Dual channel 2 vs 4 sticks. It says so right there on Intels ARK webpage.

Dual channel 2 vs 4 sticks Ram must be matched for proper operation. Dual channel with 2 vs 4 sticks of ram . Forgot to add: its all on an X570 Aorus Elite mobo Using 2 x 32 ram in dual channel vs 2 x 16 in single channel. ryzen 7 5700X3d +Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3600 - 32GB - CL16 - Dual Channel (2 pcs) - Intel XMP+ a rtx 4070 dual evo playing at 2) Single-rank vs. less OC-able) than having 2 16gb sticks. This is because, with 4 sticks, you typically have dual-rank modules running in a dual-channel mode – which allows your system to access more separate pools of memory at the same time. Try running in dual channel with two sticks in slots 2 and 4 whichever 2 slots your mobo manual says to use for dual channel. So two sticks of 8gb ram is no different than 4 sticks of 4gb if they Consumer desktop motherboards, like your Z490, do not support quad channel memory. Upvote 0 FYI: every modern architecture with 2 dimms per channel benefits from 4 sticks of RAM vs 2 sticks, so of course Zen3 does. You are going to be dual channel regardless of 2 or 4 dimms. r/buildapc Using 2 or 4 sticks of RAM will allow you to run your RAM at the dual channel or quad-channel configuration. First channel is slots 1 & 2, second channel is 3 & 4. I used to always recommend getting a four slot motherboard, but then personally found that adding two sticks to an in On DDR5 the advantage is extremely minimal, basically only Geekbench scales with dual rank compared to single rank on DDR5, and even then not by all that much. However, if the example is only single rank: 2x8 vs 4x4, then the 4x4 would act like dual rank with advantages from interleaving. Well, it's not inherently unstable but you are limited to 4 Sticks of RAM vs 2 DDR5: Key Differences: Channel Configuration: Memory Capacity: Performance Considerations: Making the Right Choice: In general, quad-channel configurations with 4 RAM sticks offer higher memory bandwidth compared to dual-channel setups with 2 DDR5 modules. As for two sticks vs four sticks, look up Ryzen and single rank vs dual rank memory. The only slight benefit might be if someone were using 4x single rank dimms, it would then act similar to 2x dual rank dimms. If anything, this is less ideal as 4 sticks is harder on the IMC than 2 sticks. 2 sticks give you all the benefits of dual channel and they give you universal stability as some boards don't like running This is a test being run on an Intel Core i7-6800K, too, so this isn’t another Ryzen 5000 case where 2 vs 4 Sticks is resulting in a change in performance despite being stuck at Dual Channel. Expandability or aesthetics. This is where the confusion between 2 v 4 sticks typically comes from. For a Ryzen CPU, all else equal, frequency matters more than CAS (to a point) , so 3600 18 beats 3200 16. 6% of people, RAM Capacity is king, and the difference between some Single and Dual Channel (when 2/3rds of the RAM is Dual Channel) is insignificant. 16gb sticks are usually dual rank so you want to have atleast two of these. 4-DIMM. 4 Then, also is the support, particularly for ryzen. Even tho 2 sticks were prefered over 4 and dual rank is logicaly 4 sticks? Reply reply 2 sticks if you OC for benches or plan on adding more in the future. (In your motherboard manual, you will see the channels typically labeled as A and B. Otherwise performance difference btw two and four sticks is pretty negligible. Edit: Dual-rank, not quad-rank. Upvote 1 Downvote. In this comprehensive guide, we dive into all considerations around dual vs quad channel RAM to help select the Its not as simple as 2 or 4 sticks - you have to know if the sticks are single or dual ranked. From what I've heard with the AM5 platform from multiple folks on Youtube (Jayztwocents, Gamers Nexus, and/or Linus) apparently there's better performance (and/or stability) running just two sticks instead of populating all 4 slots. So it will run the same as two dual rank chips, minus whatever additional overhead losses exist from having 4 chips instead Dual rank vs Single rank. You can get quad-rank with 2 sticks if you're using high-density ram sticks but with 4 sticks its basically guaranteed. Technically 2 sticks would be more stable, Hi guys, I'm going to buy AMD Ryzen 5000 (Zen3) CPU and 16Gb (or possibly 32Gb) of RAM. Apr 15, 2014 11,553 1,716 72,390. 2x32 is better then 4x16 if theyre all 3600 c18? 2x32 is better then 4x16 if theyre all 3600 c18? how much difference is there in % between 2 vs 4 sticks? Hyderz. Daisey chain boards did not become common until the X470 was released. All the HEDT options will still run two sticks in dual channel, X58 would run 4 sticks in dual channel, actually losing bandwidth. 