PC Processors

[kri]

I bought a 5950x to upgrade my 2600x on a b450 tomahawk motherboard. I thought they were compatible as long as I upgraded the bios, but after putting in the new cpu I could get into the bios just fine, but when launching windows I get a red cpu error light on my motherboard and all peripherals and monitors shut down.

I replaced the hdd and was able to install windows, until i got to choose a country, where i got the same result. Somehow leaving in one ram stick let me install windows and boot into windows, but after some time i get the same red cpu light.

The temperature in the bios sits at 35-40c and my old 2600x works just fine after putting it back in.

Incase its other components, here are my other specs:
nxzt x52 (240mm aio)
(2) 8gb ddr4 corsair ram sticks
GeForce 1050Ti
corsair 750tx power supply

[elstaci]

If you need to be able to boot up with just one stick of RAM and not two does seem to indicate the RAM is not compatible with the 5000 Series CPU.

Went to MSI Support for their QVL List for RAM for the 5000 Series: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B450-TOMAHAWK/support#mem

The QVL List was last updated on 07/2022 so it is not very out dated. It only shows about 26 RAM Part numbers being compatible with the motherboard for the 5000 series CPUs.

NOTE: Make sure that both RAM Sticks on installed in Dimm Slots A2 & B2 for testing purposes.

[kri]

Hey, thanks for the reply.
I'm not too sure how to check the compatabilty on the website.
I downloaded cpu-z to check what the model of ram i have, and I searched for the part number under "memory by RX-5xxx" and got nothing.
Does that mean i dont have the compatible ram and need to buy new ones?

[elstaci]

No, it just means that MSI Support either hasn't tested your RAM Part number yet or it was found to be incompatible.

Went to Corsair Memory Finder and your MSI Motherboard wasn't listed. So I inputted the data for your RAM and nothing popped up: https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Memory/c/Cor_Products_Memory&systemsSelection=&max...

The only MSI B450 Motherboard that showed being compatible was the MSI B450M Bazooka:

EDIT: Went to AMD RAM COMPATIBILITY MEMORY for Ryzen 2000 - 5000 Series and your RAM Part Number wasn't listed either: https://www.amd.com/en/products/ryzen-compatible-memory-ryzen-3000-to-5000-series-processor

[elstaci]

The first thing I would do is install RAM that is listed in either AMD or MSI QVL List or the RAM's Manufacturer website before continuing to troubleshoot.

The above will eliminate incompatible RAM.

[kri]

Some said enabling XMP and/or PBO in bios fixed their problem. Should i try that before I buy new ram sticks?

[elstaci · Accepted solution]

no harm in do those actions.

PBO is strictly a CPU overclocking option while XMP is automatically overclocking RAM.

I would keep PBO on "Auto" that way the CPU would only boost when needed.

You don't need to follow my advise. I am sure there are other Users that could give different advise in fixing your problem.

[kri]

Reinstalled windows with my 5950x inside, and turned PBO on. Now it seemingly works? Idle speed is at ~40c and when I installing programs sometimes it would spike to 60, think that is alright?
Saw that sometimes the cpu frequency would spike from 3600-4000 range to 4900 for a second.
Didn't really wanna deal with any overclocking, so I might just be looking to buy a new board, but thanks for the help.