I have a Ryzen 5 7600X, an RX 5500 XT, and one 16 GB DDR5 stick. In games I get about 120 FPS, and lowering graphics settings barely changes it. GPU usage sits around 70 to 75%, while temperatures seem normal. Could running one stick be the cause, or should I check something else?
Could one RAM stick be why my GPU usage and FPS are low?
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N8+Grackle
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One stick is a reasonable thing to investigate. With a single memory module, the system runs in single-channel mode, which can limit performance in some games and make frame rates less steady. A matching second stick may help, but it is not guaranteed to fix a hard FPS limit by itself.
Before buying anything, check whether the frame rate is capped in the game, driver settings, or a sync setting. Also look at per-core CPU usage rather than total CPU usage, since one busy thread can limit a game while overall CPU use looks low.
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Same FPS on low and high settings usually means the graphics card is not the main limit, but it does not point to just one cause. Check for a frame cap, V-Sync, Radeon Chill, or another limiter first. A 120 FPS result can be a clue that a cap is involved, even if the monitor supports a higher refresh rate.
Use an overlay to watch frame time, GPU clock and power, CPU per-core load, and memory use while testing. That should help distinguish a cap from a CPU or memory bottleneck.
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Check the actual CPU temperature under load, not just the GPU temperature. Loud fans can be normal if the fan curve ramps up when a game starts, but if the CPU is hot or its clock speed drops, that would be worth addressing. Also confirm the GPU driver is installed correctly and that the card is running at its expected PCIe link speed.
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N8+Grackle:
The CPU temperature is around 50°C while gaming, so it does not look like overheating. I will check the clocks and frame limit settings next.