Is It Worth Running 4 Sticks of RAM on an X870E Motherboard?
Asked by
CuriousCat99
Hey everyone! I'm building my first PC and I'm almost ready to go—just need to figure out the RAM situation (ugh, those prices are rough!). My setup includes a 9800X3D processor and an Asus X870E BTF motherboard. I'm hesitant to spend almost 1500 CAD for 64GB of RAM right now, so I'm considering starting with 2x16GB and planning to upgrade later. I have a couple of questions:
1. Is it advisable to use 4 sticks of RAM with my setup? I've come across conflicting opinions online that suggest using 4 sticks of DDR5 is a bad idea, and I'm not quite sure why.
2. Aside from Corsair and VColor, are there other brands that offer dummy sticks to fill up the empty slots?
Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated!
Answers
Using dual channel is usually recommended, but do you actually need 64GB of RAM for your build? You might be fine with less depending on your use case.
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Running 4 sticks can stress your memory controller, which might lead to instability at higher speeds. I recommend sticking with just 2 sticks. For dummy sticks, Aorus also has some options available.
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If you run 4 sticks, be prepared for potentially lower speeds. You could end up running at 4000 or 4800 MHz, and the drop in memory bandwidth can be pretty significant. It's worth considering if you really want to go that route.
CuriousCat99: Thanks for the insight! Lower speeds definitely sound like a downside.
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You can make it work with 4 sticks and still achieve decent speeds! There’s a great video on how to set it up: https://youtu.be/e2pPIHGuLPU?si=H7vMOfhQrVilWIeE. Best of luck getting everything running smoothly! Happy New Year!
CuriousCat99: Awesome, thanks for the video link! I’ll check it out now. Happy New Year to you too! :D
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CuriousCat99: Thanks! I checked Aorus, but it seems they only offer dummy sticks for DDR4, unfortunately.