About buying RAM that's not listed in QVL

[lemoncarbonate]

I'm thinking of upgrading my RAM from 16GB to 32GB (new kit)
My main concern is the somewhat limited RAM compatibility with 1st gen Ryzen 1700X, so I'm very afraid of losing system stability when using the wrong RAM.

Here's the QVL for my motherboard, Gigabyte AX370 Gaming 5, F8 BIOS
My available options are:

Best and the most reasonably priced options:
GSkill Flare X 2x16GB 3200MHz F4-3200C14D-16GFX
(not in QVL, but I see some Flare X model with "GFX" ending, or the closest one that's listed is F4-3200C14Q-32GFX)

Alternatives:
GSkill Ripjaws V 2x8GB 3200MHz F4-3200C16D-16GVKB
(listed in QVL, will need 2 kits of this, availability is scarce, more expensive than the Flare X. I also hear some 1st gen Ryzen and X370 users having system stability issues with 4 sticks of RAM and XMP enabled, but QVL says it's working fine)

GSkill Trident Z Neo 2x16GB 3200MHz F4-3200C16D-32GTZN
(not listed in QVL, the most expensive one, like $50-60 higher than Flare X, is it worth to get? Looks cool, but RGB is not mandatory for me)

I also see some Corsair LPX in QVL, but right now it's even more expensive than the Trident Z Neo for the same speed and capacity. I also heard from some TP users say that LPX doesn't go very well with 1st gen Ryzen.
The RAM I'm using right now is listed in QVL (Team Group), but sadly the exact same model was ditched by the distributor years ago. It would cost me the same as Flare X 23GB to get it from marketplace.

Also, is now a good time to buy RAM? I see some price are rising significantly compared to 3 months ago.

Note; we don't have return policy here, once you buy a product you cannot return it, so I can't just buy and try each kit.

Thank you.
Lemon

 

[dark2099]

With regards to QVL, don't fret over it, those are just kits that have been tested by the manufacturer. Not being tested doesn't guarantee anything. I've never used that list to buy a single set of ram.

 

[lemoncarbonate]

With regards to QVL, don't fret over it, those are just kits that have been tested by the manufacturer. Not being tested doesn't guarantee anything. I've never used that list to buy a single set of ram.

I do agree with you, but we're talking about Ryzen 1st gen which is notorious for its bad ram compatibility. Also I haven't updated my BIOS since 2018. If I had Intel, or 2nd 3rd gen Ryzen, I would not fret over it too much. Or am I just overthinking it?

 

[VulkanBros]

You will be fine, not using the QVL list. I had a RyZen 1700X, and have used Kingston HyperX, Kingston Fury and Corsair Dominator (all DDR4-3200 MHz) - none of them where on the QVL list and all where working fine, and in my case, the Corsair's where the best for overclocking - I know many will disagree with me, on that part - but that was the case.

 

[tabascosauz]

I'm thinking of upgrading my RAM from 16GB to 32GB (new kit)
My main concern is the somewhat limited RAM compatibility with 1st gen Ryzen 1700X, so I'm very afraid of losing system stability when using the wrong RAM.

Here's the QVL for my motherboard, Gigabyte AX370 Gaming 5, F8 BIOS
My available options are:

Best and the most reasonably priced options:
GSkill Flare X 2x16GB 3200MHz F4-3200C14D-16GFX
(not in QVL, but I see some Flare X model with "GFX" ending, or the closest one that's listed is F4-3200C14Q-32GFX)

Alternatives:
GSkill Ripjaws V 2x8GB 3200MHz F4-3200C16D-16GVKB
(listed in QVL, will need 2 kits of this, availability is scarce, more expensive than the Flare X. I also hear some 1st gen Ryzen and X370 users having system stability issues with 4 sticks of RAM and XMP enabled, but QVL says it's working fine)

GSkill Trident Z Neo 2x16GB 3200MHz F4-3200C16D-32GTZN
(not listed in QVL, the most expensive one, like $50-60 higher than Flare X, is it worth to get? Looks cool, but RGB is not mandatory for me)

I also see some Corsair LPX in QVL, but right now it's even more expensive than the Trident Z Neo for the same speed and capacity. I also heard from some TP users say that LPX doesn't go very well with 1st gen Ryzen.
The RAM I'm using right now is listed in QVL (Team Group), but sadly the exact same model was ditched by the distributor years ago. It would cost me the same as Flare X 23GB to get it from marketplace.

Also, is now a good time to buy RAM? I see some price are rising significantly compared to 3 months ago.

Note; we don't have return policy here, once you buy a product you cannot return it, so I can't just buy and try each kit.

