My new Ryzen 7 build - Questions on RAM timings

Hey everyone,

Just finished putting together my new Ryzen 7 7800X3D build! I'm super excited about it. Everything seems to be running fine, but I'm a bit unsure about optimizing my RAM timings. I've got a set of 32GB DDR5 6000MHz CL30 RAM and I've enabled the XMP profile in the BIOS.

Currently, it's running at 6000MHz with the advertised timings. However, I've seen some guides suggesting that manual tweaking of sub-timings can yield even better performance, especially for Ryzen. I'm a little hesitant to dive in without more understanding, as I don't want to cause any instability.

Could anyone share their experience with manually tuning RAM timings for Ryzen 7000 series CPUs? What are the key timings to focus on after the main ones (like CAS Latency)? Any common pitfalls or recommended tools for testing stability?

Here are my current primary timings from CPU-Z:

1: 30-38-38-77 (1T)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hey BuildMaster99,

Great build! The 7800X3D is a fantastic CPU. You're already in a good spot with XMP enabled at 6000MHz CL30, as that's often the "sweet spot" for this platform. Manual tuning can indeed offer marginal gains, but it's a time sink and carries risk if not done carefully.

For Ryzen 7000, after the main timings (tCL, tRCD, tRP, tRAS), you'll want to look at:

• tRFC (Refresh Cycle Time): Lower is generally better, but stability is key.
• tWR (Write Recovery Time): Also affects write performance.
• tWTR_L and tWTR_S (Write to Read Delay - Long/Short): Important for inter-core communication.
• tRDWR and tWRRD (Read to Write Delay / Write to Read Delay): Affect data transfer efficiency.

Key advice:

1. Change one thing at a time. This is crucial for identifying what causes instability.
2. Start with small reductions. Try lowering timings by 1 or 2 points at a time.
3. Use a good memory tester. TestMem5 with the extreme or anta777 configs, and OCCT's memory test are excellent. Run them for at least a few hours, ideally overnight.
4. Monitor voltages. Ensure your SOC voltage and memory controller voltage are stable.
5. Don't chase numbers if it means sacrificing stability or spending hours troubleshooting for a few frames per second. CL30 at 6000MHz is already excellent.

A good starting point might be to try tightening tRFC slightly. If you're feeling adventurous, you could try bringing down the secondary timings one by one. But honestly, for most users, XMP is more than sufficient.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

Thanks OverclockGuru! That's super helpful advice.

I appreciate you breaking down the secondary timings and the methodology. I was definitely worried about just blindly changing numbers. I'll start by looking into tRFC and maybe try lowering it by a few units. I've already downloaded TestMem5 and will be sure to run it overnight.

It's good to know that XMP is already a solid baseline. I might just stick with it if manual tuning proves too complex or unstable for now. The performance boost is tempting, but stability is definitely the priority.

I'll post an update after I've experimented a bit!