The BIOS
ASRock FATAL1TY BIOS on board is version P2.20. It features the new AGESA 1.0.0.4a code which resolved many of the earlier ram compatibility issues when the Ryzen 7 was launched one month ago.
With the GEIL memory modules GEX416GB3200C160C that are rated DDR4-3200 C16-16-16-36, the 2 x 8GB modules allows you to select XMP 2.0 Profile from the LOAD XMP profile setting in the BIOS, save, exit and reboot the system on our test with the Ryzen 5 1600X processor.
The Ryzen 5 1600X runs a default speed of 3.6GHz. As for overclocking the Ryzen 5 1600X, we managed to clocked it steadily at 4GHz at 1.45v. We had no luck at XMP DDR4-3200 settings and had to tune it down to DDR4-2933 C16-18-18-18-36 and Vdimm set at 1.35v.
Ryzen 5 1500X runs at a default speed of 3.5GHz. XMP Profile to run it at DDR4-3200 failed to boot up the system. We had to manually set the timings and run it at DDR4-2933 at C16,18-18-36 at 1.35v.
Likewise, overclocking it to 3.9GHz is easily down by changing the CPU frequency and setting the Vcore to 1.45v. The DDR4 is still set at DDR4-2933 at C16,18-18-36 at 1.35v.
We used the AMD Wraith Spire heatsink for both processors. Idle temperatures at default clocks are 39 deg C (Ryzen 5 1500X) and 45 deg C (Ryzen 5 1600X) which is quite reasonable for a TDP 65W and 95W processor respectively.
