2 sticks is better then 4 sticks?

[inquisitor1]

not sure when I searched that, and I received "No results found.". hows that even possible as im sure its been asked to death and looking through the last 3 pages of general hardware, shows nothing

b550m 5600x 2x16gb. looking to upgrade components and ram as well from 32gb to 64gb.

I read dual channel single, and dont understand. basic answer im looking for....2x32 is better then 4x16 if theyre all 3600 c18?

how much difference is there in % between 2 vs 4 sticks?

 

[Hyderz]

2 sticks i have heard is better for stability less issues.... not sure about 4 sticks...

 

[Toothless]

Two will give better speeds. My 5950x on x570 can do 4000 on two but caps at 3400 on four. Every IMC is different but typically max for four is 3200.

 

[inquisitor1]

ok great info. 2 stick it is.

will sell my 2x16gb sticks
not sure why the hel in all videos I see, they over complicate the final answer. ridiculous. even GN graph is so off for the layman, it means nothing. say

36gb, better 2x16 then 4x8gb-DONE. but no...18 minutes of nonsense

 

[A Computer Guy]

2 sticks on AM4 and AM5 is generally the best for speed and compatibility. On AM5 I haven't seen as nearly as many compatibility concerns as AM4 had.

 

[Vayra86]

ok great info. 2 stick it is.

will sell my 2x16gb sticks
not sure why the hel in all videos I see, they over complicate the final answer. ridiculous. even GN graph is so off for the layman, it means nothing. say

36gb, better 2x16 then 4x8gb-DONE. but no...18 minutes of nonsense

Ofc, they need to plug some ads in between!

 

[Zach_01]

ok great info. 2 stick it is.

will sell my 2x16gb sticks
not sure why the hel in all videos I see, they over complicate the final answer. ridiculous. even GN graph is so off for the layman, it means nothing. say

36gb, better 2x16 then 4x8gb-DONE. but no...18 minutes of nonsense

2 sticks with single rank is the best for higher speed and stability.
2 sticks dual rank is next best

AMD official speed support for 5000series CPUs

Max Memory Speed
2x1R DDR4-3200
2x2R DDR4-3200
4x1R DDR4-2933
4x2R DDR4-2667

I running 2x2R at 3667 though

 

[Chomiq]

2 sticks with single rank is the best for higher speed and stability.
2 sticks dual rank is next best

AMD official speed support for 5000series CPUs

Max Memory Speed
2x1R DDR4-3200
2x2R DDR4-3200
4x1R DDR4-2933
4x2R DDR4-2667

I running 2x2R at 3667 though

I am running 2x2R at 3800 so yeah, YMMV.

 

[x4it3n]

4 sticks on DDR4 can be done without too many issues (I have 4x8GB DDR4 @ 3733MHz CL14 that run like a charm, even though most systems can't do that).
When using DDR5 then 4 sticks is not recommended! Get 2x24GB or 2x32GB

 

[Ruru]

Practically 2 sticks is always better unless you have a HEDT platform with quad-channel support.

 

[Ivan Bliminse]

This week i'll be replacing my 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3000Mhz with 64GB (2 x 32GB) 3200Mhz sticks..

I was informed that this is much more stable than 4 x 16 GB..

 

[Assimilator]

Two sticks will always be better for stability than four, because the former places half the amount of load on the memory controller.

This week i'll be replacing my 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3000Mhz with 64GB (2 x 32GB) 3200Mhz sticks..

I was informed that this is much more stable than 4 x 16 GB..

If you were talking AMD maybe, but Intel's memory controllers have always handled four sticks well, and DDR4-3200 isn't a speed that will cause your 11700K any problems with four sticks or two.

 

[QuietBob]

Memory compatibility and stability also depends on the motherboard. Some models are better at handling multiple modules and ranks at higher clocks. This is what my AM4 mobo officially supports (DPC = DIMMs per channel):

Currently running four 8 GB single-rank sticks at 3800 MT/s with very tight timings. The RAM can go even higher, but the CPU's memory controller can't keep up at 1:1 ratio without errors.

 

[Regeneration]

For most PCs, 2 sticks will work better. 4 is better only for quad channel platforms which isn't common.

 

[harm9963]

My sticks can can 3600cl14 x4 or 4000cl16 x4 stock in BIOS choice settings , x4 needs more V at 4000cl16 , like 1.55 , but is fine for benching , but the star is 3600cl14 x4 ,1.45 default , but can be under clock to 1.4 or less , if I run CPU stock .

 

[inquisitor1]

2 sticks with single rank is the best for higher speed and stability.
2 sticks dual rank is next best

AMD official speed support for 5000series CPUs

Max Memory Speed
2x1R DDR4-3200
2x2R DDR4-3200
4x1R DDR4-2933
4x2R DDR4-2667

I running 2x2R at 3667 though

I know you only want to help, but for me, the layman doesnt say much. I dont understand single dual rank. I have 2 x16 corsair vengence and theyre selling the same sticks on amazon. better to just sell the 32gb set and get 2x32 set? what issues besides just speed would it be 2 sticks vs 4?