2 sticks of RAM are more common in modern and mid-range motherboards. It's still dual channel, it's just double-populated dual-channel (true quad-channel RAM CPUs do exist, but it's highly unlikely you have one). Not all motherboards handel 4 sticks well. Hi, I was reading through most of the posts regarding if whether two different brands work and most only talk about dual channel. If you go to the AMD website and look at the 7800X3D specification they call out the maximum memory speeds achieved on 2-DIMM vs. Ryzen and intel for the most part are dual channel operation, Even with 4 sticks. Single vs. However its usually easier to get good timings with 2 This CAN BE HAD with 2 sticks of RAM, as long as both sticks are Dual-Ranked (meaning there are chips on both sides of the PCB). Running 4 DIMM's vs 2 is actually worse for overclocking because it's harder on your memory controller. There's also 2x8GB, if you don't need 32GB of RAM To my understanding, using 2 slots or 4 slots is dual channel. It’s faster than my (4) sticks of DDR5 in my i9 because the i9 clearly only supports dual channel. Therefore, you probably won’t have any issues running an odd I read dual channel single, and dont understand. Stick to 2 sticks. Because now with DDR5, the question is effectively: do you want 2 channels or 4? You still won't get 8 channels from 4 sticks because pairs of slots are still sharing bandwidth, but using only one Single Vs. Ddr5 I believe is all quad rank. 1 single stick can either be single or dual rank. Mainstream platforms will often offer 4 DIMM slots, but are limited to dual channel, meaning running 4 sticks of RAM would just be 2 [For 1, 2, 3, and 4 Stick Setups] Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes. It's probably better to get two higher capacity single 4 sticks is not always better. If you can get 2x16GB dual rank, that would be the best. If your current RAM is dual ranked, 4 sticks will limit how fast you can run the memory greatly. It depends on the exact motherboard and RAM kit you are trying to use. 4 Sticks. I currently have 2x8 ram sticks on a dual channel motherboard but want to upgrade and add 2 more 2x8 sticks to get 32GB of ram. With dual channel you can get up to a pretty high speed, I am going to be getting 2x 6400mhz 32gb sticks, but I'm pretty sure that anything quad channel and above starts to be limited to 5400-5600 or so, or even lower. Quad-Channel. Dual channel (2 lanes) is half the bandwidth of quad channel (4 lanes). But there was no way to know before buying. basic answer im looking for. e. Most CPUs support dual-channel mode. As for the debate regarding 2 sticks vs 4 sticks of memory. 2 sticks of dual is a bit better because you can use them on 2 dimm boards and a lot of 4 dimm boards use the daisy chain topology for the ram. Matching costs more so a 4 stick kit usually costs more and offers no performance advantage over a 2 x 32gb kit. Steve covered using 4 sticks vs 2 sticks and noticed 10% uplift in performance. if you are that concerned about ram pricing then i assume youve To 98. My guess is it wouldn't, but I also wouldn't want to 4 sticks of Ram are faster than 2 sticks all else being equal even in dual channel. Quad rank barely has any performance advantage over dual rank, and has the disadvantage of having to run it at lower clocks, so you end up with worse performance. Therefore even if you mess up, your PC will work fine only under restricted performance. Original-Worry5367 The Ryzen 7 7800x3D supports only dual channel. And no, adding 4 sticks does not mean you get quad channel memory bandwidth. ) Motherboards have always run 4 sticks better than 2 sticks of double rank because they are T-Topography boards, not Daisey chain boards. Consumer platforms are generally only dual channel, but they allow multiple sticks of RAM in each channel. The validity is this: your motherboard has 2 channels. 35V Dual Channel Desktop Memory F5-6000J3238F16GX2-FX5 You won't believe the results! All rank configurations tested, how many is the fastest?! Amazon US 2x16 Bdie: https://amzn. 4 slots on your motherboard correspond to 2 channels, so if you put 8GB single-rank RAM in all 4 slots, you'll get dual-rank in both channels (since there are 2 single-rank sticks in each channel). They are both dual channel. This is about how a RAM module is organized, meaning, how the individual memory chips on the module are addressed. The top memory OC boards such as the Apex are fitted with only two dimm slots for a reason. The downside is that puts a lot of extra load on the memory controller. 2 green slots = channel #1, 2 black slots = I didn't do enough research on the AM5 platform when it comes to quad channel As others have mentioned, quad-channel on AM5 does not exist. You can also have quad memory ranks with 2 dual-rank sticks (many 16GB sticks are DR) so its not exclusive to 4 sticks. So you'll have the benefit of rank interleaving. I didn't configure Yes if the board is dual channel then 4sticks run in dual channel, the same goes for 2 sticks as long as you have them placed right. But in the end, I suppose my biggest concern outside of same-kit or individual memory, is if the performance from 2 to 4 sticks is really much of an issue, especially for my use. It can operate with 1 slot empty on either channel. I would rather use 4 sticks than 2 simply for aesthetics. T. to/3eU9mJL Dual channel is what you want so 2x8. Is 2 sticks of 16gb ram better than 4 sticks of 8? All I want is 32 gb . This is why people going for 32GB system memory may be in luck and reap these benefits with 2 sticks of 16GB Dual Ranked sticks. I5 9400 doesn't support quad channel, so its dual channel with 2 sticks vs dual channel with 4 sticks. 