Hey everyone, I recently bought a used PC (it was only built to test if it worked, so it hasn't been used much) and noticed it has a single 32GB stick of DDR5 5600 CL46 RAM. I initially thought there would be two 16GB sticks instead. I've tested most of the games I play, and they run smoothly, but I'm a bit concerned about the performance, especially regarding 1% lows and whether having just one stick is actually bad for my system. I've been trying to sell this RAM to purchase two 16GB DDR5 6000 CL30 sticks but haven't had any luck. Do you think I'll notice a significant difference if I switch, or am I fine sticking with just one stick for the time being? Here are my specs: Ryzen 9800X3D, 3rsys cooler rc1400, Biostar B850MT2-E DJ, Patriot DDR5 5600 CL46 32GB, Micron NVME 4.0 1TB SSD, EmTek RTX 5070Ti Miracle White 16GB, and an 850W power supply. I hope I didn't get scammed just for the RAM, especially since I paid $1700 USD for it here in Korea. Everything else seems solid, but I'm worried about the RAM situation since it's a step up from my previous build (i5 12400F, RX 6700XT). Thanks for any advice!
3 Answers
Honestly, it's probably fine to stick with what you've got. It might be slightly slower, but if you're not experiencing any major issues, you shouldn't worry too much about it. If the performance is good for you now, maybe wait until RAM prices get better before making a switch.
Using a single stick of RAM is definitely slower than having two sticks, especially in dual-channel mode. But if your games run smoothly now, you might not have a huge reason to panic. Just keep in mind that you could see better performance with two sticks down the line if you really push your games hard.
Yeah, a single stick will be a bit slower, but considering everything else about your build, I wouldn't stress too much. If games are playing well, you’re in a good spot. Plus, RAM prices are crazy right now, so holding onto your RAM could save you some hassle.
That's true, it's tough to find reasonable prices for RAM these days!