ASUS TUF B650M PLUS WIFI - PC Not Booting With EXPO Enabled

[ishashank]

Have you installed chipset drivers from AMD website? https://www.amd.com/en/support/downloads/drivers.html/chipsets/am5/b650.html

Also try running mem at 5600 manually

 

[Silent47Assassin]

ASUS Maximus VII Hero

Tried with iGPU only but same issue....
Uclk div1 mode = mclk/2 => what is this?

it runs the memory controller at half the speed of your memory clock for better stability, in this case 1500 MHz (for 6000 MT/s) . I have personally found the AMD mem controller to be the most senstive to higher clock speeds. This might have a different terminology in Asus UEFI... like UCLK divider or something...

 

[Jeet Chowdhury]

it runs the memory controller at half the speed of your memory clock for better stability, in this case 1500 MHz (for 6000 MT/s) . I have personally found the AMD mem controller to be the most senstive to higher clock speeds. This might have a different terminology in Asus UEFI... like UCLK divider or something...

Yes not finding this settings, but setting the default expo profile should be simple… right?

Have you installed chipset drivers from AMD website? https://www.amd.com/en/support/downloads/drivers.html/chipsets/am5/b650.html

Also try running mem at 5600 manually

Yes installed all drivers from motherboard dvd and also updated those…

try bios rollback to older versions.

How to do this and in which version
As it show downgrade not available

 

[Silent47Assassin]

Yes not finding this settings, but setting the default expo profile should be simple… right?

AM5 can be finicky. EXPO is a profile your memory comes with but they are not guaranteed to work with every combination of motherboard and CPU.

You can try looking under DRAM timings sub menu or where you can set memory frequency.

Also, try identifying the frequency where it stops posting at 200 MT/s increments... Like 4800 is posting, so try 5000, then 5200, and so on. You'll need to set the memory speed manually everytime.

 

[Jeet Chowdhury]

AM5 can be finicky. EXPO is a profile your memory comes with but they are not guaranteed to work with every combination of motherboard and CPU.

You can try looking under DRAM timings sub menu or where you can set memory frequency.

Also, try identifying the frequency where it stops posting at 200 MT/s increments... Like 4800 is posting, so try 5000, then 5200, and so on. You'll need to set the memory speed manually everytime.

Do i have to change voltage each time or keep that in auto mode?

Also should i change cl to specified cl or keep as it is and try to increase frequency by 200hz each time…

 

[k660]

Do i have to change voltage each time or keep that in auto mode?

Also should i change cl to specified cl or keep as it is and try to increase frequency by 200hz each time…

bro!!!! thats what i had been asking/saying since morning others have been asking on whether you set them manually or not!
now it seems like you didnt,
set a fix voltage and you need keep playing around with hz and timing around it. rinse and repeat until you find stable values.

 

[PunkX 75]

Hot take (and I apologize if this has already been suggested/tried):

Have you tried enabling EXPO and just waiting for a few minutes to see if the system posts? It could just be memory training for first-time EXPO/XMP use. That takes time

If you haven't tried this, reset to BIOS defaults, enable EXPO, and wait for a few minutes. Let it train. See if it posts.

 

[Silent47Assassin]

Do i have to change voltage each time or keep that in auto mode?

Also should i change cl to specified cl or keep as it is and try to increase frequency by 200hz each time…

Yes you should set the voltage manually as most ddr5 memory does not require the expo voltage to run at those settings. Lower works fine.

By CL, I am assuming you meant CAS latency. If you enable expo, it should automatically set the memory timings. You can use more relaxed numbers (higher values) but that should not be needed.

The memory sticks should work fine with expo settings, however, expo being an overclocking profile, also affects the unified mem controller frequency (that's within the CPU). The memory controller typically runs at 1:1 ratio with the memory clock, but if you got an inferior chip, your memory controller might not be able to run at 3000MHz or even 2800MHz (this is the frequency at which your memory runs when selecting 6000MT/s or 5600MT/s). The simplest way to handle this is to change that ratio to 1:2 (controller runs at half the frequency as your memory).

We know you're able to post at 4800MT/s (or 2400MHz mem clk and controller clk), so at 6000MT/s and 1:2 ratio, your memory controller will run at 1500MHz (lower than default). You should get a successful post if this is the issue.

Also if you have other overclocking settings enabled like PBO / curve optimizer, etc. disable those first before trying these settings.

 

[Jeet Chowdhury]

bro!!!! thats what i had been asking/saying since morning others have been asking on whether you set them manually or not!
now it seems like you didnt,
set a fix voltage and you need keep playing around with hz and timing around it. rinse and repeat until you find stable values.