1x16gb vs 2x16gb. 4 sticks cons: If sticks are dual rank, you get 4 ranks per channel, which is very taxing on the memory controller. Unless we're talking Threadripper or other very high end Intel processors, majority of processors on the market have a dual channel memory Yes dual channel works with 2 or 4 but be aware that this puts a greater load on the memory controller. I'm talking about a regular workstation, running Windows 11. In this case, where you have 4 sticks or dual channel dual ranks and all running in double rank, the benefit is memory interleaving and that's what GN, HBU and Tom's hardware are talking That's not exactly true. The RAM kit is more costly, so is it worth it to buy the kit? The two options are identical in terms of latency and frequency. The system will use dual channel mode for the 2GB sticks and then when they're filled up it drops down to single channel for the 4GB stick. T-topology has the traces split between slots 1+3 and 2+4 in equal length. and 256 bit is on ram too, confirmed by GN. the main advantage of dual rank on DDR4 and earlier was 8 bank groups per channel instead of 4, on DDR5 where you already have 8 bank groups per rank you're approaching the limits of what Is there any benefit to running 4 sticks of ram vs 2 on the x570 taichi? I already have a 2 x 8gb configuration and want to upgrade to 32gb. IE two sticks are easier for a mobo to sync than four sticks. Dual-Channel vs. This is "typically" found in 16GB DDR4 sticks. One stick runs in dual channel as it stands. If you see each channel as a lane of traffic, and the RAM releasing the traffic. There's With Ryzen 3000 and in particular Ryzen 5000 you do benefit from quad memory ranks (not the same thing as quad channel) which is achievable with 4x4GB but that is about it off the top of my head. The x370 (C6H, Taichi, etc. There is an exception to this rule, if you needed more than 32gb of ram and your motherboard only has 4 dimms slot I could see the argument for temporary 1x16 with the intention of upgrading soon after and adding additional ram sticks, so you'd only be running single channel temporarily. dual channel with 4 slots 1+3 pair, 2+4 pair so if you only had 2 sticks with 4 slots you would put them in 1 and 3 or 2 and 4, not next to eachother Both the 2 pack and 4 will run in dual channel. Some will argue that some games or applications respond better to dual rank. It’s harder for the cpu memory controller to run more (4) vs less (2) ram sticks, especially at higher speeds pass the official cpu max support. Well sure, when that would apply. When you use 2 sticks of RAM, your CPU can access both RAMs simultaneously and transfer data faster to boost performance. RAM 2 sticks vs 4 sticks . Reply reply Glassjarbrains • I see, thank you! RAM 2 sticks vs 4 sticks upvotes I know that my build doesn't support 4-channel mode but as far as I understood 4 sticks should work like 2 pairs in 2-channel mode. The specs on that mobo say Dual Channel; all that said, years ago when ram speed vs other components' speed was more of a closer-bottleneck challenge, not sure these days how much that matters anymore; if you've got a good Addressing 2 sticks at a higher frequency is easier than addressing 4 sticks at that same frequency, so you’ll generally have better overhead with 2 sticks. 4 sticks of RAM can give up to around a good 8-12% performance increase versus 2 sticks. DDR channel architecture works with up to 2 sticks per channel meaning dual channel capable components can have up to 4 slots. Meaning you may actually lose performance, because you get forced to a lower frequency. You might get slightly better performance at stock speed with 4 single rank sticks vs 2 single rank sticks, as you would with 2 dual rank sticks. Q&A. Aesthetics. 8 GBs dual channel VS 12 GBs single channel for Ryzen APU laptop. It’s just not a significant amount though, and you are better off buying 2 sticks now and leaving yourself two slots for later if you wanna upgrade. 4 sticks SR or 2 sticks DR is the way to go, unless you want to go for crazy high memory overclocks then 2 sticks SR will get you that. But 4 RAM sticks don’t mean or guarantee Quad Channel configuration since it’s a feature that’s mostly only available to HEDT or high-end desktops and server motherboards. From a performance or system stability point of view, would having 2 sticks of 8GB or 4 sticks of 4 GB be better in a dual channel DDR3 system? Assuming timings to be the same in both situations. Here are some advantages of using dual memory channel RAM sticks. You put the sticks in slots 2+4 so that the signals don't go past slots 1+3 and then bounce off the unterminated traces in slots 2+4. 2 sticks works fine. On the other hand 4 sticks are often cheaper, dual rank sticks are harder to find and all sticks populated on a 4 dimm board just looks better Furthermore, I am still not entirely sure about whether there is a performance increase with 4 sticks as opposed to 2 sticks. Controversial. XMP latency is 65ns. Actual quad channel runs super fine, but is only supported on workstation platforms like Intel Sapphire Rapids. Reply reply Definitely check the mobo’s qualified vendor list. Upvote 0 Downvote. But dual channel memory—two sticks in two slots running on different channels of the memory bus—can give a performance boost for only a little extra money. Now that we are aware of the architectures and the configurations, lets see if these actually bring about any Considering identical RAM sticks (and dual channel), the number of RAM sticks is irrelevant. Usually one channel is preferred as it terminates the signals, so even using the wrong channel (slots 1&3 vs 2&4) can affect max stable ram settings. 4 if you want to fill it up. G. translate. Which means that 2 sticks are favoured when overclocking. g. 2 sticks that are single rank will be slower than 2 sticks with dual rank (4 total ranks). So assuming you have a Dual Channel board, that means the CPU is seeing 8 ranks Using 4 sticks will also not result in double the bandwidth, because it is still Dual-Channel. I want to build a PC with an Intel i7-12700k and 64GB Ram, mainly for video and photo editing. 