Ram channel confusion

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xgamer.sa01

Commendable
Sep 5, 2017
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1,510
Hello guys,

Year ago I build my pc with the following specs

- core i5 7500
- asus strix h270f gaming mobo
- g.skill ripjaws V 1x8gb ddr4 2400 single channel
- 3tb seagate hard drive
- zotac gtx 1050ti 4gb


Now the question is Im really consufed about ram my mobo has 4 slots for ram now I want to upgrade my ram to 16gb what should I do now I watched some videos on youtube of single channel vs dual channel ram performance it was pretty noticeable in most games means dual channel is good option.

Should I add another 8gb stick
2x8gb or sell my current ram and add 4x4gb?

Would it be dual channel or quad channel?

What If I add
4x4gb = 16gb
Or
2x8gb = 16gb


Which one is more better in terms of performance?


Thanks
 
Solution
herrwizo


You will have dual channel as long as you have 2 or 4 modules installed. 1 module will always be single channel. 3 modules on Intel chipsets will usually run in "flex" mode, meaning that 2 modules will run as dual channel and the remaining one in single channel. As you can imagine, it leads to mixed results.

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herrwizo

herrwizo

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Feb 17, 2009
5,152
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You will have dual channel as long as you have 2 or 4 modules installed. 1 module will always be single channel. 3 modules on Intel chipsets will usually run in "flex" mode, meaning that 2 modules will run as dual channel and the remaining one in single channel. As you can imagine, it leads to mixed results.



Your motherboard does not support quad channel, it is a feature reserved only for some very specific higher-end boards. If you add 1x8 GB, you will have 16GB in dual channel mode. But you have to make sure you add exactly the same module, as using a different brand, speed, latency, or even week of production (rare) can lead to having incompatibilities.

If you get 4x4, it will also be dual channel, but it is usually a good idea to avoid that because:

- you will occupy all your slots, preventing any potential future upgrades
- 4 modules in dual channel have a higher chance of not working together than only 2
- 4 modules put a higher stress on memory controller, which limits their overclocking potential



Theoretically, they should perform the same. In reality, less modules usually means that you can achieve higher memory clocks which are also more stable.

All the debates on internet regarding dual and single channel are, for the most part, irrelevant for Intel users. AMD Ryzen CPUs benefit greatly from dual channel and higher memory clocks, especially the APU models, due to internal architecture which is dependant on RAM latency a lot.

With intel, you will certainly see some improvement from dual channel, but nowhere near as on AMD. The greatest real-world improvement will actually come from increasing memory capacity by going to 16GB, which is the recommended amount for gaming today. Some games will use 8GB and will starve for more, and in such cases having more memory will help a lot more than dual channel. For example, 16GB of single channel is far more useful when playing BF1 than 8GB dual channel. The latter will simply be filled out, and stuttering is then imminent.
 
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Solution
herrwizo

herrwizo

Illustrious
Feb 17, 2009
5,152
43
40,240


XMP = extreme memory profile. Simplified explanation: it is a "profile" saved in your RAM which, when turned on in your BIOS, enables your memory to run at higher clock speeds than default. This usually means that your RAM adjusts some internal timings to allow this to happen.

It can only be turned on in BIOS, and each BIOS has diferent settings. Search for a memory overclocking section or similar, and there should be the option to either turn XMP on or "use xmp profile" or try to change RAM speed and it should show XMP profile which you can set. Then save.

 
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