Problem Statement and Product Descriptions

As a hardware reviewers, we like to keep our testing rigs consistent and bug-free in order to maintain data confidence and consistent toolsets for test execution. However, sometimes we get stuck in a routine and we begin to prefer certain brands or configurations. In a Team Group memory review, we found that particular memory kit was performing well in only certain motherboards. That got us thinking: Are we doing this all wrong?

In that review, we noted that particular sets of RAM work better with particular board manufacturers and could be problematic in non-sanctioned systems. On the surface, this may not seem like a major issue, especially if you know going into a buying decision that Team Group's memory tends to work best on Asus motherboards. But according to the testing data we have, 7-zip is showing a 10% performance advantage on the better-matched systems and F1 2015 shows a stark 23% increase in framerates at 1080P. Clearly that Team Group kit works well with that Asus Z390 motherboard, but there seems to be some sketchy UEFI magic going on behind the scenes.

In order to investigate, we’re going to be changing a few variables today. First, we’re getting a new set of eyes to look at this data. Next, we’re going to see how AMD’s motherboards fare with this particular issue. Lastly, we’re going to be throwing some of our top-rated AMD X470 motherboards into the ring to see just how finicky the interface is across vendors. Perhaps our odd Team Group results come from an Intel-specific "feature" that Asus uses, but only time (and lots of testing) will tell.

Test System Configuration

Drivers and Software

Sound Integrated HD audio Network Integrated Gigabit networking Software OS Microsoft Windows 10 Anniversary Update Graphics Nvidia Chipset AMD X470

Since AMD's latest X570 chipset boards just launched, they weren't yet available when we were working on this story. So we’re sticking with X470 because it is very stable, less expensive, and, honestly, very capable of hitting top memory data rates. Our trusty Ryzen 2700X will also be driving our memory traffic since we know how its memory controller functions and we intend on getting consistent results. Our target motherboards today will be the Gigabyte X470 Aorus Gaming 7, MSI X470 Gaming M7 AC, and the Asus X470 Crosshair Hero VII (WiFi), all of which performed admirably.

Benchmark Settings

Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings SiSoftware Sandra Version 2016.03.22.21 Memory Bandwidth and Memory Latency Application Tests and Settings Blender Version 2.68a BMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark 7-Zip Version 16.02 THG-Workload (7.6 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9" Game Tests and Settings F1 2015 2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, Rain 1920x1080 - UltraHigh Preset, 16x AF Metro Last Light Redux Version 3.00 x64 Very High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High Tesselation

Beyond that, our memory test methodology has not changed significantly across processor brands and we hope to replicate our data collection across the test platforms. In order to reduce test time, we will only be looking at data across three data rates: DDR4-2933, DDR4-3200, and DDR4-3600. To increase our chances with compatibility, we will only be using two 8GB sticks of DDR4-3600 RAM from G.Skill (which we're also working on reviewing). And to keep things consistent across runs, XMP voltages and timings will be utilized across the test points to help isolate performance to the data and not other factors.

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