Dual Channel Vs Quad Channel Ram
In the boxing of 2 vs 4 Sticks of RAM, what are the real-earth benefits, and exercise they apply to all platforms equally?
Today, I'g going to walk you through those questions and more, to aid you make an informed decision whenever information technology comes time to choose between 2 or iv RAM Modules.
Understanding RAM Channels: Why The Number of RAM Sticks Matters
Take you e'er wondered what those "D"southward in "DDR4 RAM" or "DDR5 RAM" actually mean?
DDR stands for "Double Data Charge per unit", and it refers to the unique ability of DDR RAM to double its effective speed by having at least 1 other identically-specced RAM stick to synchronize with.
This means if y'all paid for 3200 MHz RAM but only have a unmarried stick, yous're actually running at 1600 MHz…or worse, if yous didn't also enable XMP or your equivalent setting.
In order for RAM to run at its proper speed, information technology needs to exist at the very least in a Dual Channel configuration with 2 or four sticks.
On a more than technical note, fifty-fifty proper ii Stick RAM kits being advertised at numbers similar 3200 MHz aren't actually running at 3200 MHz.
What's really happening is that each stick is running at 1600 MHz, but the "Double Data Rate" allows for a concluding constructive speed of 3200 MT/s, or Megatransfers per second.
Almost companies just prefer to advertise the final MT/s number equally MHz so as non to misfile the end-user, though, and I prefer not to introduce extra confusion if I don't have a reason to.
With 2 or 4 RAM sticks, y'all'll be able to run your RAM in a Dual or sometimes even Quad Channel configuration.
4 RAM sticks don't necessarily guarantee Quad Aqueduct, since that'due south a feature largely relegated to HEDT (High-End Desktop) and server motherboards.
Still, y'all can even so use 4 RAM sticks with many motherboards restricted to Dual Channel, and as we'll discuss in this commodity, y'all can still see a benefit from it.
Even once y'all're using 2 or 4 RAM sticks in a Dual or Quad Channel configuration, you'll nevertheless exist express to stock speeds until you open up up your BIOs.
In guild to match the speed that'southward actually on the box, you'll desire to enable XMP or your AMD BIOs' equivalent setting.
Does Quad Channel Double The Speed Over again?
So if Dual Channel allows 2 Sticks of RAM to double up on their effective speed by working together, does Quad Channel permit 4 Sticks of RAM to quadruple their effective speed past working together?
Unfortunately, no.
However, you volition meet some improvements to memory bandwidth if your motherboard actually supports Quad Channel. This is useful in scenarios where yous may exist limited past retentiveness bandwidth rather than retentiveness chapters or memory speed.
The Curious Instance of Ryzen 5000 & ii vs four Sticks of RAM
Equally it turns out, one of the near prominent cases of 2 vs 4 Sticks of RAM in recent retentiveness actually coincided with the launch of AMD's Ryzen 5000 processors.
Basically, unlike but reputable reviewers were running the new processors in different memory configurations.
Some were running with 2 sticks of RAM and others were running with 4 sticks of RAM.
Since Ryzen 5000-compatible motherboards only back up Dual Channel, fifty-fifty for 4 Sticks, one would assume that there wouldn't be a significant operation touch on by using 4 Sticks.
After all, the biggest boost from iv Sticks of RAM is supposed to come from running them in a proper Quad Channel configuration.
All the same, this wasn't the case. As discussed in all-encompassing particular in Jerry's Ryzen 5000 Series review , iv sticks of RAM consistently gave better results on Ryzen 5000 CPUs than 2 sticks of RAM.
There was plenty of a performance divergence caused by this that reputable tech reviewers were providing benchmarks with considerably different results, and the reasons why were non immediately apparent until various experts took a deeper look into the findings and narrowed it down to the number of RAM sticks installed.
Hardware'southward pretty weird like that sometimes, and this isn't the simply instance of AMD systems being more sensitive to changes in RAM configuration.
More on the reasons why this happens with AMD processors in the FAQ section- for now, allow's just focus on general functioning.
What Performance Improvements Can You Expect From a 4 RAM Stick Setup?
With a motherboard that actually supports Quad Channel configurations, you'll see a considerable bump in memory bandwidth.
