2 vs 4 ram sticks

[oxrufiioxo]

Don't load up 4 DIMMs unless you like spending time in the bios tweaking voltages to get it stable Neither AMD or Intel is good with 4 DIMMs unless you run a much lower speed.

As long as they are 4 single rank dimms I've never had any issues running 3800 CL16 and most do 3800 CL14 samsung Bdie ofc, it's when you start trying to mess with double sided dimms that it gets tricky.

For me dual rank is always faster on ryzen assuming identical timings.

That is testing in a cpu limited scenarios though. So unless turning down settings and running at modest resolutions it likely won't make enough of a difference to be a worthwhile upgrade if you already have an ok kit of ram.

Another older article about it, but I haven't seen anyone re-test on the Ryzen 5000-series.
I guess the assumptions is that it'll be very similar.

Ryzen Above: Best Memory Settings for AMD's 3000 CPUs, Tested

Is Ryzen 3000 optimized for DDR4-3200? What if we want more? We examine everything from frequency to rank count to nail down optimal settings.

www.tomshardware.com

As useless as my testing is I observed 3200 CL14 dual rank being faster than 3800 CL16 single rank but only in cpu limited scenarios. Gears 4/5 and Forza though and I don't have the proper expertise to fully validate if in all scenarios it's faster.

 

[Bill_Bright]

To go against the naysayers here a bit, I had good luck with four sticks of 8 GB single sided

Perfectly illustrating what I said way back in post #3,

You will get mixed results because different hardware and software combinations yield different results.

there are WAY WAY too many variables to come to a "one size fits all" conclusion. These include different motherboard/chipset/bus speeds, different CPUs, different GPUs, different video RAM, different system RAM, disk access, OS, security programs impact, networking, the specific game, and probably a dozens more.

So, no "personal" disrespect meant but all these posters who are telling you to use 2 sticks, 4 sticks, single sided, double sided, 3 sided or whatever, they don't know their a$$ from a hole in the ground!!!! Why? Because it is no their computer! It YOUR computer, YOUR computing habits, and the programs YOU run are totally unique to YOU!!!!! Not them. Not to anyone else. Just you and only you.

All any of them have is "if, if and if", "some", "usually", "it depends", "assuming", "might", "many variables", "unless", and so on and so on.

Go ahead and read what everyone says. But in the end, you are right back to post #1 and post #3.

 

[freeagent]

Binning is favorable to Single Rank, but depending on how good binning is you might see plenty of high quality Dual Rank kits. I'd say in general if going with Single Rank aim to populate 4-DIMM slots and if going Dual Rank aim to populate 2-DIMM slots. 4-Dimm slots with Dual Rank is rough on IMC so it's hard to recommend and I'd advise against it unless you've got a specific use case need for the added capacity that actually warrants it and not simply more equals better which is does sometimes. More coffee equals better facts are facts

I run 4x8 3200C14, B-Die. 4 years going strong on 4 different Ryzen CPU's, on 3 different boards. I do not think its rough at all. It could depend on what you are trying to run, as some memory does not like to be paired up. But for the most part, I would blame peoples technical ability, unfortunately.

 

[ir_cow]

I run 4x8 3200C14, B-Die. 4 years going strong on 4 different Ryzen CPU's, on 3 different boards.

But you could be running 3800 2xDual-Rank or 4000 2xSingle-Rank instead. 4x just makes you run a lower frequency. Good if you are going to sizes that isn't supported just with 2 DIMMs like 128GB.

 

[gasolin]

I so this video and would like your opinion

I get a feeling that the amount is more important than 2 or 4 ram sticks, as long as it's dual rank + 32gb is okay but 64gb is what we should buy

I also get from the video and replys here, that 4 ram sticks only give better perfoamnce (fps) if you use 2x single rank memory and buy 2 more stick of single rank + according to Byte Size Tech that dual rank with 2 ram stick don't increase fps if you buy 2 more dual rank ram sticks BUT in some situations can make gaming + what ever you have in the background run smoother compared to 32gb if you upgrade to a total of 64gb (is not expensive)

 

[InVasMani]

Single Rank's pro's it can sometimes scale to higher frequency and is easier on stability relative to dual rank.
Single Rank's con's capacity and number of ranks performance impact are lower.

Dual rank's pro's can scale to higher capacity and is better on performance relative single rank.
Dual Rank's con's stability and frequency more difficult relative to single rank.

2 DIMM's pro's are it's more compact and fewer DIMM's is easier on stability.
2 DIMM's con's less capacity and/or less ranks.