2 vs 4 sticks for 32gb RAM So I just bought 32gb XPG GAMMIX D10 (4x8gb, $148) and I'm having second thoughts--apparently quad channel is not supported by the ryzen build I was going for and having 4 8gb sticks in dual channel is slower (i. 4x is better only on CPU/motherboard that support quad channel memory, i. 14/day) Location LV-426 System Specs 2 sticks dual rank I wouldn’t recommend it. Manual overclock latency is 55ns. Once 2 sticks are used dual channel is already capable of being enabled. However, when using four single rank modules for dual-channel operation, the memory is now configured as a dual rank. Having 4 slots populated will be fine for you if you are too lazy to sell old ram or not in a position to buy 2x16 gb. In a dual channel system, the CPU has only two memory channels. Meaning that no matter which slots you use, the stability is the same. To compare single vs dual channel RAM, we took our 2x16GB (32GB) DDR4 RAM sticks and benchmarked them in single channel configuration (B+B) as well as dual channel configuration (A+B). I'm getting 16GB dual channel (2 x 8GB) in my new RYZEN build, I have a choice of either buying a 2x8GB RAM kit or 2 sticks of identical RAM sold separately. dual rank also has a heavy impact. Then, using 4 sticks will also result in double the bandwidth compared to using 2 sticks, and is fully supported. Each RAM stick can be either single rank or dual rank, the latter being better in performance. T topology runs better with 4 sticks and daisy chain runs better with 2. Aug 14, Four sticks in dual channel and two sticks in dual channel run at very nearly the same speed, with quad sticks being generally slightly worse at everything. So you'd benefit from having only 2 DIMMs rather than 4. the worst compatability is when using 4 stick quad rank dual side then you are pretty much limited and having worst performance. Compatibility: Ensure compatibility with your motherboard, whether you choose one 32GB stick or two 16GB sticks. Less total ranks (2 sticks vs 4 sticks) can run at a higher frequency, this should be more useful. Ryzen works best using 4 total ranks (technically it’s counted as ranks per channel so it would be 2). RAM configurations typically operate in either dual-channel or quad-channel modes, depending on your motherboard and CPU support: 2 Sticks vs. Jul 26, 2017 The meaning of 4 RAM sticks on dual channel can simply be explained as above. That being said, 2 slots populated will offer the lowest latency. Technically yes a single stick is dual channel because each stick has 2 40-bit channels. Old. This is why many mobos will have up to 4 slots and not more. Skill Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6400 CL32-39-39-102 1. you have dual rank and dual side performance as it's like using 4 ranks instead dual rank. I vote for the two stick kit. However, going up to 2x16 gives you the opportunity to get faster ram, such as the link below. Currently I am running in dual channel mode with two 8gb sticks (16gb total), I am planning to upgrade to 32 by buying 2 more 8gb sticks so I will by using all 4 slots. No, if you only have dual channel than 4 sticks just means 2 sticks per channel. However, this 8-12% performance increase is not something that exists in every game you test. DDR4 RAM memory test - 2 vs 4 modules in dual channel. This is very much no the same as the number of slots your motherboard has. It is easier for the cpu to to manage two sticks vs. Daisy chain has slots 1+3 wired first, 2+4 last. this is the best case scenario. Instead you would be running dual channel with a 2 DIMM Per Channel configuration. So this change in ICs might be a blessing in disguise allowing for a cheaper 64GB upgrade path while still retaining dual-channel dual-rank configuration. Recently I bought another 2x8Gb sticks of the exact same RAM and installed them in slots #3 and #4, if I'm understanding what CPU-Z shows me correctly, these 2 new sticks work in 1-channel mode. Gabeomatic • • I just assume using 4000mhz ram and using 4 sticks at dual channel is just wayy too much for your cpu to handle Would having 2 sticks of ram vs 4 sticks of ram in a dual channel rig have any notable difference in terms of gaming, streaming or video editing? (Example 2x16GB vs 4x8GB) PS: I ask based on performance. I don't know if Intel's Xeons would run 4 sticks in quad or drop all the way to dual. Quad channel is something special, and not just a 4 stick dual channel setup. google. Now, let’s address the main question: Is using Hello. If you add 2 more sticks to the system, each stick will share the channel with the other stick in the channel. In your case the sticks are likely dual rank (at least 4 sticks does give you 2 additional sticks that can cause issues. You can have 4 ranks in 2 sticks but both need to be dual rank modules vs singles which tend to be more afforat and available. DDR4 vs DDR5. If your CPU maxes out at say, 3200MHz with 2 DIMM's, then it may only reach Dual channel is. This means that newer processors like AMD's 7000 series are actually quad channel memory controller CPUs, but have been labeled as dual channel so the less technical wouldn't be expected to need four modules and not only two. This only occurs when 4 sticks are used. But the trade off is I would stay on 2666 MHz dual channel, unless you are really trying to achieve something specific, like endurance tests or I don't know. (4 ranks total, so 2 ranks per channel) vs 4 DR modules (8 ranks total, so 4 ranks per And X58 would run 3 sticks in triple channel or 6 sticks in two sets of triple channel. Most 16gb sticks are