However, memory speed isn't boosted by moving upward to Quad Channel from Dual Channel, and if you're looking to push memory overclocks, y'all may find it'south actually more difficult to reach higher memory speeds and lower latencies.
One example of the do good of a Quad Channel configuration on a supported platform can exist seen in this benchmark run from wolfgang on YouTube.
This is a test being run on an Intel Cadre i7-6800K, besides, and so this isn't another Ryzen 5000 case where ii vs 4 Sticks is resulting in a change in performance despite existence stuck at Dual Aqueduct.
With proper Quad Channel memory and a Quad Channel board, at that place'due south a roughly 10-25% range of improvement in in-game framerate within the CPU-jump Battlefield V.
(Note that the GTX 1080 Ti used in the benchmark never reaches particularly loftier utilization in that game's benchmark run.)
Simply within the more GPU-leap Assassin'due south Creed: Odyssey, improvements are small, in the range of 10% or less.
Basically, don't expect Quad Aqueduct RAM to have an impact on your graphics performance.
What it volition do is enable more raw performance out of your existing CPU, but again, since most consumer-facing platforms don't really support Quad Channel RAM, you're going to exist hard-pressed to encounter a existent difference in the majority of scenarios.
Even if you take a lath and processor that supports Quad Aqueduct Memory, yous may run into scenarios where your operation is only increased by a few percentage points.
For example, Alex ran a variety of professional rendering benchmarks on a Threadripper 1900X with unlike Retentiveness Aqueduct configurations and found well-nigh no difference between results.
Here's a quick overview of aqueduct back up on mod chipsets:
- Dual Channel: Mainstream Platforms such as B450, B550, x470, X570, Z490, Z590, B660, Z690
- Quad Channel: HEDT and Server Platforms such as X299, x399, TRX40
- Octa Channel: Server Platforms such as SP3 (Epyc)
Why Should You Consider Sticking With a 2 RAM Stick Setup?
Well, let's start with the obvious points:
- 2 Sticks of RAM are generally less expensive than four Sticks.
- It's easier to push higher memory speeds and lower CAS latencies with fewer sticks.
- Dual Aqueduct support is a guarantee; Quad Channel support is not.
- Yous can add together more Modules at a later appointment if you detect you lot need higher RAM capacity (read this first)
The principal benefits of going with a 4 Stick RAM Setup are increased capacity and, if you have a Quad Aqueduct lath, a big boost to memory bandwidth.
Unfortunately, the raw boost in retentivity bandwidth from moving to Quad Channel doesn't seem to do much for the majority of applications, and even for gaming, you aren't seeing a major performance gain unless yous're CPU-bound. (And with today'due south CPUs: you almost always aren't.)
For the majority of retentivity-bound scenarios, memory capacity is what makes the most departure, followed by memory speed- but even then, these gains can vary profoundly depending on platform and application.
For the majority of users, peculiarly if y'all aren't using a Ryzen 5000 processor, you should be served perfectly fine past sticking with 2 RAM sticks.
If you are using a Ryzen processor, you lot will run into a more meaningful improvement past moving up to iv RAM sticks, merely Ryzen processors are also heavily impacted by RAM speed and latency, which are harder to button with 4 Stick configurations.
To learn more almost how RAM speed impacts your performance, consider looking over my guide to DRAM Frequency.
FAQ
What about viii Sticks of RAM?
viii sticks of RAM is basically only a thing on HEDT and server boards, and fifty-fifty so they are still limited to Quad Channel in the same way that 4 sticks of RAM are limited to Dual Channel on consumer boards.
Octa-Channel isn't really a thing, and implementing it into a motherboard would be prohibitively expensive for little, if any performance benefit to speak of.
AMD EPYC Octa-Channel Support
Additionally, once you lot start running four to eight sticks of RAM, you lot'll encounter issues pushing higher memory clocks and lower CAS latencies, and it gets much worse at 8 sticks than 4.
Unless you really need the unrestrained RAM capacity of an HEDT or server lath with 8 sticks of RAM, you nigh probable shouldn't be trying to stack RAM sticks like this.
What to practice if your laptop or PC is stuck with a Unmarried-Channel configuration?
Fortunately, no one is manufacturing PCs that only accept a single RAM slot, so fifty-fifty if you lot're stuck with an out-of-box configuration of simply a unmarried RAM stick, you should all the same exist able to add some other.
