AM4 and Combining Different RAM?

[Darmok N Jalad]

I recently picked up an AM4 board and a 5600X, and 16GB (2x8) of 3600 DDR4. I also have 8GB (2x4) of 3200 DDR4 (different brand) from several years ago. If I install both kinds of RAM, the system will boot, but it sets the RAM at 2400.

That leads me to my 2 questions:
1. What can I realistically expect for RAM speeds by manually clocking it? I would assume 3200, but I don’t know if that’s realistic with the mix ‘n match brands, sizes and speeds.

2. If I’m stuck at 2400mhz, am I better off with 24GB of slower RAM or 16GB of faster RAM? Gaming is the goal, and perhaps a 5600X is fine at slower speeds and more RAM will be more useful.

I know I can trial and error this, but if there’s one fault I have with my motherboard, it’s that the clear CMOS pins are stupidly-placed. I have to remove my 6700XT to get to them. Figured maybe the community might have “been there, done that” on this.

 

[xu^]

personally id prefer less ram but faster if your a gamer, alternatively buy a new set 2x16gb 3600mhz, and sell both kits u have now, to recoup a chunk of the cost back.

 

[freeagent]

I would run which ever pair works the best. Seeing that you cant do more than 2400 is telling. Not a happy system..

 

[ShrimpBrime]

You don't usually have to use cmos jumper. The board should auto try settings at default 3 times. This takes a while.

If you are not patient, then set the retry count to 1 and the board should default the settings for you.

I'd start at 2667mt/s and work your way up. Saying this because we know exactly zero about the memory. Why not some Typhoon Burner screed shots of the eeprom tab?

 

[freeagent]

I have mine set to boot twice if it failed, that 3rd try is just too much for me lol

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I would run which ever pair works the best. Seeing that you cant do more than 2400 is telling. Not a happy system..

It just defaults to 2400. I haven’t tried anything else just yet. 3200 should theoretically be achievable, unless there’s just too much mismatching to expect rated performance.

 

[freeagent]

It just defaults to 2400. I haven’t tried anything else just yet. 3200 should theoretically be achievable, unless there’s just too much mismatching to expect rated performance.

Run it bro, see what she can do. That is what I would be doing instead of waiting for replies

 

[AusWolf]

I'd set the speed of the lower specced module / kit for ease of use.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Run it bro, see what she can do. That is what I would be doing instead of waiting for replies

I guess my hope was to take the advice of those that already have. I won’t have time to actually try until this weekend at best, so I can wait.

 

[freeagent]

I guess my hope was to take the advice of those that already have. I won’t have time to actually try until this weekend at best, so I can wait.

I have been running mismatched sets for a long time now, on multiple systems. It is all luck of the draw.. It is something that you literally have to play with.

 

[ShrimpBrime]

I have been running mismatched sets for a long time now, on multiple systems. It is all luck of the draw.. It is something that you literally have to play with.

You're running 2 sets of B-Die according to your sys specs. Not 1 set of CJR and one set of micron C die... And is the reason had asked for more useful information.

 

[AsRock]

It just defaults to 2400. I haven’t tried anything else just yet. 3200 should theoretically be achievable, unless there’s just too much mismatching to expect rated performance.

That would depend if the voltages needs are met by both sets too.

 

[LabRat 891]

Tough choice.
16GB of RAM is a bit tight. - 32GB is more/less the minimum 'for gaming', and a select few titles can start to eat into 48GB+
OtoH, using all 4 slots will greatly reduce your max IF : DRAM speeds, matching or not. - Which, those DRAM speed increases benefit that platform, considerably.

If what you're playing/working with on your PC can work w/in 16GB,
I'd personally go with 16GB 1800IF:3600DDR4 until I could get a 32 or 64 GB dual-channel set of DDR4 3600 or better.

 

[AusWolf]

Tough choice.
16GB of RAM is a bit tight. - 32GB is more/less the minimum 'for gaming', and a select few titles can start to eat into 48GB+

Which ones? I still haven't seen RAM usage approach 20 GB on my system (I have 48 GB).

 

[freeagent]

You're running 2 sets of B-Die according to your sys specs. Not 1 set of CJR and one set of micron C die... And is the reason had asked for more useful information.

I know, but on Intel I had all kinds of different ram to play with, now its just kind of boring because everything just works lol

 

[LabRat 891]

Which ones? I still haven't seen RAM usage approach 20 GB on my system (I have 48 GB).

My best friend was running out with 32GB on Star Citizen. Moving to 64GB resolved his issues, and OSD overlay does indeed show just north of 32GB used.

TBF, any other examples would likely also be edge cases.

Still, that 20GB # is more than the 16GB that OP has. There might be ways to slim things down some, or just let paging eat away at a spare/absurdly cheap NVME.

 

[AusWolf]

My best friend was running out with 32GB on Star Citizen. Moving to 64GB resolved his issues, and OSD overlay does indeed show just north of 32GB used.