4 DIMM's pro's more capacity and/or more ranks.
4 DIMM's con's are it's less compact along with less stability and/or frequency.

 

[freeagent]

But you could be running 3800 2xDual-Rank or 4000 2xSingle-Rank instead. 4x just makes you run a lower frequency. Good if you are going to sizes that isn't supported just with 2 DIMMs like 128GB.

But I can run all four of my sticks at 3800C14 on all 3 of my Zen 3 parts? 2K single is almost wasted on Ryzen. Though each set of my 3200C14 will run at 4000, just not at the same time, and only 1:1 on one of my CPUs.

I haven't run more than 32GB so I cannot comment on those extended sizes

 

[oxrufiioxo]

I so this video and would like your opinion

I get a feeling that the amount is more important than 2 or 4 ram sticks, as long as it's dual rank + 32gb is okay but 64gb is what we should buy

I also get from the video and replys here, that 4 ram sticks only give better perfoamnce (fps) if you use 2x single rank memory and buy 2 more stick of single rank + according to Byte Size Tech that dual rank with 2 ram stick don't increase fps if you buy 2 more dual rank ram sticks BUT in some situations can make gaming + what ever you have in the background run smoother compared to 32gb if you upgrade to a total of 64gb (is not expensive)

64GB would be useless for gaming and you'd likely see a perfomance regression due to the frequency/timings.

You have to remember your X3D chip is much less memory dependent than say a 5800X/5700X would be.

Ram can also be tricky if you don't have a decent amount of experience tinkering with it, it's not hard to brick your bios needing a full cmos reset to boot or even corrupt your windows installation.

The amount of gains you'd get in realistic gaming scenarios is probably close to 0 at best maybe slightly better 1% lows but not better in a way that you'd notice without graphing it while you play.

But I can run all four of my sticks at 3800C14 on all 3 of my Zen 3 parts? 2K single is almost wasted on Ryzen. Though each set of my 3200C14 will run at 4000, just not at the same time, and only 1:1 on one of my CPUs.

I haven't run more than 32GB so I cannot comment on those extended sizes

Out of 30 ish cpus I only ever got one stable at 4000 1:1 a 5800X and that was more work than it was worth and required a single rank setup perfomance wasn't any different than 3800 CL14 dual rank and at least for me somtimes lower.... I never tested it with my 4090 though just a 3080ti which even at 720p may not have been fast enough.

I run that cpu at 3800CL16 dual rank though becuase if I don't keep the side glass off it cooks at anything higher lol. Evolv X has terrible thermals lol and I'm not gonna strap a fan to them ghetto mod style.

 

[DaemonForce]

I get a feeling that the amount is more important than 2 or 4 ram sticks, as long as it's dual rank + 32gb is okay but 64gb is what we should buy

DR 2x16GB is still strongly preferred for DDR4 era unless you actually do work that eats that much memory and more. I use DR 4x16GB and that only comes in handy when doing video/Blender render jobs, VR and some additional load like recording/streaming. It takes a while to breach 30GB unless the job is heavy and 40GB is a bit normal with a bunch of browser tabs open. It's easier to flog this cute little R5 3600 than a full 4x16GB memory loadout.

Preferred sizes should be double on DDR5 but I don't see anything interesting going on in those kits yet. Kind of waiting for a nice fun overclocking breakthrough to happen before I even think about jumping ship. I build/upgrade every 8~10 years and it's kind of a miracle that some sweet Micron E memory kits and Ryzen 3000 just happened to be out around the same time. I was still getting used to FX when I started seeing exciting things pulling me into Ryzen. That was wild.

 

[Sunny and 75]

32GB kit that you've got RN is more than enough for gaming.

Your MB can handle 4x16GB 3600 CL16 if you really need that extra 32GB kit for a total of 64GB memory.

Spoiler

 

[gasolin]

I had good luck back in the days running ripjaws v 4000mhz cl 18 at 3733mhz cl 16 and they where and are still cheap

I know it's only when you have single rank ram,memory adding 2 more single rank ram sticks you get more perfomance but i already have dual rank memory, so either more ram or faster ram (3600mhz cl 14 is expensive) or both, even when my ram is fine (intel xmp) i could get expo ram

 

[Dr. Dro]

Here's how it works, the more ranks/banks populated, the higher the strain on your chip's memory controller. You could have a sample with a very good controller that will run relatively high frequencies or good latencies on four dual rank sticks, but you could also have one that will barely pass the guaranteed specification. Using 2 sticks per channel, and dual rank modules (so 2DPC, 2R) will yield the highest achievable capacity for any given platform, and there is some evidence that having all ranks and banks populated may improve memory access performance for a given frequency target.

