I'm putting together a new PC with a Ryzen 9 9950X and a GIGABYTE X870E AORUS Elite WIFI7 motherboard. I didn't realize the CPU maxes out at 192GB of RAM, but I ended up purchasing 256GB because that's what the motherboard supports. What happens if I try to use all 256GB? Will the CPU just limit it to 192GB, or can I run into issues?
3 Answers
You might want to double-check that your RAM sticks are compatible. AM5 uses UDIMM, so if you accidentally got RDIMM sticks, they won't fit your motherboard. Also, don’t forget about the performance hit you could get using four sticks instead of two.
It’s been known to work with 256GB on the Ryzen 9 9950X, but the stability at higher speeds isn’t guaranteed. In some cases, AM5 might not even post with all four DIMMs installed. If you really need that much RAM, it could be worth considering a Threadripper setup instead.
That's a solid question! So, if you plug in more RAM than your CPU can handle, it might not boot at all. But it could also just recognize the max (192GB) and you’ll be good to go. Just make sure you actually need that much RAM. It’s a massive amount!
Yeah, I'm using it for my development environment with multiple VMs and Docker containers. My current setup with 128GB is already feeling cramped!
Wait, are you suggesting I should go for two 128GB sticks? That sounds tempting!