What is better, two sticks of RAM or four?

Posted by Chronigan2@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 271 comments

If you want say 16 gigs of ram is it better to use 2x8 or 4x4?

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

[removed]

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GoldkingHD@reddit

Always 2 sticks for compatibility and stability, especially with ddr5. Also leaves room for expansion in the future.

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No-Actuator-6245@reddit

Mixing kits is not advisable, you can still run into issues mixing 2 kits of the same model number. Now yes often it works but there is a chance of issues. So the leaves room for expansion comes with a big caveat that it’s not advised to mix RAM kits if you want to minimise the chance of issues.

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Excellent-Air2468@reddit

if i buy lets say 4x8 ram the exact same kit will that be bad or good

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CuteMaintenance2794@reddit

i bought 2x8-3200 ddr4 and then another 2x8-3200 years later and nothing bad happened. im able to open more tabs while gaming now. and i have 4 sets of stacking rgb lights in alternating directions, making my pc look straight out of alien. it also fixed a problem i had ever since i built this pc, where it couldnt wake from sleep. now it wakes just fine.

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Lanky_Membership1596@reddit

Even if you buy the same kits (2 sets of 2) you may run into the issue of mismatched pairs or ram. It is always recommended to purchase all four in a matched set.

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SD_Lucario@reddit

Mixing kits are fine, we are no longer in 2004

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No-Actuator-6245@reddit

We are no longer in 2004 where it worked fine. With each generation and increasing speeds and lower latency the chances of running into problems when mixing RAM has increased. DDR5 especially took a leap forward in being problematic.

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ShawnyMcKnight@reddit

Can confirm, I got two sticks that were exactly the same except the timing was a a couple off and it would crash when trying to run them at the 3200MHz they were clocked at.

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airmantharp@reddit

In this situation you could experiment with some combination of increasing voltage and relaxing timings.

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ShawnyMcKnight@reddit

Yeah, I’m not worried about maxing it out. I was meaning DOCP on my Ryzen 5600x. Without that on my 3600 MHz RAM was running at 2400.

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airmantharp@reddit

You'd probably have to start with DOCP and work back to looser timings and higher voltages until you found something that the memory was happy with. Lots of ways to do this, just know that BSODs abound when doing this kind of stuff manually and that drive and OS corruption are real risks.

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ShawnyMcKnight@reddit

Yeah, that's good to know. This was on an older machine. I have a 7700x using DDR5 now. I made sure I got 2 paired sticks this time.

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airmantharp@reddit

Note - 'higher' timings means higher latency / looser / slower; there are some exceptions but they mostly won't come into play unless you dig really deep into memory tuning. Easiest to say to set things to the 'loosest' common timings as a starting point etc.

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ShawnyMcKnight@reddit

Oh right, they are delays. I knew that when buying RAM but forgot.

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Podalirius@reddit

You can change the timing to get them to match. It's also possible your CPU's memory controller wasn't stable at 3200mhz with 4 dimms. Mixing sticks is fine if you know what you're doing, and it's really not that much more information if you already know about xmp and dual channels.

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the_hat_madder@reddit

>Mixing kits is not advisable, you can still run into issues mixing 2 kits of the same model number. Are you certain this applies to a motherboard that only has dual channel memory support?

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airmantharp@reddit

The first pair (two slots blank) puts each DIMM on a separate channel, thus 'dual channel'. The second pair with all four slots filled means having DIMMs from two separate kits together on each channel.

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porn_inspector_nr_69@reddit

Yes. The main reason is that memory kits with even same model number can and will change the actual memory chips used over time. Headline timings might be the same (hence no need to change model number), but secondaries and mixing are suddenly off the table.

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No-Actuator-6245@reddit

Absolutely. Quad channel support requires very specialised high end motherboard & CPU’s (HEDT), for example Threadripper.

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the_hat_madder@reddit

Four DIMMs isn't automatically quad channel. On a motherboard with only dual channel memory support, each pair of DIMMs only operate in dual channel mode.

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Away-Muscle-1007@reddit

No. If you have only 2 stick of ram you automatically use dual channel ram. If you have 4 stick you (not always) use quad channel ram.

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karmapopsicle@reddit

This is simply incorrect. The maximum number of channels potentially available is dependent on the memory controller, not the slots or number of DIMMs. A consumer platform with a dual-channel memory controller might have 4 DIMM slots, but those are split between two dual-channel banks with 2 slots each. Populating all 4 slots will still be dual channel.

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No-Actuator-6245@reddit

I know this. Everything I said still applies

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the_hat_madder@reddit

Nothing you said applies because you wouldn't be mixing kits if the kits are on separate memory controllers.

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Berfs1@reddit

Mixing kits isn’t a problem if you only intend on running JEDEC speeds, as long as both kits have a matching JEDEC profile (etc 2666MHz CL19 or 3200MHz CL22). But yes if you intend on running them any higher than JEDEC, mixing kits *usually* does negatively affect the maximum overclocking headroom as both kits were binned individually and not together.

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karmapopsicle@reddit

Because of how memory is advertised and talked about, a lot of people simply don't connect the dots that most common consumer kits are advertised at overclocked speeds that use custom XMP/EXPO profiles to simplify the configuration process.

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Oonori@reddit

Expanding is fine as long as in the future you buy the same specifics and brand and size. Really everything being the same just later date.

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spectra2000_@reddit

Dumb question, but what’s the point of the other two channels if using them leads to so many issues?

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TheFondler@reddit

It's not a dumb question, it's a good question. The only purpose for 4 over 2 is capacity. The problem is that this creates two issues. First, DDR5 is very sensitive to signal integrity, and adding additional slots decreases signal integrity. Second, the memory controllers on current CPUs can't always handle even moderately high memory speeds with either dual-rank (32GB or more per stick) or dual-DIMM per channel (4 RAM sticks). If you get 2 sticks of 8,000MT/s memory and throw it in a 4 slot board, it probably won't get up to that speed, even if your memory controller can handle it. If you buy 4 sticks of even 6,000MT/s RAM, your memory controller may not be able to handle it (this is much rarer now from what I've seen with newer BIOS versions). If you max out a 4 slot board with 4 sticks of 32/48GB memory, you're just straight gonna have a bad time unless you want to run it at the base DDR5 specs. The dumb thing is motherboard vendors including 4 DIMM slots on almost all consumer DDR5 boards where the overwhelming majority of people don't need the capacity. Sure, offer a couple for the few people that need a baby-workstation without going full-Threadripper, but making 4 slots the norm was just a bad call.

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Juan2_Three@reddit

9950X, 4x24gb sticks of non neo trident z royal 7200mt (yeah I know, first pc & no one stopped me from buying xmp ram for my amd rig, lol). Obviously would not boot at full speed. We backed them down to 6400 & weirdly the computer only sees 94gb instead of 96gb, BUT she rips now. Sometimes she takes 10 minutes to boot from off, sometimes she takes 30 seconds lol. But man oh man do I love seeing those 4 slots stuffed with some shiny ram 🤩🤣 Point of my comment, is I don’t know how we got it to work with how delicate/weird ddr5 is, but it works lol.

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Thick_Plankton2075@reddit

A dual channel mobo with 4 slots seems almost more like a marketing gimic or a part number reduction ploy then.