The issue is making sure that the RAM you add is compatible with the RAM that yous already have.
In the case of something similar a laptop, you lot'll want to seek out your exact model number to know what RAM form cistron really fits within your motorcar.
Past that, y'all'll want to ensure that the RAM y'all add together is as shut to identical to the RAM you lot already take as possible. Yous don't necessarily need to lucifer brands (it can aid, though), simply matching speed and capacity is disquisitional.
For a prebuilt PC, the solution is pretty much the same- but about probable you'll simply need to shop for standard desktop DDR4 or DDR5 RAM. (DDR3 is unlikely, just possible if the PC is very former or pre-owned.)
Be sure to double-check which generation of desktop DDR RAM you're shopping for if yous're trying to upgrade a prebuilt.
Alternately to upgrading an existing RAM installation, yous may be tempted to replace it outright with a 2 Stick or fifty-fifty 4 Stick (on desktop) configuration of new RAM.
This is a pretty solid fashion to get nigh it as well, and can potentially result in you having more capacity and raw memory speed than you would otherwise.
However, be sure to double-bank check the compatibility specs of your given motherboard or laptop before you shop for a full-kit RAM replacement.
Are AMD CPUs more sensitive to RAM than Intel CPUs?
By and large, yes, and this is due to modern AMD processors (Ryzen, Threadripper, EPYC, etc) all being built effectually something called the Infinity Fabric.
Remember of the Infinity Fabric as a tiny memory chip that's congenital into the CPU itself.
Infinity Fabric functions best when information technology'south able to run at half the final speed of whatever RAM yous have installed in your auto.
(Technically the aforementioned speed, since Dual-Aqueduct & Quad-Channel RAM is kind of cheating and is technically withal running at half-speed in Megahertz while pushing double speed in Megatransfers. More on the specifics of that in Jerry's article .)
Infinity Fabric is a bit of a double-edged sword for AMD users.
On i hand, it enables even more than bully functioning out of their Ryzen processors, specially if they can find depression-latency, overclockable RAM that suits their needs.
On the other, it besides means that if the Infinity Fabric can't effectively match the speed of your RAM or your RAM is running at stock settings, you'll feel much worse performance than you would otherwise.
If you lot're shopping for RAM for an AMD CPU, y'all definitely need to be more than mindful of RAM speed and latency than Intel CPU users exercise.
Intel CPUs definitely do good from having faster, depression-latency RAM too, just they aren't reliant on it in the same style that AMD CPUs are unless y'all're also planning to use Intel CPU integrated graphics.
Due to AMD CPUs' sensitivity to RAM speed and latency, I highly recommend Samsung B-Die RAM to any AMD CPU user who wants to achieve the all-time possible results with their CPUs.
How does Single and Dual-Rank Memory factor into this?
Well, that part's a bit complicated.
For a more detailed breakdown of Single vs Dual Rank RAM, definitely consider Alex's Guide.
However, in relevance to this topic, know that you will generally get amend results with Single Rank memory if you are doing a 4 RAM Stick configuration, and Dual Rank memory with a two RAM Stick configuration.
Can four Sticks of RAM be done with Mini ITX and Micro ATX motherboards?
In the example of Mini ITX, the answer is a flat no: Mini ITX motherboards simply don't have the room for more than two sticks of RAM at a time.
Fortunately, this is nevertheless enough for a dual-channel configuration and will exist enough for your RAM to reach its rated speeds.
In the case of Micro ATX, it depends on the board. Some Micro ATX boards, specially budget boards, will simply have two RAM slots available.
Some others, specially on the higher end, volition offering four RAM slots.
The latter boards will let for upwards to 4 sticks of RAM, and can even be run in Quad Channel configurations if information technology's an HEDT/server board for AMD Threadripper/Epyc or Intel Extreme/Xeon CPUs.
Over To You lot
And that'due south it, for now!
I hope that this article helped you lot understand a piddling bit more well-nigh how RAM works and how it can impact your functioning.
As it turns out, even picayune things like whether y'all're using 2 or four Sticks of RAM can have a real-world touch on on your operation. Leave a comment below or on our forum and let me know if you have any other questions.
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