Hey everyone, I've just started building my own PC and I'm getting mixed information about RAM configurations. I've heard some folks recommend only using two sticks for DDR5, but I've also seen that certain motherboards can accommodate four sticks.
Here are my specs:
- Motherboard: Gigabyte X870E AORUS Elite
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
- RAM: Kingston DDR5-6000 (8GB x2)
- Storage: Samsung SSD M.2 990 Pro
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
I'm wondering if my motherboard and CPU can handle four 8GB sticks of RAM. I've unintentionally purchased four 8GB sticks and I'm not sure if I should have just gone with two 16GB sticks instead. I can still return two of them, so any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks a lot!
4 Answers
You might be okay with four sticks, but keep in mind that dual and quad configurations can perform differently based on the task. In some cases, quad sticks might actually give you a speed boost, but it's pretty rare. Just ensure that the four sticks you choose have the same specs, especially timing, because that can impact performance when running at XMP settings. There's a great video that breaks down the myths around this topic if you're interested!
A lot of people suggest using just two sticks of DDR5 because it can be a hassle to get four to run at the desired XMP/EXPO timings. If you're aiming for optimal performance, try to grab two 16GB sticks instead of four 8GB. It'll give you the same capacity with potentially better performance.
That was my instinct too! I think I’ll return the four and get the two bigger sticks.
Using four sticks will technically work, but it’s likely to be slower than having just two. Just saying!
I checked your motherboard specs and it's dual channel, which means you won’t gain any performance enhancements from using four sticks. More RAM is fine, but if you want better speed, stick with two sticks in the dual channels!
Thanks for the insight! I'll definitely check out the video. I've been reading a lot and it seems like getting the same kind of RAM is crucial.