No I just make frequency manually to 6000 and voltage manually as per EXPO settings, but that time not work….

Let me share a image of that over here, this settings not worked, so i am asking should i put the voltage to auto and change frequency 200mhz each time and test?

Also should i change the timing also or keep it auto mode?

Hot take (and I apologize if this has already been suggested/tried):

Have you tried enabling EXPO and just waiting for a few minutes to see if the system posts? It could just be memory training for first-time EXPO/XMP use. That takes time

If you haven't tried this, reset to BIOS defaults, enable EXPO, and wait for a few minutes. Let it train. See if it posts.

Yes waited like 30 minutes does not work

Yes you should set the voltage manually as most ddr5 memory does not require the expo voltage to run at those settings. Lower works fine.

By CL, I am assuming you meant CAS latency. If you enable expo, it should automatically set the memory timings. You can use more relaxed numbers (higher values) but that should not be needed.

The memory sticks should work fine with expo settings, however, expo being an overclocking profile, also affects the unified mem controller frequency (that's within the CPU). The memory controller typically runs at 1:1 ratio with the memory clock, but if you got an inferior chip, your memory controller might not be able to run at 3000MHz or even 2800MHz (this is the frequency at which your memory runs when selecting 6000MT/s or 5600MT/s). The simplest way to handle this is to change that ratio to 1:2 (controller runs at half the frequency as your memory).

We know you're able to post at 4800MT/s (or 2400MHz mem clk and controller clk), so at 6000MT/s and 1:2 ratio, your memory controller will run at 1500MHz (lower than default). You should get a successful post if this is the issue.

Also if you have other overclocking settings enabled like PBO / curve optimizer, etc. disable those first before trying these settings.

How to set this cpu memory ratio to 1:2?

 

[YeAhx]

@Jeet Chowdhury From now on only use one stick of RAM to try different settings, This way training duration will be shorter thus less time consuming if it happens to boot. You can also use other memory slots, Maybe try just A1 or just B1 (left most or 3rd from left).
Also try every setting that might help, don't worry about messing things up because with RAM its very hard to hard brick (damage) your PC. Just don't go over 1.5V on voltage, damage due to over voltage is the only concern here.
In the end if nothing helps and if you are still keen on diagnosing where the actual problem reside you will have to swap parts to figure it out. Easiest way would be to use another set of RAM with similar frequency. This if worked will eliminate problem with CPU or the motherboard. If it didn't work then that would mean it's the CPU's memory controller most likely.

RTX 3060Ti as GPU....

Since you are using a 3060ti you will likely be GPU bound in most games (100% GPU usage) which means RAM speed won't affect your performance, even in CPU intensive games the difference is a few percentage only if we look at the benchmark here. If nothing works out just sell the sticks and get a lower speed one.

 

[Silent47Assassin]

Looking at the screenshot background, it looks like your'e on the easy mode in UEFI which does not show most settings. You will need to switch to advanced mode first. Would help if you can share a few more screenshots of the actual options page instead of the list of changes popup. Also, EXPO profile contains the frequency, timings and voltages as well. You don't need to manually set them to the same value; the point I was trying to make is that 1.4 volts is not needed to run most memory sticks at 6000MT/s and you can reduce it further without affecting stability.

Here's a link which might give you some idea where to look for the UCLK ratio. I do not have an ASUS board, so can't really help without looking at the UEFI.

 

[Jeet Chowdhury]

Looking at the screenshot background, it looks like your'e on the easy mode in UEFI which does not show most settings. You will need to switch to advanced mode first. Would help if you can share a few more screenshots of the actual options page instead of the list of changes popup. Also, EXPO profile contains the frequency, timings and voltages as well. You don't need to manually set them to the same value; the point I was trying to make is that 1.4 volts is not needed to run most memory sticks at 6000MT/s and you can reduce it further without affecting stability.

Here's a link which might give you some idea where to look for the UCLK ratio. I do not have an ASUS board, so can't really help without looking at the UEFI.

