I'm planning a Ryzen 5 7600X build with a B650 motherboard, but I can't currently afford a 2x16GB DDR5 kit. My idea was to buy a 2x8GB kit now and add another matching 2x8GB kit later. I've heard that AM5 memory controllers can have trouble running four sticks, especially with EXPO enabled. Is 4x8GB actually that problematic, or would it be better to start with a single 16GB stick and add another one later?
3 Answers
AM5 generally handles two sticks much better than four. A typical 2x16GB kit can often run around DDR5-6000, while four sticks may need a much lower speed and could fail to run EXPO reliably. Four 8GB sticks probably won’t damage anything, but they’re more likely to require manual tuning and give up some performance.
Two 8GB sticks would give you dual-channel memory immediately and may be perfectly fine at a modest speed, but 8GB DDR5 modules aren’t usually the best value or long-term choice. The Ryzen 5 7600X is officially rated for lower memory speeds with four DIMMs than with two; that’s why four-stick setups can seem unstable at high EXPO settings. I’d rank the options as 2x16GB first, then 2x8GB, then 1x16GB, with 4x8GB as the least appealing upgrade path.
If you can’t buy 2x16GB yet, I’d get one 16GB stick and add another later. It won’t run in dual-channel mode by itself, so performance is lower for now, but it gives you a better upgrade path than buying 2x8GB and eventually trying to run four sticks. Make sure the second stick is the exact same model if possible, although even matching kits can sometimes use different memory chips.
That makes sense. I’ll probably start with one 16GB stick and add the matching one later.