I'm looking to upgrade the RAM in my 5-year-old PC, which currently has a setup of an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 processor, 16GB DDR4 RAM (2x8GB at 2667 MHz), an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER graphics card, and an MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX motherboard. I have 4 RAM slots, and I'm thinking of upgrading to at least 32GB. My options are to add two more 8GB sticks or replace the existing ones with 2x16GB. I read that using all 4 slots could reduce stability and speed, and I'm curious if that's true. Can I safely use all 4 slots, and what RAM models would you recommend?
2 Answers
Yes, it's true that running 4 sticks can limit you to lower speeds like 2666 MHz. If you're aiming for better performance, you might want to consider going with a full replacement using 2x16GB kits, which could allow you to achieve speeds like 3200 or 3600 MHz instead.
You don't have to worry too much about using all 4 slots at 2667 MHz; I've had no issues with my setup using 4 sticks, especially with newer CPUs. It used to be a concern with earlier Ryzen builds, but it's less of a problem now.
Ok, that's reassuring! Thanks for the insight!
Thanks! So if I want to avoid that speed limitation, 2x16GB kits would be the way to go? What about 4x16GB kits? Would that cause the same issue?