Thank you.
Lemon

The only kit in this list that's not a lottery of garbage (and the only one worth getting) is the 2x16GB Flare X, because it's guaranteed to be decent quality B-die. Generally B-die, as long as it's not on a Corsair PCB, has always had good Ryzen compatibility, is still objectively the best performing IC, is also easy to work with and easy to learn to tweak.

The other two will be a lottery, you can get literally anything at 3200 16-18-18. There are some lesser-known ICs from Hynix, Samsung and Micron that are absolute turds and a pain to work with (esp. the negative scaling ones, 8Gb Micron Rev.B and 8Gb Samsung C-die) even on a CPU with a strong IMC, let alone Ryzen 1000. AFAIK G.skill doesn't buy Micron, but there's plenty of potential landmines from Hynix and Samsung in those two kits.

Are you already familiar with where the quality of the IMC/IF on your specific CPU lands? IIRC 3200 should not be a problem for decent 1700X/1800X chips, but that's two single rank sticks (2x8GB with 8Gb ICs). 2x16GB with 8Gb ICs is dual rank per channel, and 4x8GB with 8Gb ICs is also dual rank per channel, which negatively impacts your max achievable freq on any Intel or AMD CPU. But by how much, or whether it'll prevent you from running 3200, I don't know.

G.skill has decent support so returns shouldn't be an issue as long as you're doing all you can to get B-die and not play the lottery that is the GVKB and GTZN kits. The Neo kit is extremely bad value if it's more expensive than the Flare X.

 

[WatEagle]

I also use ram that’s not in the qvl list with 3rd gen Ryze, it just works fine. I tried to overclock it (Samsung b-die) but I had no luck. Other than that running them with xmp shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[lemoncarbonate]

You will be fine, not using the QVL list. I had a RyZen 1700X, and have used Kingston HyperX, Kingston Fury and Corsair Dominator (all DDR4-3200 MHz) - none of them where on the QVL list and all where working fine, with the Corsair's as the best for overclocking

Hearing that from a fellow 1700X user really makes me feel safer Thank you for the info.
Corsair is just too expensive. I don't really think it's worth enough. I will be just using XMP for my RAM. My goals are just getting 32GB kit that can run XMP 3200MHz C16, and a stable system.

The only kit in this list that's not a lottery of garbage (and the only one worth getting) is the 2x16GB Flare X, because it's guaranteed to be decent quality B-die. Generally B-die, as long as it's not on a Corsair PCB, has always had good Ryzen compatibility, is still objectively the best performing IC, is also easy to work with and easy to learn to tweak.

The other two will be a lottery, you can get literally anything at 3200 16-18-18. There are some lesser-known ICs from Hynix, Samsung and Micron that are absolute turds and a pain to work with (esp. the negative scaling ones, 8Gb Micron Rev.B and 8Gb Samsung C-die) even on a CPU with a strong IMC, let alone Ryzen 1000. AFAIK G.skill doesn't buy Micron, but there's plenty of potential landmines from Hynix and Samsung in those two kits.

Are you already familiar with where the quality of the IMC/IF on your specific CPU lands? IIRC 3200 should not be a problem for decent 1700X/1800X chips, but that's two single rank sticks (2x8GB with 8Gb ICs). 2x16GB with 8Gb ICs is dual rank per channel, and 4x8GB with 8Gb ICs is also dual rank per channel, which negatively impacts your max achievable freq on any Intel or AMD CPU. But by how much, or whether it'll prevent you from running 3200, I don't know.

G.skill has decent support so returns shouldn't be an issue as long as you're doing all you can to get B-die and not play the lottery that is the GVKB and GTZN kits. The Neo kit is extremely bad value if it's more expensive than the Flare X.

Nice information. Although I don't know what die the Flare X has. AFAIK the C14 model has Samsung B-die, others are SK Hynix. I may be wrong.
Some Reddit post I found,
https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/62vp2g
And some nice information from MSI's QVL for Flare X series. I don't see the specific 3200 C16D, but 2400 C16D sounds very close, no? They are all Hynix.

The one I mentioned in the original post is C16. Can't find any info what brand the chip is.
I've no idea if my 1700X chip can be called decent, So far I can only push it to 3.8GHz @1.3v. I almost got 3.9, but it crashed in the end. 3.8 is the most stable config I got.

I agree that the Neo is too expensive for me, I don't really need the RGB.

I also use ram that’s not in the qvl list with 3rd gen Ryze, it just works fine. I tried to overclock it (Samsung b-die) but I had no luck. Other than that running them with xmp shouldn’t be a problem.

That's nice. 3rd gen should have far better RAM compatibility though, I would not mind that much if was using 3rd gen or 5th gen, but I won't be upgrading my CPU for a while.

