I'm currently putting together a new PC with a Ryzen 9 9950X 3D processor on a GIGABYTE X870E AORUS Elite WIFI7 motherboard. While I was shopping for parts, I didn't realize that my CPU has a maximum supported memory of 192GB, but I ended up purchasing a 256GB RAM kit that my motherboard can handle. There's only a $40 difference between the 256GB and 192GB options, so I'm curious what might happen if I install the 256GB. Will the CPU limit me to 192GB, or could there be other issues?
7 Answers
Be careful! Your system might not boot at all if you throw in more RAM than your CPU can support. I'd recommend sticking to the safer option of using just 192GB. Besides, are you totally sure you need that much RAM? That's a massive amount!
Most likely, it won't even boot up. If it does, you'll have to accept that AM5 isn't guaranteed to stabilize with four DIMMs. Better rethink if all those Docker containers are necessary to run locally or not!
That’s a lot of RAM! What do you plan to use your PC for that requires 256GB? Just asking because with that amount, it seems like you're setting up for some serious workloads.
Good luck fitting that in—might not be worth the risk, to be honest!
I’d double check the type of RAM you have. AM5 motherboards typically use UDIMM, and if you've accidentally got RDIMM, it won't fit at all. Plus, 64GB UDIMM sticks are rare, so make sure you really got what you think you did!
It might work, but getting that RAM stable at higher speeds could be tricky. And honestly, with that much RAM, maybe you should consider other hardware like Threadripper for better handling.
If you manage to boot it with 256GB, just know that using four sticks might slow down your performance compared to using two sticks. It's usually easier to tune just two RAM sticks.
Are you suggesting using two 128GB sticks instead? Ha!
I run a development environment with 6 virtual machines and multiple Docker containers. I'm currently at 128GB and it's not cutting it.