But on the flip side, using 1 stick per channel, preferably single rank (1DPC, 1R), will be much easier on the memory controller and has the potential to allow the processor to run significantly stricter timings or achieve higher frequencies. As a rule of thumb, 1DPC/1R is always better for latency and frequency, but it's only part of the equation, extreme overclocking motherboards have only two memory slots for this reason, and they are carefully positioned physically with very optimized trace lengths to achieve this result.

If you are running a 4 slot motherboard, you will likely not be affected by the whole ranks, banks situation, and you should be able to achieve a decent frequency compromise even with the 2DPC, 2R scenario. If you decide to purchase a high-capacity memory kit, it should be enough to just verify good compatibility with your motherboard.

 

[InVasMani]

I agree definitely check MB compatibility support and ensure it meets the kit you're intending to pair with it. I feel like MB quality is since it can impact bios features and VRM quality which will impact system stability.

 

[agent_x007]

NON-HEDT only + DDR4 only.
1DPC/2DPC = DIMMs per channel, for dual channel setup : 2DPC = 4 sticks, 1DPC = 2 sticks.
1R/2R = One rank/Two rank or Single rank/Dual rank (can also be described as single sided [SS] and double sided [DS] DIMM).

1DPC/1R = Cheapest and easiest to run + most compatible (ie. runs on everything), slowest configuration (per MHz), but can go highest on clock speed (which sort of compensates performance difference, but not always though).

2DPC/1R or 1DPC/2R = Optimal RAM configuration for everyone. Faster (per MHz) vs. 1DPC/1R. It doesn't scale as much on frequency as 1DPC/1R, BUT it will be faster if you "run stock" (stability on high frequencies depends on IMC quality and MB more, may require some tweaking to get going).
Out of the two, I always go for 1DPC/2R, because 2DPC configuration will always heat up more than 1DPC (because there is less air to move around the DIMMs). It also is less economic in future, when RAM capacity starts to limit you (you are wasting one or two kits of RAM by putting them on shelf instead of in your PC. Sure, old RAM can be sold - but that's extra effort and may not be problem free).

2DPC/2R = Highest capacity, if you need more RAM - this is the only way to go.
It's slowest, because frequency drop from using such configuration isn't compensated at all by having more Ranks available to IMC. However, when you run out of RAM - speed of memory doesn't matter, more is ALWAYS better. This is very specific kind of setup that isn't optimal for most people, and should be avoided if possible.

Regardless of the above, the only way a gamer will see faster RAM help, is at high FPS counts (think 100FPS+ but actual value depends on game engine). Assuming both CPU (with IMC) and GPU are capable of it, "RAM speed" will be the next limiter on how high your game FPS can go ("RAM speed" = both overall latency and bandwidth itself, getting only one of them better may not help in some cases [again, depends on game engine needs]).

 

[Sunny and 75]

faster ram

You'll gain NOTHING by getting a faster kit than the one you've already got, especially at QHD resolution.

The amount of gains you'd get in realistic gaming scenarios is probably close to 0 at best maybe slightly better 1% lows but not better in a way that you'd notice without graphing it while you play.

This^

You have to remember your X3D chip is much less memory dependent than say a 5800X/5700X would be.

And this^

more ram

Sure, why not.

Keep in mind, 32GB ram is plenty for gaming. And games won't run faster with 4x16GB on board.

DR 2x16GB is still strongly preferred for DDR4 era unless you actually do work that eats that much memory and more. I use DR 4x16GB and that only comes in handy when doing video/Blender render jobs, VR and some additional load like recording/streaming.

This^

 

[gasolin]

I desided to get 2x32 gb, i only found 3200mhz for sale at a good price and i would in the end pay less than buying another 2x16gb kit because i have ram i can sell, only 30% more to buy a 64gb ram kit than another 2x16gb ram

As some say the speed doesn't matter as much with a X3D cpu then other cpus

Found a couple of videos i wanna mention, im surprised that there can be as much as 10 fps difference in avg fps and more in 0.1% or 1% lows

I see my ram upgrade more as an optimization then like an upgrade to a much faster cpu (although not 3600mhz still 2 ram sticks instead of 4 and 3200mhz is less likely not to run at the rated speed, if you happen to use 4 ram sticks compared to 3600mhz)


DDR5
Sometimes it's 32gb and sometimes it's 64gb that is fastest, sometimes 32gb is fastest in avg and 64gb is in minimum fps, vise versa

DDR4

0.1 Lows


This video is what made me wanna try 64gb ram okay it was more noticeable with single rank ram,memory upgrading to another set and having dual rank memory, also watching the video,looking at pictures you can see in some scenarios 64gb can make a difference

 

[DudeBeFishing]

Apologies if someone mentioned this and I missed it.