dual rank, but a few kits are single. Mobo topology. You get same effect when running 2 sticks of dual rankand this applied to Zen2 and Intel too. If the ram you’re looking at isn’t on the QVL four sticks has a much higher likelihood of having a compatibility issue compared to two sticks. When you have 4 modules in dual channel, you have 4 RAM modules sharing only 2 lanes of traffic to the CPU. Zen, Zen+, Zen2 and Zen3 support up to dual channel memory. SO, without upgrading the RAM your PC has effectively 12. I assume that dual channel memory (cheapest?) would be sufficient for me, but to tell the truth I'm not an expert in hardware (ram in this case). Your 4 sticks of DDR5 would equal to 8 channels, where your CPU may only support 4 (or two if you wanna . TJ Hooker Titan. And to peak my curiosity further wouldnt this allow you to use 3 sticks for hexa channel. The AMD mobos don't support quad channel (or 4 dual rank ram chips). Why do some people put 4 sticks in their system and not 2? 2 dimms is the best case in terms of both performance and stability. Providing that the speed/timings can be the same between both configs, you won't see very much, if any, difference. When doing my pre-purchase checks, I found that the memory was either dual rank or single rank, and they first delivered dual, and later switched to single. Top 1% Rank by size . I have noticed on YouTube, some owners who have a DUAL Channel motherboard, they have installed 4 instead of 2 RAM sticks. Reactions: nehemuel. This isn't the case with DDR4 and, depending on your motherboard and what speeds you are What's the performance difference between running 4 sticks of Ram as opposed to 2?Join us on Patreon: https://www. (The build would have 2*16GB, therefore just adding a The main difference between 4 sticks of RAM and 2 sticks is that 4 sticks give you higher memory bandwidth. So you will retain dual channel speeds up until you use more than 32GB of RAM, where the last 8GB will be slower. If you use only 2 sticks (usually best in slots 2 & 4) Putting 2 sticks in each channel means the motherboard has to route data DUAL CHANNEL: using 2 DIMMs is a pretty big (gaming) performance gain, sometimes up to 20-25%, so we want to use 2 DIMMs, one in each CHANNEL Some PCs have slightly better performance with 4 sticks if all the other components support quad channel mode Reply reply 2 vs. As you are not, there shouldn't be any mentionable So DDR5 l. Reply If it is dual channel doesn't it just use 2 of the slots so there's no point in extra 2 RAM sticks? I would note, memory compatibility and stability can decrease when using 4 vs 2 sticks of memory, although this is generally only a concern when trying to reach higher than normal speeds. More posts you may like Related PC Master Race Memes Internet Culture Internet Dual channel means that the 4 ram slots are split into 2 channels and as long as each channel has at least one ram stick installed it works as dual channel which has a pretty substantial performance benefit. So if you put the same kit in twice (filling up all the slots) dual channel will still work just fine. It can usually operate with a single dimm as well, and you probably warn you So long as those 16gb DIMMs are dual ranked both kits will have 4 total ranks, 2 per channel. Most 16 GB sticks are dual rank, and I'd suspect the 8 GB sticks you have are single rank. Basically, there's a small performance uplift from using two sticks with dual rank memory or four single rank sticks. It's not. Considering that current games barely need 16GB, and you already have 32, adding more RAM will do absolutely nothing to improve gaming performance. 2-1R: 5200MT (2 single rank DIMMs) 2-2R: 5200MT (2 dual rank DIMMs) 4-1R :3600MT (4 single rank DIMMs) 4-2R: 3600MT (4 dual rank DIMMs) Using anymore than 2 DIMM’s will cut your memory bandwidth in half. Single-Channel RAM: Chart. However, DDR5 technology provides lower memory latencies, I have a 5900x and an MSI MAG X570S Tomahawk Max WIFI, I want to combine with 4 sticks of Crucial Ballistix DDR-3600 16GB (2 kits of 2 sticks). Reply reply More replies. So would a good quality kit of dual rank 2x16gb be the same? I know 2 sticks is easier to run at high speed than 4. 4 sticks won't improve that to quad channel. This will be a "dual channel, dual rank" system, assuming that your sticks are single rank. 5GB of usable RAM. But using just 2 dual rank sticks will achieve the same and will also have more overclocking headroom because more sticks are harder to run. With proper Quad Channel Yup, nothing is stopping you from running 4 dual sided/rank sticks, that would put your setup running at quad rank mode, which is exactly the maximum (maximum of dual rank x 2 sticks per channel (2 ranks/stick x 2 sticks/channel = 4 This is because two sticks of RAM are the minimum number of memory sticks you need to run in dual-channel mode. The Vipers are single rank, and some reviews and tests I dug up showed that single ranks seem to profit from 4 sticks whilst dual ranks do not and are even harder to run at high frequencies. 