 

[freeagent]

Dunno if I can agree with all of this.

Yes, you can get a higher max speed with 2 sticks, but very unlikely that your system will be stable at 2K 1:1.

I have been running 4x8 B-Die since 2020 and have no problems with speed, can do 1900 1:1 4 sticks on all 3 of my CPUs on X570, and B550.

Can do 1933 1:1 4 sticks on my X3D with B550.

2R is better than 1R at the same speed.

 

[Divide Overflow]

4 sticks of RAM had up to 10% better performance than 2 on 5600X. Gamers Nexus did a spot on this a while back.

 

[inquisitor1]

4 sticks of RAM had up to 10% better performance than 2 on 5600X. Gamers Nexus did a spot on this a while back.

yea, saw that and thats what I commented about. I still dont understand what the bottom line is. 27min of nothing for me.

Dunno if I can agree with all of this.

Yes, you can get a higher max speed with 2 sticks, but very unlikely that your system will be stable at 2K 1:1.

I have been running 4x8 B-Die since 2020 and have no problems with speed, can do 1900 1:1 4 sticks on all 3 of my CPUs on X570, and B550.

Can do 1933 1:1 4 sticks on my X3D with B550.

2R is better than 1R at the same speed.

seriously, I understand none of this. not everyone is a pc geek.

keep it simple please for the idiot in the room

2x32 3600, or 4x16 3600?

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

4 sticks of RAM had up to 10% better performance than 2 on 5600X. Gamers Nexus did a spot on this a while back.

Id be curious if that follows for Zen5 now.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Dunno if I can agree with all of this.

I agree with freeagent. The blanket statements claiming 2 sticks are this or will always be that, or that 4 sticks are only good for this or that is all nonsense.

@QuietBob needs to be not-so-quiet for he is correct. It depends on the motherboard as well as the specific RAM sticks. But it also depends on the needs and wants of the user - that is, what does "better" mean to each of us as individuals.

Of course, stability matters but there is absolutely nothing to suggest 4 sticks "will" be unstable (assuming, of course, the use of compatible sticks - the same with 2 stick setups).

Stability issue can easily occur with 2 sticks too.

The ONLY consistent advantage, and thus the ONLY blanket statement that is true in this regard is that 2 sticks consume less power than 4 sticks. But that does not (or should not) matter in a PC with a properly sized PSU. It might matter in a laptop where battery runtime is a top priority.

im looking for....2x32 is better then 4x16 if theyre all 3600 c18?

how much difference is there in % between 2 vs 4 sticks?

Difference in percent for what? Power consumption? Price? Again, there is nothing to suggest stability WILL be an issue - ESPECIALLY if you don't dink with the settings haphazardly.

will sell my 2x16gb sticks

Then, IMO, you are wasting your money. But its your money. If I already owned 2 x 16GB sticks and I wanted to bump my memory up to 64GB total, I absolutely would just buy another 2 x 16GB of compatible RAM.

Consider this - in NO WAY will you notice with your eyes any difference in speeds between 2 x 32GB and 4 x 16GB.

In almost every scenario, more RAM is better than faster RAM.

27min of nothing for me.

That's why I don't watch those any more. He (and others too - but he is an expert at it) typically spends 27 minutes to say something he could have easily and thoroughly explained in less than 5 minutes.

 

[Dr. Dro]

2 sticks is easier to get stable, especially in adverse conditions (low-quality motherboard, weird memory IC, or crap CPU IMC). But in general, it depends on what you wanna do with the machine. Given it's a low-cost micro ATX B550 running with a 5600X, this isn't a high-performance system - in your case, it doesn't really matter since you're not gonna get high clocks out of this platform anyway, and any money you'd spend on expensive 32 GB sticks or higher-clock RAM is better investing on a newer, faster, more modern platform.

Go with whatever is more practical to you.

 

[SiggiTheHun]

Good read for the inquisitor: https://www.igorslab.de/en/performa...s-in-theory-and-practice-with-cyberpunk-2077/

 

[freeagent]

yea, saw that and thats what I commented about. I still dont understand what the bottom line is. 27min of nothing for me.


seriously, I understand none of this. not everyone is a pc geek.

keep it simple please for the idiot in the room

2x32 3600, or 4x16 3600?

Since you are dealing with Corsair, 2x 32.

Probably going to be 1R sticks, though I do not know for certain.

 

[QuietBob]

@QuietBob needs to be not-so-quiet for he is correct.

Thanks for the shout-out. Now, how do I change my user name?

That's why I don't watch those any more. He (and others too - but he is an expert at it) typically spends 27 minutes to say something he could have easily and thoroughly explained in less than 5 minutes.

Same, stopped watching TechJesus a good while ago. To his credit, he has created some quality content. But I can't stand him rambling for 20+ minutes so that the video gets properly monetized.

@inquisitor1
What is your specific motherboard model?