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TheFondler@reddit

"BIGGER NUMBER BETTER" is a difficult concept to get out of people's heads and an easy one for marketing to exploit. I wouldn't blame someone who doesn't know the ins and outs of memory performance for simply thinking more RAM = more gooder, and that's basically everyone except for a small minority.

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airmantharp@reddit

You have four slots on consumer boards at most - some boards, like ITX boards, some mATX boards, and the few enthusiast boards only have two! - and this is mostly to provide the appearance of being able to upgrade or use four sticks. When you look at memory speeds supported by CPUs and boards, you'll see terminology like '1DPC' and '2DPC'. This is 'one DIMM per channel', which means two DIMMs in a dual-channel board, and 'two DIMMs per channel', meaning four DIMMs on a dual-channel board. What you'll see if you dig in is that nearly all CPU + board combinations limit support on 2DPC configurations to significantly lower speeds. This is entirely down to stress on the memory subsystem, that being the CPU memory controller, the board tracing (wires) between the memory controller and the DIMMs, as well as the DIMMs themselves.

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the_hat_madder@reddit

>The first pair (two slots blank) puts each DIMM on a separate channel, thus 'dual channel'. The second pair with all four slots filled means having DIMMs from two separate kits together on each channel. Thanks for the response. Isn't "don't mix" in reference to DIMMs on the same channel?

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airmantharp@reddit

Not really; since all channels have to run at the same speeds and timings (and other things), mixing stuff is a bad idea and should be avoided if possible. Sometimes it just isn't, so then you get to figure out whatever settings the whole mess will run at in a stable fashion. Stability with mixed DIMMs usually requires performance settings lower than the slowest / highest latency module. Since this is BuildAPC, I'll say that this isn't always the case and one can get more performance if they know what they're doing, but this is highly discouraged. Memory instability is no joke and not a gremlin one wants to be fighting if they're trying to get any work done!

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GoldkingHD@reddit

There are only two channels. So two slots per channel for a total of 4. It's this way on pretty much any recent consumer level platform. For quadchannel and higher you need to go to hedt or server grade parts.

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spectra2000_@reddit

How do I determine the number of channels? Is it on the part itself, or the box?

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GoldkingHD@reddit

Could be there, but you'll definitely find it in the full specs on the manufacturers product page.

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Putrid_Statement_690@reddit

Is it harmful to just remove the two new sticks if I recently upgraded from 2 to 4 and started getting blue screened?

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GoldkingHD@reddit

No, you can safely do that. Might have to turn xmp/expo on/off again.

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xwolf_rider@reddit

I speak from experience when I tried to upgrade from 16gb 3200hz -> 32gb by adding two more of the same sticks, the computer would no longer boot. That was the day I learned about memory controllers

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Expert_Economy_2221@reddit

Did you find a solution to the booting problem? I’m having the same issue with 4x32 ddr5 Kingston fury

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Flashaholics-UK@reddit

A bios update often helps

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xwolf_rider@reddit

Your memory controller might not be able to handle that much RAM

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beirch@reddit

I must have been extremely lucky then cause my motherboard would take two sticks of Kingston and two sticks of Crucial with no issues. After that I even got another two sticks of the same Kingston RAM and manually overclocked them from 2666 to 3200 *and* lowered timings.

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JoshAllen42069@reddit

We mix and match random sticks in laptops all the time with no issues. I also purchased the exact same RAM 5 years after I built my PC to upgrade from 16 to 32. No issues. I've done this the twice. Yes, it CAN cause issues, but it doesn't seem to be as common as one can be lead to believe from comment that's on Reddit.

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Sad_Schedule_9253@reddit

It's more just cautionary. It's added risk and much of that can be mitigated by employing all the techniques and procedures regarding ram timings etc though yes often it will work just fine.

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porn_inspector_nr_69@reddit

Laptops almost universally run on jedec timings. No problem mixing modules at these speeds. Desktops usually run overclocked on the limit of what modules and CPU can support. That's a different story. Annoyingly AMD mobile CPUs have far far far better memory controllers than desktop counterparts.

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airmantharp@reddit

Can confirm on the AMD CPUs, but it's the APUs that occasionally have better memory controllers; there's a potential explanation there, but mostly it's that the APUs usually come out later and have more mature memory controllers. Anecdotally, the memory controller on my 5700G sample is just plainly outstanding. DDR4 4400, no problem!

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ndreamer@reddit

It gave me issues, my laptop would not post with kingston memory. My laptop had Micron memory installed but Asus changed the timings.

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rothelen@reddit

I've seen this happen as well. I ended up getting a 4x8Gb kit to replace my 2x8 kit. Sometimes it works, but not always.

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Sniffthetip_@reddit

I had the same thing. bought another 16gb of the exact same ram. had to drop speeds from 3200mhz to 2933Mhz to get it to work. im pretty sure there was a way I saw online but for the exra 250hz I never bothered

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porn_inspector_nr_69@reddit

> especially with ddr5 Can we stop with this DDR5 nonsense? Same applies equally to DDR4. It's the same. 4 sticks will always limit your stable clocks. DDR4 or DDR5. So yeah, 2 dual-rank RAM sticks for your intended capacity are best (DR since it gives you a small little 2-3% boost over single rank).

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Frankie_T9000@reddit

Well I have four sticks of Corsair domination because they look amazing. They run at their rated speed, I'm happy with that

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chrissage@reddit

Yes sir, me too. I'm running 4 x 16gb Corsair Dominator ram, CL30 6000mhz, running full speeds, 6000mhz, Expo 2 profile. No issues here, all works like a dream. I was told it wasn't possible, but tried it anyway, and here I am, worked perfectly. PC: Motherboard - Asus X670E Crosshair Extreme CPU - AMD 7800X3D RAM - Corsair Dominator, CL30 6000mhz. (4x16gb) Running full speed 6000mhz, Expo 2 profile. GPU - Asus 4090 Strix OC M.2 - 3x Samsung 980 pro. PSU - Seasonic Prime TX 1600W

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Frankie_T9000@reddit

Similar but not similar config: Gigabyte B650 Aorus Elite AX Ice Motherboard AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Processor with H150I cooler + screen 2x ADATA Legend 800 PCIe Gen4x4 M.2 2TB SSD 1X WDC 6TB Black Gaming 7200 HD Corsair Shift RM1200x Corsair Dominator RGB 32GB (2x16GB) 5600MHz CL36 DDR5 EXPO Grey PowerColor Radeon RX 7900 XTX Hellhound OC 24GB In a massive White Corsair 7000X RGB case with like 11 Fans (inc AIO) Getting the big case my aim was to have plenty of room and decent cooling (it doesnt get hot at all despite being near my heater in winter here)

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chrissage@reddit

Nice set-up brother. I love that Corsair case, I really like big cases, I think they're great. Easy to build in and can really make them look great on your desk. What do you do with your PC? Mostly gaming?

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Frankie_T9000@reddit

Yep, gaming. I dont really run much that pushes it - like helldivers etc as well as general youtubing etc when I am WFH (Different setup on same desk) Also I have my old 3070 setup thats setup for a dedicated sim rig (still peicing it together) - its still plenty fast for most uses lol

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the_hat_madder@reddit

>Yes. The main reason is that memory kits with even same model number can and will change the actual memory chips used over time. Headline timings might be the same (hence no need to change model number), but secondaries and mixing are suddenly off the table. I think you misunderstood the question or I asked it incorrectly. As I understand it, all memory on the same channel has to match on a dual, quad or octa channel motherboard. If two DIMMs are operating in single channel mode, they don't have to be matched.