Ok thanks will look into it…

Update 1: Just tried with 5200mhz and everything at auto
System post then windows automatic repair came and goes into boot loop
Now trying with 5000mhz with everything set on auto…

Update 2: system turned on and windows run with 5000mhz

 

[YeAhx]

Just tried with 5200mhz and everything at auto
System post then windows automatic repair came and goes into boot loop
Now trying with 5000mhz with everything set on auto…

So 5200mhz worked. The reason windows automatic repair came up is because windows got corrupted due to constant boot loops. Let it repair itself and afterwards when you reach desktop run a command through CMD (as admin) and type SFC /scannow

 

[Jeet Chowdhury]

So 5200mhz worked. The reason windows automatic repair came up is because windows got corrupted due to constant boot loops. Let it repair itself and afterwards when you reach desktop run a command through CMD (as admin) and type SFC /scannow

nope 5200 post succeed then goes into boot loop even with bios....
5000 worked...
any luck on make 6000 to get worked?

The memory sticks should work fine with expo settings, however, expo being an overclocking profile, also affects the unified mem controller frequency (that's within the CPU). The memory controller typically runs at 1:1 ratio with the memory clock, but if you got an inferior chip, your memory controller might not be able to run at 3000MHz or even 2800MHz (this is the frequency at which your memory runs when selecting 6000MT/s or 5600MT/s). The simplest way to handle this is to change that ratio to 1:2 (controller runs at half the frequency as your memory).

I found div settings to run 1/2 mode
Here is my current config
Should i increase vram voltage gradually with each 200mhz increase or set voltage like 1.3 then try with 5200/5400 etc?
How much extra voltage required each 200mhz increase? Till 1.4/1.5 is safe sone right?

 

[YeAhx]

Should i increase vram voltage gradually with each 200mhz increase or set voltage like 1.3 then try with 5200/5400 etc?
How much extra voltage required each 200mhz increase? Till 1.4/1.5 is safe sone right?

If I were you I would first be increasing mhz until system stops booting then increase voltage in 0.1v increments to see if it boots, if yes then increase mhz again and repeat.
BTW any chance to just increase CAS Latency to the same one as JDEC 7 which is 42 while running EXPO 6000mhz? My point being to run RAM at 6000mhz but with loose timing (basically what you are trying to do but from the other side, instead of increasing mhz you will be tightening the timing)
I swear DDR4 is way easier to OC and diagnose what setting is stable because it has calculator for it and doesn't take long time training.

 

[Jeet Chowdhury]

If I were you I would first be increasing mhz until system stops booting then increase voltage in 0.1v increments to see if it boots, if yes then increase mhz again and repeat.
BTW any chance to just increase CAS Latency to the same one as JDEC 7 which is 42 while running EXPO 6000mhz? My point being to run RAM at 6000mhz but with loose timing (basically what you are trying to do but from the other side, instead of increasing mhz you will be tightening the timing)
I swear DDR4 is way easier to OC and diagnose what setting is stable because it has calculator for it and doesn't take long time training.

I’m facing a strange issue with my system, and it’s driving me crazy — especially since the tech store I bought it from offers pathetic support (they neither respond to calls nor messages).

Here’s what’s happening:

With the current settings (screenshot attached), I’m able to boot into Windows and run Cinebench 2024 without any issues. However, after a restart, I can no longer access the BIOS — though Windows still boots fine.

But when I drop the memory speed to 5200 with:

• VDD: 1.3V
• VDDQ: 1.3V
• CPU SOC: Auto
  Then I can access both BIOS and Windows without problems.

The timings are currently on auto. I’m not entirely sure what changes you want me to make there.

I also tested with EXPO enabled and memory speed at 5600, and manually set the timings to 40-40-40-77. In that case, the system does boot into Windows, but POST takes around 40 seconds. However, again, I can’t access the BIOS. Even trying to enter via Shift + Restart → Recovery → UEFI firmware doesn’t work.

This is really strange — if Windows boots fine, why can’t I get into BIOS? When I try, I just get a black screen and the motherboard’s BOOT LED (green) stays on, as shown in the attached picture.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[YeAhx]

With this settings in picture able to boot up to windows and run cinebench 24, then restarted but not able to get into bios but can boot into windows….

But with 5200
VDD 1.3
VDDQ 1.3
CPU SOC auto able to boot into bios and windows….
This things making me crazy and computer tech store support is pathetic
They do not reply or pick up calls….
I am unsure about timing what you want me to do there, currently those are in auto…
I am attaching expo profile picture here as well…

What do you mean you are able to boot into windows but not bios? If you are inside windows but want to get to bios you can reach it by holding shift key before you restart through windows > power > restart. This will take you to the diagostic mode menu where you select advanced options > UEFI firmware settings. Also computech or any online retail won't help you with diagnosing issues, only pre-build sellers with warranty do that and that too only reputable ones. Anyway onto main topic.