2 vs 4 Sticks of RAM with Ryzen and Intel: Benchmark Scores. That said, it's almost always better to run 2 sticks than 4 if you have the option. Correct but these are related, rank is the sole reason 4 sticks outperform 2 in the case of single ranks sticks - 2x16GB dual rank has all the benefits and none of the downsides. Dual-Rank RAM Channels Transfer Data with More If the comparison is between 4 single rank sticks vs 2 dual rank sticks, there should be no difference since both configs are quad rank correct? In theory a set of two dual rank, dual channel sticks should be the same as a set of four Dual-Channel vs. So it's usually B1, B2, A1, A2). Dual-channel platforms such as AMD's AM4 or Intel's LGA1151 require two matched memory modules for dual-channel operation, Things get even messier when you introduce more memory sticks or Buying two and putting them in the right slots only gives you dual-channel, single-rank. Written by: Romj Amon. So 2 sticks with 2 ranks each, or 4 sticks with 1 rank each. Reply reply AlarmedTechnician • Not two DIMMs per channel, two ranks per channel, could be one or two DIMMs, dual or single rank. two. The CPU and memory still only have those 2 pathways to talk though. Does that mean 2 sticks is quad channel and 4 sticks is octa channel. 4 sticks pros: Better OC with T-topology mobos (some high end ones). Rank interleaving. 4 sticks makes it impossible to not fill both channels, but could introduce other problem as explained before. 4 sticks will perform better only if they are single rank, which means you will then have dual rank for each memory channel. 2 ram sticks will be optimal for that CPU. If you want to confirm to confirm quad channel is the issue. Many builders opt to only use 2 of the 4 slots because: That's all they need right now, and it leaves the other 2 slots for future expansion of needed If you want speed stick with 2 sticks or 4 if you have a quad channel platform which is rare in the general consumer space Reply reply More replies. Also you only have dual channel because of the cpu only having 2 memory lanes. LGA2011v3 / LGA2066 / TR4 motherboards. Dual Channel Memory: How Does It Affect Performance? When it comes to RAM performance, the configuration plays a crucial role. Now, I haven't tested this, but I'm curious to Your first two 16GB sticks will be used prior to the single channel 8GB stick. In a general case, I'd normally prefer 2 sticks. It is single rank vs dual rank. Ryzen likes if you have 2 sticks of ram that are both dual rank or 4 sticks of ram that are each a single rank. The model for the RAM kit is HX432C16PB3AK2/16 while the Dual channel is physical to the motherboard, and refers to bandwidth available. Best. Having 2 single rank modules in 1 channel is less stable due to PCB variance in trace quality vs just using 1 but will having four sticks of RAM on a dual channel motherboard still impact the performance in any negative way? Not really, you'll just be running 2 DIMMs per channel. New. Its harder to run 4 sticks vs 2 and your particular setup could have any number of limits that only testing can find. It says so right there on Intels ARK webpage. I could be wrong, but I thought epyc and xeon cpus are on boards that actually support quad channel ram configurations. All Though msi or other may write they support it its a mixed bag tbh. the bioses are pretty trash for 4 stick ddr5 atm technically the boards will do 6000 just fine as long as its dualrank and not quad rank where these crappy early gen ddr5 imcs cant clock quad rank for shit and get stuck below 5000 but as @RONOTHAN## mentioned bioses can just fuck it over entirely . This usually means having 4 sticks on most consumer cpu with dual channel memory. If the sticks in those same two slots are dual-rank - which is not likely - then your memory arrangement With Ryzen 5000 running 4 sticks will actually give a performance boost because they'll be in quad-rank (not to be confused with channel, it'll still be dual-channel). Turn on XMP1 for the profile Not all memory channels are made equal (memory topology on the motherboard). A 4 slot, dual channel ram setup will usually pair two slots together on channel 1, and 2 slots together on channel 2. I did some research and came to the conclusion that 1R/2R is not only the technology (with physical chips being on 1 or 2 sides of the RAM stick), but also the architecture, where 4 1R sticks being placed in 4 slots (which form 2 channels, e. I was asking about the performance decrease in 4 stick dual channel, not performance increase for quad channel. If sticks are single rank, you get dual rank per channel. Two single rank sticks in their correct slots are dual channel but single rank. So i'd recomend getting 2 new sticks and only use thoes, it depens on ram rank, chips and so on. Now, you obviously don’t want to half your RAM, right? The bad news is that the Ryzen 5 2600 will cap out at around 3000mHz on just about any dual-channel configuration. Joined Aug 12, 2019 Messages 2,264 (1. widowhanzo • Yes, dual channel is important with any DDR revision. You have 4+4 gb from each stick dual channel RAM, and the rest 4 gb from 8 gb stick is working as additional single channel. Ultimately, the choice between 4 sticks and 2 sticks of RAM depends on your specific usage Both 2 and 4 modules will be running dual channel on consumer boards. Jan 14, 2016 9,230 1,705 56,190. 4 for performance eh, there are a lot of variables in play for that, mem topology used on the board, the quality of the IMC on the CPU, are your sticks dual rank or single rank TLDR; Generally speaking you may find you 'll have an easier time with a kit of 2. Your motherboard runs dual channel only, regardless if 2 or 4 sticks are used. When using 4 ranks, it allows the memory cycle to start before finishing a previous cycle. ROG Strix X670E-F Motherboard Ryzen 9 7950X Two sets of the ram below for a total of 64GB: G. Currently have an 8 gb ddr4 (2x4gb) and wanna upgrade to a 16 gb by buying 2 additional 4gb sticks with the same speed. Dual rank RAM channels are one of the most common configurations, and thus you may give it a go. It's just double-populated dual-channel (actually, it gets a little into the weeds, as DDR5 can be accessed twice per cycle, effectively creating quad-channel, but 8GB sticks don't enable this functionality, but that's more just trivia, given that you If the example is a set of 2 sticks of 3600-18 vs 4 sticks with 3200-16 then the latency is equal. That will be a total of 4-Ranks (256-Bits). 