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bradd_91@reddit

And if you need to fill the RGB gaps, you can buy fake DDR4 with RGB haha

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okodots@reddit

Modern desktop platforms generally favor configurations with fewer memory modules. While both 2x32GB and 4x16GB memory kits offer the same total capacity, 2x32GB kits may have faster speed ratings. * Performance: Two sticks of RAM, also known as dual channel, can provide better performance, particularly for graphics, due to increased bandwidth. * Stability: It can be easier to stabilize higher frequencies and tighter timings with two sticks of RAM compared to four. * Speed ratings: 2x32 GB memory kits may have faster speed ratings than 4x16GB kits. * Memory slots: If using four sticks of memory bought together, all four slots can be populated. If using two dual-memory kits, the pairs should be kept together. For example, the first kit can be placed in A2 and B2, and the second kit in A1 and B1. * Diminishing returns: With DDR5, which has twice as many ranks as DDR4, going beyond two sticks may result in diminishing returns. For multi-channel memory to be fully utilized, a pair of RAM modules should be inserted into different memory channels. This means inserting them in the second and fourth slots, or the first and third slots, not next to each other.

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Difficult-Student-78@reddit

Yea I tried 3 that was a miatake

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Uninterested_Viewer@reddit

2.5 here. Big mistake and the kitchen shears have never cut the same since.

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3G6A5W338E@reddit

If you care about stability **at all**, then what you get is ECC RAM. I argue, everybody should be using ECC RAM.

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Uninterested_Viewer@reddit

>at all This is a bit dramatic. Even guys running home servers are generally realistic about the need for ECC. It's just *that rare* for ram to have bit flips that cause any sort of issues. Sure, get ECC if you want that peace of mind, but it's certainly not at all necessary for stability in 99.99% of cases.

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EishLekker@reddit

Then what boards (and CPU) support 2x64GB DDR5? In my next build I feel like 64GB is at the low end, so 128GB seems like the next logical step.

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PsychoticChemist@reddit

You're not just gaming, right? For gaming that would be way, way overboard

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satans_daddyX@reddit

You’re getting downvotes but you’re not wrong at all. Have only had faster and faster and lower and lower timings on 16gb kits of ram. Now to this day every single game maxed out on 3440x1440 200hz and 4k 120hz and running other stuff in the background with my G skill 16gb kit @ 3800MHz RAM and CL13 sometimes CL14 on some games. NEVER EVER EVER have I maxed out the usage. Set up and optimize your build enough make sure RAMs fast and you’ll never use it alll up. Stock they’re the G. Skill 3600MHz CL15 kit

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PsychoticChemist@reddit

Yep. People fall victim to marketing I guess. 128 GB for gaming is such a colossal waste of money I can’t even comprehend it lol

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EishLekker@reddit

Not very intelligent of you to assume I’m only using a computer for gaming, when I never said that. And then add a silly insult on top of that assumption. I’m not a gamer. The memory wouldn’t be for games.

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PsychoticChemist@reddit

64 GB is not the “low end” for generative AI uses.

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EishLekker@reddit

I never said that. What I meant with that was the lower end of the spectrum of a future proof performance system. My current PC is six years old. It has 32GB RAM, and had it from the start. There is no way my next build will use the same amount of RAM. At a bare minimum my next build will be 64GB. That’s all I mean.

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PsychoticChemist@reddit

Yes, and I’m telling you that that is way more than necessary, even when future proofing is considered. It is extremely common for people to buy WAY more RAM than they need. There’s no reason to spend more on RAM just to make it a larger number than your current build. 32 is absolutely sufficient for the uses you’re describing. 16 would even work if you’re trying to save money.

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EishLekker@reddit

No. Stop lying. I have 32GB now, and had to make sacrifices in order to make it work (like reducing the assigned RAM for Docker). I don’t ever want to have to do that. 32 GB would not be future proof in the slightest if I’ve needed to do those adjustments slat, before even buying the new PC.

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VampyrByte@reddit

I don't understand this weird fixation on this subreddit with gatekeeping RAM capacity. You'd think it was the most expensive component of a PC, but its not at all and the performance drop from not having enough for a given task can range from "this is a bad experience" to "I can't play my favorite game anymore." Yet we consistently see people overspending on cooling, storage and RGB and its accepted and even encouraged.

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PsychoticChemist@reddit

Are you really accusing me of lying? lol… Have a good one. Enjoy blowing money for bigger numbers unnecessarily

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EishLekker@reddit

Yes. You made a claim if my current needs working with 16GB. That is a lie.

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PsychoticChemist@reddit

Sure thing buddy. I’m sure you’re the absolute final arbiter of compute power. I’ll bow before your extensive knowledge.

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EishLekker@reddit

Instead of sitting that you lied about my system, this is your reply?

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SchlauFuchs@reddit

I skipped 64GB and upgraded to 128. Playing Cities Skylines with quite a few mods, and it didn't start my saves any more at 32GB

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satans_daddyX@reddit

It is the marketing unfortunately.. Not to mention you’re going to be getting MUCH worst performance at high capacity kits like that. You just can’t push a 128gb kit or even a 64gb kit to the limits or speed/latency numbers you can push a 16gb kit to. Extremely baffling. Shows how much people really or in this case how little they really know. 🤷‍♂️not our money. They seem pretty confident 🤣

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EishLekker@reddit

Wow. You too, huh? You two never waited for the reply to the question “You’re not just gaming, right?”. Instead you conclude that it must be just for gaming, simply because that’s all you can picture someone would use a computer for? Then you start making silly insults, based on that incorrect assumption. Very mature.

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Maipmc@reddit

Depends on what your games are. On big sandbox games 16gb isn't enough and you will start swapping pretty fast.

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EishLekker@reddit

I’m not gaming at all currently, but my next build I want to try gaming. But the memory wouldn’t be for that. I’m a developer, and often have a ton of stuff running. Virtual machines, multiple IDEs, multiple local environments, teams, office, chrome with hundreds of open tabs etc. Plus I’m interested in AI stuff, and want to explore that, and some of that software likes memory. Also, I don’t change stuff with my computer often. Except from the occasional added storage or something I usually build a PC then don’t open the case for like 5-8 years.

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airmantharp@reddit

You might want to look into Threadripper then. More cores if you want that, but mostly you get four (or eight!) memory channels that can be run at full speed with larger (48GB+) DIMMs. Lots of expansion as well, whether that be storage, networking, or even adding GPUs (including from different vendors, i.e. AMD and Nvidia) to experiment with models.

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PsychoticChemist@reddit

None of that requires anywhere near 128 GB of RAM

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EishLekker@reddit

>None of that requires anywhere near 128 GB of RAM. I never said that. I want a large margin on top of what is required. And I want it future proof for at least 5 years. >You’d be completely set with 32 GB I know that’s not true. I’m at 32GB now, and I’ve seen it struggle with some stuff. I had to lower the memory assigned to Docker in order to run Backyard AI at the same time. And I’m a multitask kind of guy. I don’t want to have to shut down program A in order to run program B.