TBF, any other examples would likely also be edge cases.

Still, that 20GB # is more than the 16GB that OP has. There might be ways to slim things down some, or just let paging eat away at a spare/absurdly cheap NVME.

I'd rather think that Star Citizen is the edge case here. Is it actually a finished game now?

 

[LabRat 891]

I'd rather think that Star Citizen is the edge case here. Is it actually a finished game now?

That was my point, actually.
Star Citizen and any other games that use >32GB are very much edge cases. 32GB is still 'the minimum' these days. (Though, 2x12GB kits for budget builds would be amusing)

I went to 64GB A. to 'finish out' my AM4 Platform build. and B. because I often have dozens of tabs I leave open and come back to.

Oh, and No. -it's not a finished game. Not even close.
Latest patch is only very slightly more playable than the last release version.

 

[AusWolf]

That was my point, actually.
Star Citizen and any other games that use >32GB are very much edge cases. 32GB is still 'the minimum' these days. (Though, 2x12GB kits for budget builds would be amusing)
I went to 64GB A. to 'finish out' my AM4 Platform build. and B. because I often have dozens of tabs I leave open and come back to.

I haven't seen any "other games" to be fair.
In my opinion, 32 GB is more than enough for gaming. Heck, you could even get away with 16, depending on what you play (current gen consoles have 16 GB, too).

Oh, and No. -it's not a finished game. Not even close.
Latest patch is only very slightly more playable than the last release version.

Shame. I'll check back on it later, then.

 

[A Computer Guy]

I recently picked up an AM4 board and a 5600X, and 16GB (2x8) of 3600 DDR4. I also have 8GB (2x4) of 3200 DDR4 (different brand) from several years ago. If I install both kinds of RAM, the system will boot, but it sets the RAM at 2400.

That leads me to my 2 questions:
1. What can I realistically expect for RAM speeds by manually clocking it? I would assume 3200, but I don’t know if that’s realistic with the mix ‘n match brands, sizes and speeds.

2. If I’m stuck at 2400mhz, am I better off with 24GB of slower RAM or 16GB of faster RAM? Gaming is the goal, and perhaps a 5600X is fine at slower speeds and more RAM will be more useful.

I know I can trial and error this, but if there’s one fault I have with my motherboard, it’s that the clear CMOS pins are stupidly-placed. I have to remove my 6700XT to get to them. Figured maybe the community might have “been there, done that” on this.

Just a few thoughts...

Is the 16GB RAM limit hurting your game performance? One issue with running the RAM at 2400MT/s is you won't get as good CPU utilization with the lower speed RAM compared to at 3600MT/s so that might be overall worse for your gaming experience not just in FPS but overall playability. On the flip size 24GB RAM might also be less constraining and better for games you play. It depends on what your games need more.

Pick a few games in your library that are CPU intensive vs. RAM intensive and see if it makes any difference when you try the different combinations.

 

[eidairaman1]

2400 is a failsafe, a computer will always be constained by the weakest component.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Well, I had a little time to mess around with it, and combining them I can't get it to run at the slower spec'ed RAM at 3200mhz. When it comes down to it though, 16GB seems like it's sufficient at this time. I did just buy Hogwarts Legacy on the recent Steam sale, which has to be the most demanding title. Haven't opened it yet, as I'm still working on completing Burning Shores. I will say that going from the 2667v2 with 5600XT to the 5600X and 6700XT has been huge. Before, I was lucky to get to 60fps in that game at 1080P medium. Now it's running 1440p High and holding 60FPS just fine. With just 16GB, RAM usage peaks at about 75-80%, so I guess I'm okay for now.

Maybe down the road I can go to even faster 32GB. I've been trying to be really economical on my rig, though I guess when you consider my previous board+CPU+RAM combo cost me about $80 and GPU $90, I've probably been scrimping for long enough!

And no, Star Citizen isn't in my future. I feel like buying into that game would be like joining a pyramid scheme.

 

[R0H1T]

The board should auto try settings at default 3 times. This takes a while.

Just curious how long does it take? I give up about 5 minutes into that & just do them manually, although that probably also depends on the board?

 

[ShrimpBrime]

Just curious how long does it take? I give up about 5 minutes into that & just do them manually, although that probably also depends on the board?

A few minutes. Unless the OC is so bad it just needs a clear cmos, that happens too.

OP is talking the board is posting 2400mt/s with all sticks. It should be at 2667mt/s while most XMP kits and boards default straight to that speed.

 

[Redwoodz]

This is depending on many factors. The type of IC's used, single or double sided, etc. Try switching slot positions, relax timings.
Look at this old cpu-z for a better idea what I mean

AMD Ryzen 3 2200G @ 3947.67 MHz - CPU-Z VALIDATOR

[cc8g0v] Validated Dump by REDWOODPC (2019-04-23 15:16:57) - MB: ASRock X470 Taichi - RAM: 24576 MB

valid.x86.fr