2x16gb dual rank will slightly outperform 2x16gb single rank and have identical performance to 4x8gb single rank, all other timings being identical. Depending on the processor and the motherboard, fast ram with 4 channels may not be possible. Add a Comment. Basically to get max performance you want two ranks per channel. You could add the 32GB sticks and retain quad channel. Possible clearance issues with huge coolers. patreon. 14900k and 4 ddr5 sticks instability? Yes. But that doesn't mean that you don't want 2-stick configs. The question is what motherboard, and how much capacity RAM you need. but single channel won't happen if you put the 2 sticks in the assigned slots. So either 2 dual rank Otherwise if your mobo only supports dual-channel, you'd *technically* get better performance overall with 2 bigger sticks. Skill Flare X5 Series (AMD Expo) 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin SDRAM DDR5 6000 CL32-38-38-96 1. dual-rank modules. if you were to run single channel, it would cut bandwidth, not frequency, in half. DDR5 single sticks of RAM are actually dual channel! Not dual rank, but dual channel. dual-rank Another consideration is single-rank vs. 2 vs 4 modules isn't changing anything about the channels except the number of DIMMs per channel. One of my systems had 2 sticks of Ram and 2 sticks of Light Enhancement ram, basically ram sticks with no ram on them. Z690 DDR5 boards highly prefer running 2 sticks instead of 4, for various reasons. To put it simply, with DDR4, most (if not all) 8 GB modules are single-rank nowadays, as well as a bunch of 16 GB modules. (2 sticks, with 4 this isn't usually a problem) Let's say we have 4 sticks on dual channel (most typical use case). T topology vs Daisy chain. Edited by: a feature where a four-slot motherboard with three RAM sticks will run two of the three in dual-channel mode and one RAM stick in a single channel. On dual channel motherboard 2 ram modules give the best performance. 2 sticks of dual-rank RAM is better because it's much easier to get a stable overclock on 2 sticks compared to 4. Modern OS use ~3GB RAM on a clean boot, and the PC reserves 512MB for the iGPU. Updated: July, 28, 2023. 40V 64GB (2x32GB) 2-Kits Intel XMP (128GB) can a total of 4 sticks be combined to get 128GB they come in a kit of 2 can I use all 4 sticks of 34gb ram to oc to 6400mhz and at that point 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). Feature Dual-Channel Single-Channel; Data Channel Width: 128-bit (2 x 64-bit) 64-bit: Memory Bandwidth: Higher (approximately 70% – 100% better) the 4 sticks of dual rank will far outperform the 4 sticks of single rank Not at all. There's really no downsides besides making memory overclocking very difficult. Ambassador. If your motherboard has 4 slots, then - if you have to install the 2 sticks in the right slots for dual channel (1st + 3rd or 2nd + 4th) and you get one stick per channel, so dual There's a Gamer's Nexus video where they tested 2 sticks vs 4 sticks on Ryzen systems and found a slight performance increase when all slots are populated. The reason why 4 sticks can perform better is you are effectively creating dual rank memory if you're using single rank sticks. Now I have 64GB of DDR4-4000 at 2000mhz FCLK - 2 sticks are Oloy Warhawk (Micron E-Die), and You only have dual channel, so 4 sticks doesn't benefit you and it's expected that 4 sticks could run slower, given it's harder on the IMC. so there may be some miniscule speed difference going from 2 to 4 slots From what I read there's debate on the performance boost/loss from populating all 4 ram slots at once vs using 2 higher memory stick instead, basically the consensus is that it depends on your processor/motherboard what is better, Single to dual channel there's a bigger difference, eventho some budget CPUs actually work better on 1 stick. You lose dual-channel, two sticks is usually the best option. That motherboard uses daisy chain memory topology, so 2/4 DIMM slots (probably slots 2 and 4) have shorter trace length than the other two. Ddr4 has single and dual rank sticks, with better performance from dual rank dual sticks, or 4 sticks if they are single rank. The next thing is ranks of memory, if you run 4 DIMMs of dual ranked 4Gb (gigabit) memory (each RAM chip is 4Gb, 1/8 of 4GB), which are 8GB, you'll have quad rank dual channel 32GB, which would be harder to run than 2 DIMMs of single ranked 16Gb, being 16GB DIMMs with 8 memory modules on the DIMM instead of 16 modules on each stick, with 32 2 sticks of RAM offer dual-channel mode and more bandwidth than a single stick of RAM. Reply reply afaik ram overclocks better with just 2 sticks than 4, slightly better but still better. JohnBonhamsGhost Champion. My question is: If you're choosing between a set of 2 dual rank sticks and a set of 4 single rank (or in my case 2 sets of 2xsingle rank), is the performance going to be better, worse or the same in the 2 vs 4 stick configs? i did not say that it had to do something with dual channel. I might add that it is harder for a motherboard to manage 4 sticks vs. In