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P_Jamez@reddit

I'm regularly maxing out 32GB, some of the data sets I use are huge and I regularly have 12GB page files as well. Work won't give me 64GB though. It's their time that I am wasting, so

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PsychoticChemist@reddit

I run resource intensive music production software, high end games, countless chrome tabs, with several constant background processes including some widgets I made with the original 16 gb of ram I installed when I built this machine in 2015 and RAM has never been a bottleneck in my system. 128 gb is way more than a large margin, it’s an absurd and unnecessary margin

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EishLekker@reddit

That’s great for you. My experience (as in actual experience, with my own system) has been that 32GB is the very bare minimum for the moment right now. And I haven’t even really started with AI. I might want to play with generative AI videos, just for fun. You think adding that on top of all my existing running programs will not require extra ram?

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PsychoticChemist@reddit

There’s a lot more to consider in your scenario than the amount of memory that could explain why your system might be consuming so much of it. Simply adding more memory doesn’t address that. Generative AI video is a CPU intensive process. That is a much more important consideration in your scenario than memory.

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EishLekker@reddit

The CPU is irrelevant for this discussion. Naturally I would go with a higher end CPU.

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GoldkingHD@reddit

There aren't really any consumer level 64gb sticks. It's only expensive and rather slow server stuff. You can get 2x48gb with higher speeds though. Am5 and lga1700 will both support that just fine if you pick the appropriate speeds for either platform.

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EishLekker@reddit

Is there a technical explanation why 48GB is easy to manufacture in this way, but not 64GB? Normally the maximum is a power of 2. 2^5 = 32 2^6 = 64 2^7 = 128 48 is such an odd number for a single stick.

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Learned_Behaviour@reddit

Looks like you're going through what I questioned as well for memory. I thought 128gb at first, but I'll be happy at 2x48gb, so I think that's the plan.

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GoldkingHD@reddit

The normal chips they use are 2gb, but now there are 3gb chips that allow for 24 and 48gb sticks. 64gb sticks are just very expensive as you need a lot of 2gb chips.

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kingwhocares@reddit

There are no 4GB DDR5. OP definitely using DDR4.

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Dreadnought_69@reddit

Well, it depends on how many memory channels he has. But I’d assume anyone asking this question most likely only has 2 channels.

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auron_py@reddit

Your second statement contradicts your first sentence.

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CuttingOneWater@reddit

what about comparing 2 8gb ram sticks and 1 16gb ram stick

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GoldkingHD@reddit

Then you should go with the 2 8gb sticks to get the benefits of dual channel.

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shiromaikku@reddit

PC likely won't boot if you have only one in each channel. MoBo manufacturers always illustrate the configuration for 1/2/4 sticks. If 2 sticks -- same channel

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Gr8BananaVoyagePDX@reddit

Wrong, MoBo manuals will explicitly tell you to put one in each channel for two sticks.

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shiromaikku@reddit

Deleting my comment

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shiromaikku@reddit

Ah shit, thanks for the correction. I read the diagram wrong. I was thinking the 1st and 3rd slots were a1 and a2 rather than a1 B1. Ok, now I feel dumb.

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PoundedClown@reddit

4 stick might put too much stress on controller, but not entirely sure.

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AlkalineBrush20@reddit

By the time I'm upgrading, I'll have 2 sticks again because I'll swap to the next platform, lol

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

[deleted]

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frodan2348@reddit

Having 4 sticks instead of 2 greatly decreases your odds of having success running the kits at their rated speeds if the kit is a high speed kit. On DDR4 anything past 3600mhz will have trouble with 4 sticks a lot of the time, and with DDR5 the issue is even worse as the memory controllers are still maturing, so having ram run past stock 4800mhz speeds with 4 sticks is legitimately unlikely. This is a well known and well documented quirk of system memory. Off the top of my head, you can find plenty of videos from J2C talking about the memory instability he’s had in multiple different rigs, both his own and his employees’. He was stuck running his memory at BELOW stock DDR5 speeds (4000mhz) in his personal rig as it had 4 sticks and 128gb total. Another example, my friend has 4x16gb of DDR4 3600 cl18 in his rig with his 5950x, and he has to run 3200mhz or else he gets random blue-screens.

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Toymachina@reddit

Had no clue, thanks!

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VersaceUpholstery@reddit

It would be easier on the memory controller of the CPU to run, let’s say, 2 sticks of 7200mhz DDR5 RAM vs 4 sticks of the same speeds in terms of stability. Like XMP could work with zero issues on 2 sticks but with 4 sticks there’s a higher chance it can run into issues. This is mostly relevant right now with DDR5 (because it’s still new tech) and super high ram speeds, more than the average user needs honestly. With how fleshed out DDR4 memory controllers are, I don’t think you’ll run into the same problem. The latest DDR4 CPUs should handle pretty much anything memory wise thrown at them nowadays.

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No-Actuator-6245@reddit

The maximum stable speed is usually lower when using 4 DIMMS.

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Own_Rip_8511@reddit

Im reading this in the middle of the ram crisis

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TheLastGentlemen81@reddit

Im using 4x stick of ddr5 at 6000 mhz but i run them at 5600 mhz on Expo 1. It take 3-4 minutes to boot, but its 100% stable. It have never crash yet.

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False_Woodpecker_970@reddit

You know what My RAM is better than your RAM!

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Amazingawesomator@reddit

consumer grade CPUs have two memory channels, so there is no benefit to more sticks on them. if you have a threadripper, epyc, xeon, or something else that isnt consumer grade (or is HEDT), then it is worthwhile to check on how many memory channels your CPU supports. memory channels = how many sticks you want <3

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Hood_Mobbin@reddit

I have a 5800x and run 4 sticks and got zero change except I have more ram. 3600c14 1:1 fclk, it depends on the controller itself as they are not all equal. I have heard that drr5 has the controller on the ram itself and not on the CPU. Not sure if that's true or not.

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sk2536@reddit

Hey bro what ddr4 kit was that and what ram voltage you used to get 3600cl14 ?

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Hood_Mobbin@reddit

Corsair dominator pro, stock timings are 3600 cl16. I couldn't tell you all the specs.

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Amazingawesomator@reddit

that is not true; however, the power regulation is on DDR5 pcb's instead of on your mobo : D yeah, 0 change in speeds when adding more sticks - 5800x supports 2 memory channels <3

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pocketofsushine@reddit

the question was two sticks vs four, which is not related to memory channels. almost every board/cpu is dual-channel for the last 2 decades

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Amazingawesomator@reddit

yeah, HEDT and more enterprise-facing workstations (xeon, threadripper, etc) will be the only ones that have more than 2 channels

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Scarabesque@reddit

> 0 change in speeds when adding more sticks - 5800x supports 2 memory channels That depends on the stick configuration. 4x8GB single rank is faster than 2x16GB single rank (which most affordable 16GB DDR4 sticks are). The former operates as dual channel, dual rank. 2x16GB dual rank is best of both worlds.

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StarHammer_01@reddit

Don't forget that consumer grade cpu also support multiple ranks per channel. Ddr4 and lower has 1 or 2 rank per stick and ddr5 has 2 or 4 ranks per stick. More ranks per channel = less time that channel is idle. Kinda like hyperthreading for ram. You will see noticable benefit going from 1 rank to 2 ranks. Though you'll get diminishing returns for 4+ ranks per channel. Most ram ddr1-4 ram sticks are single channel except for the high capacity ones (I think 2 channel sticks start at 32gb+ per stick for ddr4). So unless you are running ddr5 or dual rank ddr4, having 2 sticks per channel is faster. This usually means having 4 sticks on most consumer cpu with dual channel memory. Though the trade-off is your memory controller and traces need to work harder so you can't clock you ram as high. A 4000mhz ddr4 kit might not work with 4 sticks.

