A lot of users overclock their RAM to get extra performance from their games. For most computers, you’ll get a bigger boost from overclocking either the GPU or CPU, but it can still be worth your while to overclock the RAM.
However, after overclocking the RAM, a lot of users have found that their games have started crashing. That begs the question: how do you stop games from crashing after you have overclocked the RAM?
Overclocking RAM can definitely get your games to crash. Two of the most important things you can do if games are crashing after a RAM overclock is to make sure that you have done the proper stress tests and that you don’t tighten the RAM memory timings too much. There are other things that you can do to stop games from crashing after overclocking RAM, but these two are important.
There’s no universal solution for this, as you can tell, so keep reading to find out the different ways of stopping games from crashing after a RAM overclock.
1. Make Sure That You Adjust Voltage1
When you increase the calculation speed of your RAM to boost your gaming performance, you can make your PC system unstable. This can cause games and other applications to crash.
That’s why you should make sure that you adjust your voltages accordingly. If the RAM receives higher voltages, it will stabilize your system and therefore your games.
Keep in mind, however, that you can’t just bump the voltages to any component willy-nilly. Before you do this (if you overclocked your RAM manually), make sure that you check to see what the max voltage limit is for your type of RAM.
Consider turning on XMP instead of doing it manually, as this memory profile will come with preset settings. If that’s what you are using, you can try manually overclocking the RAM instead.
2. Don’t Tighten the Timings Too Much1
When you tighten the memory timings of your RAM when you overclock it manually, this will decrease the latency of the RAM. However, this can also cause instability.
If your system is unstable, try loosening the timings a bit. This might help you stabilize your system. However, this is only if you have manually overclocked your RAM.
Loosening the timings may also allow you to increase the speed (MHz) of your RAM. Remember to not make big adjustments when overclocking RAM. Instead, adjust frequency and timings in small increments and then benchmark your system.
3. Run RAM Stress Tests
If you want to reach a stable RAM overclock, you will need to stress test your system. This way, you can find out which overclock settings will work best for you. It’s necessary to do these types of tests if you want to achieve a stable overclock.
There are a lot of great memory test programs out there that are free to use. Two of the most common things to use are probably Prime95 and memtest86.
4. Downclock the RAM
You can try downclocking the RAM. This means lowering the overclock to where it is stable again. If you’re using XMP, try using the other XMP profile, as there are usually two profiles to choose from, one very safe, and one for more performance.
If you’re overclocking the RAM manually, try lowering the overclock settings as this may help you get more stability. Of course, there’s always the possibility that your PSU just can’t handle the overclock.
If this is the case, there isn’t really any quick and easy fix. You would need to get a PSU that is able to handle the load or underclock other components that you have previously overclocked.
5. Clean Out the Computer
Having a clean computer is really important when it comes to overclocking in general. Overclocking means increased heat to your system, there’s no getting around it.
That’s why it’s important to have a good cooling system and most importantly, a computer free of dust clutters, and dirt. Heat does not dissipate through dust, which means that a lot of dust in your computer will lead to a really hot computer when paired with an overclock.
Clean your computer once in a while with canned air. I usually bring my computer outside when I do this since I don’t want the dust to go flying everywhere inside the house.
After you’ve taken the computer outside, simply spray the air into the crevices of the computer and make sure you get all of the dust out of there. Check out the instructions on the can if you’re unsure of how to properly go about this. Make sure that you hold the can upright when spraying.
6. Turn off CPU Overclock
If you have overclocked other parts of your PC, such as the CPU, then you might want to turn that off when stress-testing the RAM overclock. Your computer will naturally become even warmer if you have more overclocks active at the same time.
Plus, your PSU will, as I mentioned earlier, will have to bear a heavier load as well, which it might not be able to handle. Instead of taking a chance with this, turn your CPU OC off, and then run the stress tests (the software I mentioned earlier) for your RAM.
If your system is stable without the CPU overclock activated and your games aren’t crashing, you know why. You can try to overclock the CPU and see where it goes, but you might have to be more conservative with it.