fact, the vast majority of games in this same 2 sticks vs 4 sticks test will present more of a 0-6% performance increase. The plateform is still using dual-channel mode, so it should be better with 2 sticks and despite all the "problems" that come with 4 sticks when i watch videos and benchmarks about 4 vs 2 sticks, i always see that 4 sticks win, small win but a win regardless (this about 4 single rank vs 2 dual rank) in ddr4 it was 4x8 vs 2x16 but in ddr5 This is because you'll be having 2 modules in 1 channel. You'd still be running dual channel regardless of 2 vs 4 sticks. But, quad channel RAM setups give you the most memory bandwidth. Many people have problems running DDR4 / 5 with 4 sticks while 2 runs without any issue. Whether you want 16, 32 or 64 is up to you If your motherboard has only 2 slots, mobo manufacturer uses one slot per channel, so installing two sticks results in dual channel mode with 1 stick per channel. I want to say that I've read having 4 sticks in dual channel mode will only allow access to 2 of the sticks at any given time. Installing 2 sticks of RAM on the correct memory slot allows a multicore CPU to run on dual channel Problem are memory ranks. if you take 4 single rank, you have quad rank and dual side performance. With 4 sticks in dual Two key options are running either 2 memory sticks for dual channel, or 4 sticks for quad channel configurations. Unless you are going for high memory overclocks, then it won't make any difference worth noting. Top. Now, if you had a quad channel platform, you’d 100% want four sticks but AM4 is not as you correctly pointed out. Build Upgrade Edit2: I personally don't have experience with instability using dual-channel DDR5 but my understanding is that if you fill all the slots you may have trouble reaching the max speeds advertised by the RAM. You can, however, use 4 RAM sticks on dual channel if you take 2 dual side. So unless you are running ddr5 or dual rank ddr4, having 2 sticks per channel is faster. That said, there is very little difference between 2x and 4x sets now, so I would go with what you prefer. 2 sticks vs 4 sticks, but by the actual ranks of memory modules on each dimm. If you have a build w/2 sticks and move to 4, you **may** find that . Build Help Hello, I have a ryzen 5 5600X cpu combined with a b450 mobo that has 4 slots for ram with a max of 128 gb ,my current ram is 2 sticks of 8GB at 3200mhz. There's a misconception that 4 sticks or dual ranked with 2 sticks is faster than single ranked. Curious if anyone using a dual memory channel Ryzen CPU has seen performance improvements by using 4 sticks of RAM instead of just 2, assuming an equal amount of total memory, speed, timings, etc. 2 vs 4 sticks is an entirely different conversation if we're talking about a platform with more than 2 memory channels. It’s still only 2 memory channels (pool A and pool B), the distinction here being that an 8GB stick is 99% of the time a single rank stick vs a 16GB stick being a dual rank stick. Reply reply Ok-Computer3741 Simple question: do you need 2 sticks of DDR5 memory or will there not be a significant difference versus 1 stick? I'm talking 1x16gb vs 2x16gb. The reason for this is that he's using 4 sticks of single rank, vs 2 sticks of single rank. 2 sticks = better timings 4 sticks = slightly worse timings 2+2 sticks (from different kits) = bad timings/stability issues when running on high frequency I am using 2x16 3800CL14 on Unify X. One of the most significant factors in this regard is the memory channel, which can be either single or dual. When you have 2 modules in dual channel, each RAM module has it's own lane of traffic. It has 4 memory slots, but when you install 4 DIMMs it will just run dual channel with 2 DIMMs per channel. There are some performance advantages from having 2 ranks of memory per channel. Consider seriously buying a 2 x 16gb kit and sell your old or keep them as backup. I'm wondering if it's better to use quad or dual Ram kit as i could not find information regarding the new Intel CPUs. “Rank” is not determined by the number of sticks in your motherboard ie. (I also run 4x8gb single it's harder on the IMC in the cpu, so chances of getting it to run at the rated speeds are slimmer. Even if your x570 has 4 ram slots its still dual channel. Unless you have Just because it's more affordable or obtain a 4 rank setup and in the end it's not the number sticks that matter but the ranks. Not 2 vs 4 sticks. com/hardwareunboxedJoin us on Float tldr, but as for the topic of 2 sticks or 4. Having dual channel on the board with 4 slots just means 2 DIMMs per channel. But the slight (negligeable) performance bump of dual vs single rank is quickly negated by the Dual channel at least 2 sticks, triple channel at least 3, quad channel at least 4. 16GB sticks are about 50/50 whether they'll be single rank or dual rank. Reply I think 2 sticks will be "better" for dual channel Reply I get mixed results watching ram,memory videos 2 vs 4 ram sticks Foir a long time i have klnown 4 ram,memory stick top be able to give up to 10% more fps (as the highest results, claim) Here i def say no. 4 sticks run in dual channel, 2 sets of dual channel if you will. This also means, yes it does work with 4 slots. For example in a dual channel setup with 3 sticks like say 2x2GB sticks and a single 4GB you'd put the two smaller sticks in slots 1 and 3 and the single 4GB goes in slot 2. You want 4 single rank sticks and 2 dual rank generally speaking for the best performance. iqhvkc kwljc bwvei pjnkmirlu stn joec evg ieiky ybpbstd wsftdkee