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Amazingawesomator@reddit

a benefit of slowing down the MT/s of your memory in this instance would also be the ability to reduce your ram timings and remain stable : D i had slow, dual rank, quad channel memory on my old machine, and it "felt" faster than my current machine. though i forget the exact timing on that old machine (it has been ~2ish years), i do remember them being very low when compared to the standard/consumer ddr4.

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bunny-lynn@reddit

each controller supports a dual channel. so two means up to 4 sticks of ram.

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Amazingawesomator@reddit

aaahhh - thank you for catching my mess up there. 1 dual-channel controller in most consumer grade CPUs. <3

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TheBrave-Zero@reddit

I always wanted a thread ripper setup, I occasionally see tik toks of some Chinese company throwing together crazy expensive builds with them and seeing the satisfying click of all 4 ram go in. Then I think about it for the billionth time, I have no idea what I'd ever use it for lmao

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Amazingawesomator@reddit

i still miss my old HEDT setup. that thing lasted for an extremely long time, and i only got rid of it because i was unable to troubleshoot what went wrong with the hardware - something broke. having 4 memory channels is incredible. running at really slow speeds with with double the amount of channels allows you to lower timings to a ridiculous level and remain stable. the "snappiness" of programs still felt better on that old 5th gen intel than it does on my 5800x.

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Kilgarragh@reddit

The fucking temptation to get an 8 channel sTR5

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AHrubik@reddit

The problem with HEDT will always be clock speed. In order to handle that many cores and keep TDP to a reasonable level clock speed gets reduced.

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badolfob@reddit

What's better though? Let's say all ram sticks are exatly the same ddr5 and same latency and speed, what would be better, 2 16gb for 32gb or 4 16gb for 64gb?

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Flashaholics-UK@reddit

Davinci Resolve has run terribly for me since going to 4 x 16GB sticks. It's stable for now but I can't update to the latest Windows update or a newer NVIDIA Studio Driver than 561 or I get bad playback stutter and or the GPU 700 error.

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kuBudaStaR@reddit

Hey! I know its a 7 months old post but i see everywhere that a lot of people saying 4 ram stick is not stable etc.. I use 4 stick 3600cl16 single rank ram with my ryzen 5600 and its rock stable and ultra fast! Never had any problem :) Usually the people who said that its unstable maybe they never had 4 stick ram only read somewhere on internet! For me the 4x8 (2 kit) sticks much better than the 2x16!

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ultrafrisk@reddit

4 sticks on a dual Channel cpu and mobo does improve performance

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Kitchen_Mirror1108@reddit

Love how many people say get 2 sticks so you can upgrade to 4 later.... This is what happens when you only know as much as a youtuber tells you.

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mithrillium@reddit

Two sticks Better stability, better headrooms, better compatibility And buy them in kits Like 2x16 in a single box, not two separate 16gb sticks

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noodlekrebs@reddit

Usually there is no benefit to having 4 sticks as most motherboards do not support quad channel ram. They should perform the same in 99% of scenarios

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hmazuji@reddit

as far as performance goes, you won't notice the difference i only have two slots, so it's a mute point and if i had 4, chances are good i wouldn't use the other slots statistically, the extra slots never get used

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EetsGeets@reddit

*moot point

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hmazuji@reddit

that's too funny. should say " like, 'duh', moot point " but thank you

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Dumbass-Redditor@reddit

It kind of gets on my nerves that most motherboards have 4 stick lanes but cant support 4 sticks with stability. It defeats the purpose of having 4 in the first place unless you need more gigs of ram, but that’s what higher gig sticks are for

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Oonori@reddit

Actually most often 4 sticks are stable in dual channel and single channel it’s just the times when the speeds are not stable at the sticks XMP or custom levels for reasons that include kits being a pair for the conjoined speed and having 2 requires 2 kits of the same speed that are not read as the same channel.. hence why the speeds can be lower if 4 sticks in dual channel are used yet still sometimes it still works normally depending on multiple factors of components/hardware.

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Dumbass-Redditor@reddit

Yeah, the issue is that there is no benefit to having more than 2 sticks. You'd think that with more ram, the better performance, but it's the reverse.

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Oonori@reddit

Well what is referred to as RAM “ranks” are memory buses on the RAM drives. Some RAM drives have 2 some only have 1. For single rank RAM kits they don’t require as much usage from CPU as dual rank.. now if you put 2 single rank RAM drives in 1 dual channel the CPU will see it as 1 as its still simple 1 path (channel) memory. Ranks can be double sided one sided and still be either single rank or dual rank. So 4 single rank RAM drives has a total of 4 memory buses and with sees them as dual channel so its been proven in this case 4 sticks seen as 2 dual rank RAM performance faster than 2 stick single or dual rank ram as the channels are full and you have full power or speed from both channels. There is reviewed evidence of this and it’s been confirmed multiple times. It’s only referred to as ranks in reference to the buses which the cpu memory controllers see as memory modules but dual rank requires more usage is the reason the cpu usage with only 2 memory controllers can’t be as fast with 4 dual rank or 4x2 memory buses as 4 single rank or 4 total seen buses for the integrated memory controller to use. If you know hardware unboxed YouTube channel he was behind the Cybenetics website for testing and ratings different pc components. Look at this YouTube video for further information. https://youtu.be/dhMYmEu8gks?si=32CTRJXsEZsHjbSN

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Rough-Discourse@reddit

This strictly applies to DDR5 where most DDR4 sticks are single rank and benefit from a dual rank config; where DDr5 dual rank benefits have serious stability issues and marginal benefits at best

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Extension-Shine-6189@reddit

Less is more.

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Chronigan2@reddit (OP)

Looks like someone is volunteering for a pay cut.

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drowsy1234@reddit

It depends. With single rank memory it’s usually better to only have two sticks with dual rank memory it is better to use four sticks.

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Commentator-X@reddit

depends, dual channel or quad channel on your motherboard? If its dual, youll get faster speeds with just 2 usually. Using all 4 will give you more capacity but wont run stable at as high a speed. Check your mobo manual and it will often say its compatible speeds with with different configs. It also depends how many ranks are on your sticks. Iirc if you have single rank sticks youll get similar speeds with 4 sticks on a dual channel board as you would with 2 dual rank sticks. But I think dual rank is the norm these days so youll get the best speeds with 2dimm/2rank on a dual channel board, which is the norm for boards these days. If you want to run at the fastest speeds with 4 sticks, you have to use a board thats quad channel.

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Aggravating_Ad_9376@reddit

Why nobody here is discussing motherboard topology? That's a very important factor when we are talking about 4 module ram configuration and it's compatibility and stability... If you have mobo with daisy chain u are more likely to encounter this kind of issue with 4 modules. But if your mobo has t topology the likelihood of any kind of issues is slim to none.