One thing to watch out for with DDR4, are single rank 16GB sticks/modules. They use 16gbit ICs, which have half the bank groups of 8gbit and 4gbit ICs. This is why some reviewers may see 64GB (4x16GB) being faster than 32GB (2x16GB) if they're using single rank 16GB sticks. If they're using dual rank 16GB sticks, 8GB per side of the stick, then there's less of a difference between 32GB and 64GB, probably a rounding error in most games.

 

[bonehead123]

Perhaps a mod should create a sticky at the top of every subforum here (so even noobs will see it regardless of where they post or look) that just says:

"It depends on how YOUR rig is set-up, so STOP ASKING & do your own tests to find out which configuration works best for YOU" and lock it so nobody can reply to or comment on it...

I don't mind hearing other folks opinions on any subject that may come up here, but I'm just sayin that people who come here expecting the membership to do their work/research for them just pisses me off somethin fierce !

 

[Sunny and 75]

I desided to get 2x32 gb, i only found 3200mhz for sale at a good price and i would in the end pay less than buying another 2x16gb kit because i have ram i can sell, only 30% more to buy a 64gb ram kit than another 2x16gb ram

As some say the speed doesn't matter as much with a X3D cpu then other cpus

Alright, sounds good, however, ONLY go ahead if you TRULY need 64GB total system memory.

I see my ram upgrade more as an optimization

This is NOT an optimization.

That 2x16GB 3600 CL16 memory kit that you've got is ALREADY optimized. You will NOT notice the difference without any benchmarking/monitoring system/mechanism, in other words, simply indiscernible to the naked eye.

Once again, proceed with that 2x32GB 3200 kit purchase ONLY IF you feel you're being limited by your current setup and that 32GB total system memory is not enough for your needs.

Spoiler

32GB ram is plenty for gaming with some light (and occasional) productivity workloads alongside.

 

[jarablue]

Quad channel was a thing on retail motherboards awhile back. Not sure if any home user uses it anymore.

Probably add more latency that is about it.

 

[gasolin]

Alright, sounds good, however, ONLY go ahead if you TRULY need 64GB total system memory.


This is NOT an optimization.

That 2x16GB 3600 CL16 memory kit that you've got is ALREADY optimized. You will NOT notice the difference without any benchmarking/monitoring system/mechanism, in other words, simply indiscernible to the naked eye.

Once again, proceed with that 2x32GB 3200 kit purchase ONLY IF you feel you're being limited by your current setup and that 32GB total system memory is not enough for your needs.

Spoiler

32GB ram is plenty for gaming with some light (and occasional) productivity workloads alongside.

As for 4 vs 2 stick when 4 sticks makes a difference, 64 gb ram, memory can also make a difference.

I wanna try 64gb, all systems are not equal and therefor one system might work different with 64gb ram,memory then another system

 

[AleXXX666]

32 gb extra 100 euros or a little more lets say 50 euros for my ram if i buy a 64 gb kit 130 euros or mabye 100 or just a little more for 4x8gb

G skill ripjaws V are super cheap

if you are on AM4 or DDR4 buy whatever you want 2 or 4 sticks totalling req amount, but for DDR5 I'd get 2x16 minimum and don't bother with 8 gb sticks ever...

Quad channel was a thing on retail motherboards awhile back. Not sure if any home user uses it anymore.

Probably add more latency that is about it.

QC is usually on "enthusiasist" sockets or server. We don't have Intel 2011 and 2066 stuff "new".

 

[Ruru]

Sorry for being lazy and not reading the whole thread, but the only bad thing of 4 sticks vs 2 from my experience is a little lower RAM overclockability. Otherwise I've never had any problems, even with mismatched RAM.

 

[gasolin]

I also have the option of returning the ram and buy faster ram

3600mhz cl14 is just not cheap 4x16 4000mhz cl 18 that can run at 3733mhz cl 16 would be alot cheaper

You just sort of recommended me not to get 4 ram stick to get best compatibility

Problem solved 48c with no fans running and the case open, 43c with the case (side panel) closed

Now i need to find out if theres a 64gb 3600mhz cl16 ram kit for not alot of money

 

[ir_cow]

4x single rank is a hard to hit 4000, probably won't honestly. 4x 4000 dual-rank rank for AM4 is never going to happen.

At least if you plan on keeping it optimized in a 1:1 ratio.