So in layman's term the higher/bigger the number of stats like tCL, tRCD, tRP etc. the longer/slower the time in between everything that is happening which is what makes the RAM stable. If the numbers are too low (tight) then it will become unstable. Timings and frequency set by EXPO are supposed to run out of the box for majority of the motherboards but sometimes they don't, so you can either change frequency or timing until your system runs but only do one thing at a time otherwise you will get confused which settings works and which doesn't.
In your instance you know the timings set for 4800mhz profile is working because you are able to run it at 4800mhz so if you take whatever timing that's higher (loose) there and put them on timings that are tighter on 6000mhz EXPO profile it might help.

Some info I copied from a reddit post, This is for DDR4 but there's not much difference between it and DDR5 unless they introduced something new:
tRC=tRP+tRAS rounded up to the next even number and tRC=tRP+tRAS+2 are also considered to be fine to go along with it
tRAS(min) = tCL + tRCD(RD) is also a general rule, and also +2 or rounding up is fine.

TLDR: First use one stick of RAM only, now select EXPO profile 6000mhz (this way all the timings are set into place and you only need to tweak important ones) now apply looser timings like tCL 40, tRCD 40, tRP 40, tRAS 96, tRC 136 while keeping everything else untouched. Didn't work? Now try much looser timings 42-42-42-100-144. Still not working? Try 46-46-46-104-150
Still nothing? Now we try lower frequency speed with the same looser timing above (the 46 one assuming previous ones didn't work). If bios was reset do the same steps but this time select 5800mhz from drop down menu where you manually select frequency speed. Didn't work? Try 5600mhz. If that doesn't work then I have no clue what is going on with your system, Timings this loose should work on just about any configuration.

Saying this again just to be sure, Do not touch any other voltage settings apart from VDD or VDDQ (max 1.5V) as they may cause permanent damage. Also note: setting voltage too high can cause instability as well. So you can instead keep VDD/VDDQ at 1.2V just to try and see.

 

[Jeet Chowdhury]

What do you mean you are able to boot into windows but not bios? If you are inside windows but want to get to bios you can reach it by holding shift key before you restart through windows > power > restart. This will take you to the diagostic mode menu where you select advanced options > UEFI firmware settings. Also computech or any online retail won't help you with diagnosing issues, only pre-build sellers with warranty do that and that too only reputable ones. Anyway onto main topic.

Yes able to boot into bios with 5600
but pressing del during startup showing green boot led with no display
on windows pressing shift + restart show please wait then system reboot and show green boot led but it not show anything let me make a video and post over here of that.....

Saying this again just to be sure, Do not touch any other voltage settings apart from VDD or VDDQ (max 1.5V) as they may cause permanent damage.

mobo allowing max 1.435 untill i enable high voltage mode in bios @YeAhx

 

[Silent47Assassin]

I found div settings to run 1/2 mode

The spd tab of cpu-z says it is still running at 1:1. Look at the dram and uncore frequency.

CPU SOC: Auto

You don't need to change this from auto.

VDD: 1.3V

Should be enough for reaching 6000 mt/s. Don't go beyond 1.4 which is the expo voltage.

However, after a restart, I can no longer access the BIOS — though Windows still boots fine.

This could be just a GPU related issue. From personal experience with a rtx3070, I've seen that uefi is only visible when connecting to iGPU, even with a dGPU installed. Try connecting your monitor to dGPU when accessing uefi. This is not related to the post issue.

I also tested with EXPO enabled and memory speed at 5600, and manually set the timings to 40-40-40-77

You should not have to override and relax the timings once you set expo. You can override (reduce) the frequency and voltage. Leave timings at auto with expo enabled.

but POST takes around 40 seconds

This is fine as memory is retraining, should improve with memory context restore set to ON during subsequent boots (only if you don't change any UEFI settings again).

mobo allowing max 1.435 untill i enable high voltage mode

Please don't go beyond expo voltage as you most likely will damage your system.

 

[YeAhx]

Yes able to boot into bios with 5600
but pressing del during startup showing green boot led with no display
on windows pressing shift + restart show please wait then system reboot and show green boot led but it not show anything let me make a video and post over here of that.....

mobo allowing max 1.435 untill i enable high voltage mode in bios @YeAhx

No clue what is happening with your bios lol, you say you are able to get into windows but not bios which is weird because your PC has been able to post and reach into windows so why not bios then lol.
Yeah then don't go higher than that voltage.

Anyway skip all that crap I wrote on my previous post and watch/follow this video instead
your RAM sticks are from SK Hynix so this video is perfect, I also read some comments and it has been helpful overall.