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Sad_Schedule_9253@reddit

2 for speed and stability are always better, if you add 2 more sticks you typically lose any o.c. and run at the slower of the two sets. 2 sticks for dual chanel 3 for 3 for triple chanel 4 for 4 quad chanel etc

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MusicalTechSquirrel@reddit

Depends on your system and if the slots can take it. For example: I could get 2x8 for my system, but due to how old it is (DDR3 on some old Dell motherboard), each slot only supports up to 4 gigs per slot, meaning I have to do 4x4 if I want the maximum 16GB ram.

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Sloppy-Tuesday@reddit

I read that if the ram is dual layered it is better to use 2x. if it is single layered, it might be better to go for 4x.

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fifthgearpinned@reddit

Two sticks is better than four. It's easier on the memory controller. Little faster.

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azamatStriking@reddit

Learn computer science

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plexguy@reddit

That was the consensus or what I found to be the consensus when I did my last build. It made sense and with all the others showing other evidence that 2 was better than four. Since the price of 2 32gb sticks of the RAM I had picked was about the same as 4 16GB I figured 64 was overkill for a while it really made sense. I got really good speed and the computer runs great and 64GB is plenty but still can add more if needed so I call it a win and will do the same on the next build.

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Active-Quarter-4197@reddit

Depends on the motherboard

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jasiu4pl@reddit

in what situation would a 4 stick kit be better? genuine question btw i’d like to know

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MarxistMan13@reddit

If you're using single-rank DDR4 modules, 4 DIMMs will be better **if** your CPUs memory controller can handle it. 2 dual-rank DIMMs would be better, but 2 single-rank DIMMs would be worse (2-5%). Note: Don't confuse ranks with channels. Not the same thing. For all situations of DDR5 right now, 2 DIMMs is better.

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sh_ip_ro_ospf@reddit

Amd consumer controllers use a round robin method for data from ram so even with a single rank you still want less sticks for faster performance. It's heavily dependent on CPU and not rank

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Colonic_Mocha@reddit

How would I know I my CPU's memory controller can handle it? I mean, I know my computer can handle 64gb (looked it up with cmd) and has 4 physical slots (ddr4 dimm). Is that the same thing? Having looked up the capacity via command prompt, or is the CPU's memory controller capacity something different? Sorry if this is dumb or obvious. I can put shit together and make it work, but I don't know the intricate stuff.

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MarxistMan13@reddit

This is what's known as the Silicon Lottery. Every individual CPU is different, and can handle different things. You won't know how good your CPUs memory controller is until you try to push it. This is why we always recommend 2 DIMMs when possible. There's no way of knowing if your specific CPU will handle 4 DIMMs.

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Colonic_Mocha@reddit

Interesting. So there's not even some long, jargony pdf spec manual for my specific cpu chip that addresses ram slot handling? (I will actually read manuals and equally boring stuff for fun) And is the mobo specifically that dictates ram quantity? Obviously, the mobo determines if it's ddr3, or 4, or 5, etc. And the mobo has the number of hardware slots on it. Can't do 4 sticks if there's only 2 slots. To put it differently, when I go into cmd and inquire ram capacity, is the number spit out the number the mobo can handle or the cpu can handle? I've only tinkered with retail, pre-built PCs. (Almost always refurbished, former office computers being sold/given away because they're doing a replacement en masse.) So I've never encountered any kind of ram/cpu conflict. And it'll probably make some folks gag when I say that I scrap half the PCs I get my hands on and so I have a machine with 3 mixed sticks (total of 4). She works just fine at 10+ lol

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MarxistMan13@reddit

There are guaranteed specs every CPU will meet, but that is a baseline, low speed level that frankly no one should be using. There's no way to tell if your CPU can handle 2x16GB at 6000 CL30, or if it can handle 4x32GB at 5600 CL40, or somewhere in between. That's down to trial and error. To negate that, we always recommend 2 modules at a decent-but-not-crazy speed. This ensures maximum compatibility without giving up much performance. I believe command prompt tells you what the CPU can handle as a baseline. This doesn't tell you what speeds it can handle at those capacities. Both your CPU and motherboard help determine RAM compatibility. Both need to support your given capacity, speed, and number of modules.

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Colonic_Mocha@reddit

Thank you so much for your time and patience in answering my questions. I've got some new info to chew on, look up, and poke around with. Have a great rest of your day!

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Trick2056@reddit

>Don't confuse ranks with channels. your can tell if the RAM dual rank if it has chips on both sides. If only some manufacturers actually put the rank info on the box instead of us physically check it (talking about you Kingston).

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kztlve@reddit

1. Kingston’s stick labels tell you whether they’re single or dual rank on the stick, not on the box unfortunately but still easy to tell 2. ICs on both sides doesn’t necessarily mean dual rank. If there’s 4 ICs on each side and it’s x8, it’s single rank. You could also see 8 on each side in x4, though this isn’t common (especially nowadays when 16Gb ICs are cheapest)

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ShyVi@reddit

My PC that's like 16 years old and uses DDR3, but won't be able to handle sticks bigger than 4, so I have 4 sticks of 4 in it now. Previously it was just 2 sticks of 4. And yes I'm well aware I need a new PC, but I'm baby stepping my way there.

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Trick2056@reddit

turn that into a retro machine after getting a new PC

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ShyVi@reddit

Not a bad idea but I might keep the video card, SSD, and maybe the power supply for the new one since those are all parts I recently got in there

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Kilgarragh@reddit

4/4 channel memory, 4/6 channel memory, 4/8 channel memory

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MehImages@reddit

if your platform has 4 or more memory channels mainly. it can be better on dual channel too with specific configurations, but you'd almost always be better off just buying different ram instead and differences are small

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Segfault_21@reddit

CPU* both honestly

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Doctor_Afraid@reddit

2 sticks of ram and two dummy sticks covered in RGBs :)

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wigglin_harry@reddit

use 2x8 because you're going to want 32 gigs of ram I would recommend going 2x16 tbh, you'll thank yourself for doing so

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Realistic_Earth_3270@reddit

My pc has 4 sticks of 8gb. It works great. All are at 3200mhz. No worries here. I started with two 8gb sticks and 4 months later I added two more and my pc didn't crash. It didn't miss a beat.

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CharacterCandle8700@reddit

depends on how hot they run, price etc, if its an upgrade. I always buy at least 32Gig and IF I need to buy a second 32, but I never needed more than 32. Good cooling. matters. also depend if you air cool or AIO water. Some Noctua CPU coolers are huge.

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Awesomevindicator@reddit

Two is more stable and very slightly more performant when working as expected. Four "CAN" add latency and compatibility issues, not to mention being trickier to get a stable OC

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Durfael@reddit

2 sticks, but it's REALLY a small difference, it's also good for expansion, but when you expand anyway i recommend buying the whole 4 sticks again for compatibility (or buy the same package again if it's still on sale but ram evolves fast so it's rare to have a stick of ram on sale for years) so always 2 and if you don't do a LOT AND A LOT of ram intensive tasks, then 2x16 DDR5 or DDR4 is always good anyway

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Ottleoos@reddit

2 sticks of RAM.

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Anshurides@reddit

Go with faster ram

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Tickomatick@reddit

Never posted with 4 stick of same specs but different manufacturer :(

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Aman_Cool_Gamer@reddit

2 sticks are good IMO. 4 sticks are only needed when you're going over 64 gigs :D

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gutbart@reddit

Depends on your motherboard layout, whether it's daisy chain or T- topology

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Dull_Information8146@reddit

Check memory support on the manufacturers website, MSI has a great layout, you put in the BIOS version for the board, your CPU then it tells you what configurations you can do, my CPU does not have great support for 4 dimms

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Impressive_Bug_5918@reddit

2

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elonelon@reddit

2x8, cheaper than 4x4, and if u want to sell it to someone, usually they will buy 8gb per stick, and not 4gb per stick.