 

[tabascosauz]

Hearing that from a fellow 1700X user really makes me feel safer Thank you for the info.
Corsair is just too expensive. I don't really think it's worth enough. I will be just using XMP for my RAM. My goals are just getting 32GB kit that can run XMP 3200MHz C16, and a stable system.

Nice information. Although I don't know what die the Flare X has. AFAIK the C14 model has Samsung B-die, others are SK Hynix. I may be wrong.
Some Reddit post I found,
https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/62vp2g
And some nice information from MSI's QVL for Flare X series. I don't see the specific 3200 C16D, but 2400 C16D sounds very close, no? They are all Hynix.

The one I mentioned in the original post is C16. Can't find any info what brand the chip is.
I've no idea if my 1700X chip can be called decent, So far I can only push it to 3.8GHz @1.3v. I almost got 3.9, but it crashed in the end. 3.8 is the most stable config I got.

You linked in your post:

GSkill Flare X 2x16GB 3200MHz F4-3200C14D-16GFX

Did you intend to link the CL16 kit instead?

All 3200 CL14 kits on the market from any manufacturer are guaranteed to be B-die, for the simple reason that there has not been another IC in the past 5 years that can do 3200 14-14-14 @ 1.35V and be validated for XMP as such. But if it's the 3200 CL16 Flare X, then it has zero advantage over the others from a consistency/compatibility/performance perspective.

The only consolation is that all 3 are G.skill kits, which mitigates the lottery somewhat (though a moot point if you can't return any of the kits). On the sticker on any G.skill DDR4 stick you will find a long number that starts with 042, and ends in a 4-digit number followed by a letter. The 042 code will always tell you what IC you have. If you just search up G.skill 042 code on Google you will find numerous guides to deciphering it, but it's really straightforward.

Ends in 8810B = 8Gb Samsung B-die (preferable)
Ends in 8820C/8821C/8825C = 8Gb Hynix CJR (decent on current Ryzens, not sure about legacy Ryzens)
Pretty much everything else = possibly a wild ride, for a variety of reasons

If you can pick up the CL14 kit for not much more money, it's a no-brainer.

Also, that reddit thread is way, way too old. Many kits on there haven't been in production for years, and the B-dies that have more ambiguous XMPs are likely to have switched to inferior ICs. It's never a good idea to try deciphering a product based on its model number, basically all manufacturers (except maybe Micron for most part) put various ICs into a single product number.

 

[lemoncarbonate]

You linked in your post:

GSkill Flare X 2x16GB 3200MHz F4-3200C14D-16GFX

Did you intend to link the CL16 kit instead?

All 3200 CL14 kits on the market from any manufacturer are guaranteed to be B-die, for the simple reason that there has not been another IC in the past 5 years that can do 3200 14-14-14 @ 1.35V and be validated for XMP as such. But if it's the 3200 CL16 Flare X, then it has zero advantage over the others from a consistency/compatibility/performance perspective.

The only consolation is that all 3 are G.skill kits, which mitigates the lottery somewhat (though a moot point if you can't return any of the kits). On the sticker on any G.skill DDR4 stick you will find a long number that starts with 042, and ends in a 4-digit number followed by a letter. The 042 code will always tell you what IC you have. If you just search up G.skill 042 code on Google you will find numerous guides to deciphering it, but it's really straightforward.

Ends in 8810B = 8Gb Samsung B-die (preferable)
Ends in 8820C/8821C/8825C = 8Gb Hynix CJR (decent on current Ryzens, not sure about legacy Ryzens)
Pretty much everything else = possibly a wild ride, for a variety of reasons

If you can pick up the CL14 kit for not much more money, it's a no-brainer.

Also, that reddit thread is way, way too old. Many kits on there haven't been in production for years, and the B-dies that have more ambiguous XMPs are likely to have switched to inferior ICs. It's never a good idea to try deciphering a product based on its model number, basically all manufacturers (except maybe Micron for most part) put various ICs into a single product number.

Oops, my bad, so sorry I linked the wrong one.. there's no 3200C14D here
I intended to link the F4-3200C16D-32GFX. The naming is so confusing, I mistook it.

I understand, so the CL16 is definitely not B-die. It's almost impossible to find a B-die RAM here without breaking wallet, moreover the stock availability is very atrocious.

Thanks for the deciphering guide. If I end up buying one, I will definitely check it out.
I'm still considering before pulling the trigger, but the Flare X CL16 is the best options I have right now.
At least I had the BIOS updated to Agesa 1.0.0.6a, which should have improved the RAM compatibility with legacy Ryzen.

Thank you so much for your help.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

In all the years i have been pissing about with PC's, i have never once bought ram that was on a boards QVL, or probably even checked, nad i have never had any problems to speak of.