Oh man. Second job ever, dipping my toes into IT as a PC tech at an office supplies retail store.

Freshly minted CompTIA A+ hardware/software certification under my belt. Have a customer debate me on me declaring that SDRAM is and always will be faster than DRAM memory. Customer walked out after complaining to my manager. Got chewed out by manager, but kept job, though I was noticeably meeker with future interactions. Retail sucks.

More than 20 years later, I’m still right.

I did a huge jump from an AMD Phenom II X6 1055T CPU (6-core AM3 socket) kept in an old gen1 Thermaltake Armor case (think plastic transparent window), my 2012 build. This is my 3rd build ever, and the Thermaltake Armor had to go! I love this 5950x, it’s a beast, and I hope to get 10+ years outta this rig. You?

Couldn’t wait to test under MemTest86+… well, looks like they’re fucked:

My MemTest86+ results G.Skill Ripjaws 64GB

Edit: was trying 3600MHz at 1.35V, which was wrong for both values. Need it at 3200MHz at 1.45V and MemTest86+ is happy now. CAS 14-18-18-38

Thanks so much for the swift reply! Reassuring. I’ll be devastated that I’m going from CL14 3200Mhz to CL19 2666Mhz if they want to “upgrade” me. I did a lotta research when piecing my build, and the AMD 5950X has an Infinity Fabric of 1:1 at CL14 3200Mhz. I wanted the absolute best baseline, GPU-excepted. Sowing down ain’t for this build.

What state if you don’t mind me asking? I lived in FL, TX, MD, and PA before jumping The Atlantic Ocean a few years ago.

I’m thinking my G.Skill 64GB set I bought in 2025 is crashing my PC. Gonna run a MemTest86+ overnight to check. Rated for 1.45V and up to DDR4-3200 with the XMP profile- PC crashes under load just minutes into a fresh reboot.

This said, an equivalent 64GB kit of their DDR4 CL19 (F4-2666C19D-64GVK) is retailing at the store I bought my original CL14 Ripjaws for €753. I bought the CL14 faster 64GB kit (F4-3200C14D-64GVK (EOL)) for €177.45 So SHIT I don’t know how G.Skill is going to handle my situation, if MemTest86+ fails out at the 3200MHz stress test (on their official site, they declare that my possibly defective F4-3200C14D-64GVK (EOL) can reach 3200MHz with a small bump up of voltage to 1.45V, up from stock 1.2V).

How did it play out for you, with their Limited Lifetime Warranty? I’m in the EU.

I’ve tried and failed in the past to get Gentoo booted. How long could it take to compile on modern hardware, like with a 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 5950x, an NVME drive, and loads of detotated WAM? I’m flirting with the idea of trying once again. My concern is I don’t have another machine to fallback to, save my phone.