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NixAName@reddit

It depends on a few things. >90% of the time, two sticks are the way to go. If you need more ram and you already have a good 2 stick kit that you can buy another of it, it can work out well buying a second kit. That being said, sometimes the same kit isn't the same. If you're starting fresh, go with the largest and fastest 2 stick kit. What the two stick fanatics won't admit is that one stick is better again for stability and OC. It's all about value for performance.

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3G6A5W338E@reddit

Everything else (clocks, voltages, total RAM...) being equal, two will use less power than four. This is desirable.

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oliver957@reddit

3 or 1 is the best tbh

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Niiphox@reddit

This I have yet to understand. Why have 4 slots (usually), when it'd recommended use 2 and that you can max out on supported ram amount with just 2 nowadays.

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Legendary_Lava@reddit

Bare minimum? 1. Speed? 2. Capacity? 4. AMD seems to be having issues with 4 sticks of ram with the 7000 series but I expect it to be a single generation growing pains problem.

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lichtspieler@reddit

ZEN5 is confirmed to use the same ZEN4 I/O-DIE in the CPU. Make it 2 generations.

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Mr_Dr_Prof_Derp@reddit

My motherboard has lower max speed for 4 sticks. IMO ideal is 2 x 32 GB.

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Affectionate-Bend351@reddit

Two

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Br0k3Gamer@reddit

So Hardware Unboxed just did a video on RAM sizes, and I was surprised to learn that (for DDR4 anyway) you can get a SMALL speed boost from using 4 sticks of a given amount rather than 2 sticks that add up to the same amount. (For example, 4x4GB is slightly faster than 2x8GB) This is because a lot of ram sticks are single rank instead of dual rank, and most CPUs can handle dual rank dual channel ram. (Equal to 4 ranks total?) I don’t understand the science behind it, but somehow single rank quad channel functions similarly to dual rank dual channel on most modern CPUs. What’s actually happening on a hardware level is probably much more complicated and nuanced than that, but the TLDR is that CPU benchmarks say that DDR4 single rank ram is slightly faster in a 4 DIMM configuration

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lichtspieler@reddit

Its not about 4 sticks, its about DUAL RANKs. You can use 2x DIMMS with DUAL RANKs and benefit from the memory interleaving performance gains, you dont have to use 4x DIMMs since thats never a good idea with a Daisy Chain topology. With DDR4 all you had to do was to use 16GB DIMMs and a 2x16GB kit. With DDR5 DUAL RANKs are available with 32GB DIMMs, so its most 2x32GB Kits that get you there to peak gaming performance. --- The wording in the HUB content is just as missleading as it was during DDR4 during 2019/2020. They recommended 2x8GB for gaming during DDR4 and showed DUAL RANKs impact with 4x8GB. But left out that you get with 2x16GB DUAL RANKs aswell. Now with DDR5 they recommend 2x16GB for gaming and talk about 4x16GB (single ranked) configurations. But again, they leave out that you get with just 2x32GB DUAL RANKs aswell. Its again missleading enough, that people consider 4x DIMM configurations for gaming, instead of going for a 2x DUAL RANKed kit with a higher compatibility with daisy chain topology using mainboards and the kits are binned for 2x not for 4x ussage, so a frequency or latency or a reduction with both is to be expected with using 4x DIMMs.

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Br0k3Gamer@reddit

Here’s what I’m referencing: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mklCPWNyJC0&t=156s

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Oonori@reddit

Yea it makes sense. Using dual channels with 2 memory controllers and single rank RAM drives kinda is communicated as 2 dual rank and adding the more memory bus being dual rank (2) buses won’t have the same effect. Often the other hardware in CPU and motherboard still matter just doesn’t have as large of an affect. Same dude just linked video for further explanation. https://youtu.be/dhMYmEu8gks?si=gM3PLUYvbpsKGaeV

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Industrialexecution@reddit

i wouldn’t recommend 4. i got 4 8GB 3200mhz sticks for my new build and at most can only get like 2800mhz

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snupiX6@reddit

Buy 2x 8gb so you have 16gb so you have 2 more for expansion in future. Btw don't forget to put ram in first and third slot.

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Libra224@reddit

2 always better than 4

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iowasolar@reddit

I'd say 2x8

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Dismal-Buyer7036@reddit

Depends on the cpu

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ArLOgpro@reddit

2x8

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dank_imagemacro@reddit

If you are using anything resembling a regular PC motherboard you want 2 sticks. If you are using a workstation or server motherboard you MIGHT want 4. If you're not sure, you want 2.

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AHrubik@reddit

Less is more. The more sticks the more complex the communication gets.

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Frosty_Confection_53@reddit

Always fill all 4 ram slots

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ExRays@reddit

It’s better to target getting 2 sticks of ram for the target capacity you want. For example, if you *want* 32GB, get 2x16, not 4x8.

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titojff@reddit

2 sticks is easier if you need to reseat them.

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NotSoProAimer@reddit

For quick operations 2, less complications.

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KrakenBitesYourAss@reddit

Dual channel mobo - 2, quad channel - 4

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Plane_Pea5434@reddit

2 is always better, specially for the higher clocked ones having 4 usually causes stability issues and need to be used at lower frequencies

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D-B-Zzz@reddit

I tried duel channel and got subpar results. The idea sounds good though.

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0rsusNovum@reddit

Depends on the motherboard compatibility; you’re referring to “dual-channel” and “quad-channel”. Quad-channel is faster and more efficient than dual-channel, which is faster and more efficient than single DIMM. Two 4GB DIMMS can execute an additional read/write operation per motherboard clock cycle than a single 8GB DIMM, but the MOBO has to support it.

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lbiggy@reddit

4 for the rgb looks. 2 for compatibility and OC potential if you're into tweaking your ram timings.

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guntherpea@reddit

It's not actually that cut and dry. Generally, you're going to have an easier time in the most generic of cases going with 2x* rather than 4x*. BUT, there have been some studies and testing showing up ge absolute best performance possible likely comes from going with a 4x* kit and doing your own tuning. But mostly, go with 2.

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AimlessWanderer@reddit

unless your running a quad channel memory setup, 2 is always better than 4.

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IED-DID-PTSD-03-06@reddit

The more sticks you have the faster background processes will run and won't put so much pressure on the CPU

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hdhddf@reddit

the real answer is it depends on a lot of things, the ram the CPU and most importantly what you're using it for. 4 sticks can have an advantage even when not in quad channel but 2 sticks is much simpler and potentially easier to run for modern ddr5 motherboards picking a motherboard with just 2 dimm slots will let you run faster ram

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YamaVega@reddit

I have 3: 2x8gb, 1x16gb

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ultramatt1@reddit

Shouldn’t it always be in pairs?

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YamaVega@reddit

It should. But doesn't mean I would

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Necessary_Kiwi_7119@reddit

Fr I’m surprised that pc boots

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JtheNinja@reddit

Lol, it will boot with way jankier RAM setups than that. Usually the worst that happens is some RAM is mapped to single channel, and the overall clock lowers.

