltage of DRAM could be the problem. I started raising voltage of RAM slightly, but screen flickering appeared more often. After I find out, that even overvoltage can cause instability as well, I decided to lower the voltage. And voila, PC started to run smoothly. Factory voltage of my RAM is 1.2V while in DOCP they supposed to run in 1,35V But I found out, that it is stable in 1,325V. But then I was curious how low I could go with voltage. I set back 1.2V and PC don't even went into POST. Some little tuning and I found out that on 1,250 PC run smooth also. So my question is. Should I leave DRAM voltage as low as possible, or lower voltage could affect performace. Which number between 1,250 and 1,325V should I choose?

Thank you all

My PC spec
Ryzen 5 - 5600X
Asus B550-F
16GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB 3600Mhz
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xeromist
Moderator

‎05-16-2021 08:10 PM

As low as possible while remaining stable with something like HCI memtest. Higher voltage beyond what is necessary to maintain stability doesn't do anything except generate more heat. The only reason you see higher voltages set as defaults is because silicon quality varies and manufacturers want to ensure general compatibility with a wide range of configurations and luck of the draw.
A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station…
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F_Luke_F
Level 7
In response to xeromist

‎05-17-2021 03:29 AM

Hi xeromist
Thank you for your answer. I ran HCI Memtest as you advised, started several copies, as devs recommend so that I used almost all my RAM capacity. Every running copy went over 150% with no error at all. So I would say, my voltage is stable enough. I read that it should go overnight with no errors, but since I do not plan to go beyond DOCP profile, I might consider my OC as sucesfull. Thank you again for your help.
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Silent_Scone
Super Moderator
In response to F_Luke_F

‎05-18-2021 12:11 AM

F_Luke_F wrote:
Hi xeromist
Thank you for your answer. I ran HCI Memtest as you advised, started several copies, as devs recommend so that I used almost all my RAM capacity. Every running copy went over 150% with no error at all. So I would say, my voltage is stable enough. I read that it should go overnight with no errors, but since I do not plan to go beyond DOCP profile, I might consider my OC as sucesfull. Thank you again for your help.


In order to stress the memory bus adequately with HCI one instance should be launched per CPU thread with an ideal coverage time of 400-500%. HCI consider 1000%+ to be the golden standard. Coverage time in HCI with more than 16GB RAM is glacially slow, so consider other tests such as Google Stress App and Karhu RAM Test in future.

Beyond that, ultimately you should use the system for it's intended purpose and tune accordingly if the memory becomes unstable.
13900KS / 8000 CAS36 / ROG APEX Z790 / ROG TUF RTX 4090
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F_Luke_F
Level 7
In response to Silent_Scone

‎05-24-2021 02:37 PM

Thank you silent scone too

sorry for a late answer, but I didn't thought, that anybody else add anything in this thread. And because letting your advice without an answer wouldn't be polite 🙂 I would like letting you know, that I'll save your answer for future if anything will happen with my RAMs. It's been a couple of days I went into OC retirement (haha :D) yet everything running smooth as a calm river 🙂 (fingercrossed) So I hope, that anything bad don't wait for me. But if yes, I'll try your advices as well.
Thank you both guys
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xeromist
Moderator

‎05-17-2021 10:37 AM

Yes, I've found that if it's stable past 100% then it should be fine. Anything is possible so there may be some situations where instabilities show up later but that would be highly unusual in my experience.
A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station…
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