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MarxistMan13@reddit

Yes, it should.

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Oonori@reddit

That’s electronics for ya. Should an offering be prepared?

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Learned_Behaviour@reddit

I keep gluing more RAM together as well.

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Oonori@reddit

lol

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AconexOfficial@reddit

fir ddr5 2 sticks. for ddr4 it doesnt really matter if 2 or 4

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Connect_Economics947@reddit

Six

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da5id1@reddit

How possible is it that a motherboard made for a 12, 13, or 14 generation Intel CPU will run a matched pair of G Skill JDEC 2300 overclocked to 3000 — 15, 15, 15, 40?

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gshady2@reddit

Why are consumer grade CPUs don't have 4 memory channels anymore? I'm still using 3930k + x79pro which I bought 12 years ago. My mobo has 8 memory slots which is really nice. I need to upgrade soon, but I'm a bit reluctant to part with my 8 slot mobo.

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JtheNinja@reddit

Because it adds cost for questionable benefit in gaming and media production workloads, which is what consumer grade desktop CPUs are designed around.

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stupefy100@reddit

Idk where tf you're gonna find a 4x4 kit anyway lmao. But 2. For stability and upgradeability

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angleHT@reddit

From what I saw on YouTube it will probably only net you 15-20 ish FPS more in games. I went from 2x 8 =16 to 4x 8 =32 gb ddr4 3200. I saw games that normally use 13 gb of ram bump up to using 16 -17 gb. This is at 1440p. Not a big bump.

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da5id1@reddit

Two sticks. From G Skill I had to buy a matched pair of 16 instead of a pair of eight gigabyte to get my 32 gigs. By the way, it made f*** all difference in the performance of my PC or in multitasking as many programs as I could load at once. Don't do it. Unless you're making content to know what you're doing.

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the_hat_madder@reddit

If you have a CPU and motherboard with dual channel memory support you will take a performance hit with 4 DIMMs installed. The only benefit is increased capacity. Even if your CPU and motherboard have quad channel memory support, those 4 DIMMs operate at a reduced frequency. For mainstream consumer applications, you won't get any increase in performance.

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Oonori@reddit

Not necessarily considering single “rank” drives only possessing 1 memory bus a piece, in dual channel 2 drives would then be seen as 1 dual “rank” drive altogether pushing 2 “dual rank” drives faster than 2 sticks no matter. https://youtu.be/dhMYmEu8gks?si=4kwc5V5dqUOQ7Ltv Ddr5 doesn’t like 4 drives regardless because how high the clocks are from default.

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the_hat_madder@reddit

Dude, what?

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WhoWouldCareToAsk@reddit

If you can, get 4x8GB DIMMs for 32GB RAM. 16GB of RAM today is about enough, but tomorrow it will be lacking.

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some_guy_on_drugs@reddit

As someone who runs an x58 core i7 the answer is 3. Triple channel ftw.

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adrianp23@reddit

In most cases two sticks are much better. The exceptions - if you have a quad channel motherboard - if you have single rank DDR4 - you don't care about speed and need a ton of capacity. Prepare to seriously downclock with DDR5.

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SunSpotMagic@reddit

2 for dual channel. Also memory controller isn't taxed as much when using 2 vs 4 sticks of RAM.

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Oonori@reddit

True on second part but not by an affecting manner. “Ranks” matter more or the amount of memory buses per stick. In single rank cases 4 sticks are faster than 2.

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Tapelessbus2122@reddit

2x8 is better

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Oonori@reddit

4 single rank ram sticks are faster than 2 dual ram stick or 2 single rank sticks. Same idea as 2 sticks is better than 1. Keep in mind having single “rank” RAM drives is the bigger factor. As well as whether the other configurations are as much as a bother to you CPU and motherboard are less a change but still can run into more vital complications.

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wolfe_br@reddit

Most gaming/consumer motherboards are only dual-channel, so even if you have four slots, you only have two memory channels, so unless you really need extra RAM in quantity, go with two sticks, you won't get better performance out of it and it will be more stable too, considering the sticks are part of the same pack and matching. It may also work well if you go with 4 sticks from the same set/bundle, but I've personally had bad experience mixing sticks that were identical, just from different packs. Now, if you're running very high end like Threadripper and server boards, then some of those usually have 4+ channels and you should be able to get better performance with the extra sticks.

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ImVeryUnimaginative@reddit

2 is more stable. I have 4 sticks of RAM, but it took a little work for them to not blue screen on me.

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No-Rip4384@reddit

2

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dedsmiley@reddit

4 sticks is better on AM4 boards IF the sticks are Single Rank. Otherwise just go with 2 unless you need the capacity.

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Berfs1@reddit

It depends on which motherboard and platform and CPU. For example, on X299, if you have a 4 slot motherboard, you want to use 4x4GB, except you cant if you have a 7640X or 7740X, those only support dual channel and if the X299 board has 4 slots in quad channel, you can only run two slots… Please tell us what CPU and motherboard you are using, and what the computer will be used for.

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atl126@reddit

I prefer 8 with my threadripper

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Bigfamei@reddit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mklCPWNyJC0

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jelifah@reddit

Glad you asked this question, and the subsequent discussion it spawned. Currently on an AM4 platform with a 5700x3D. I tend to multi task a bunch, like run 4 Bluestack VMs at one time with Fortnite (Lego afkish ftw). There are moments when I wish I had more RAM and not speed. Have thought about dropping in 2 more RAM sticks, paired, that I had lying around. This discussion will prompt me to give it a whirl and see what happens

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gdalzochio@reddit

When i had this dilema I went to the cheaper one, on that time 4x4gb. I stil have that pc running since 2014.

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Vivid_Promise9611@reddit

Some weird bandwidth thing happens where it’s cut in half or something if you go 4 sticks on ddr5. 2x16 cl30 6000mt/s or 2x32 if you run video editing software

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_therealERNESTO_@reddit

>Some weird bandwidth thing happens where it’s cut in half or something if you go 4 sticks on ddr5 That's not true, bandwidth is not affected. It's just that it's harder to stabilise 4 sticks compared to 2 and thus it will run at much lower speeds.

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Vivid_Promise9611@reddit

Gotcha

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The_Machine80@reddit

2 always and the only way I'll run ram.

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maulwuerfel@reddit

2 x 8GB

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Sp3ctralForce@reddit

2. More stable and leaves room for future upgrades. Though 4 is usually stable enough for the average person and looks better

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mechcity22@reddit

Always 2.

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Prodigy_of_Bobo@reddit

2

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Inside-Location3779@reddit

2 for upgradability and functionality

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bubblesort33@reddit

For DDR5 it's 2. For ddr4 it can maybe on occasion be 4. But most of the time still 2.

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Toymachina@reddit

Depends on the motherboard/cpu. Some, especially server grade stuff, and even some consumer stuff (say discontinued Intel extreme variants such as i9 9980XE) support *quad* channel RAM, in that case there would be benefits of using 4 sticks. However, today's consumer CPUs from both AMD and Intel support 2 channels only, hence no benefit in having 4x over 2x sticks, so 2x is usually both a bit cheaper and leaves headroom for future adding of more RAM.

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Delicious-Ad2562@reddit

For ddr5, 4 sticks are almost never stable at higher speeds

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