Which Ram Slot.

[Niswendel]

Hey all,

I’m working on my pc with Gigabyte X570 Gaming X. I have one ddr4 ram stick (I’ll supply more details if needed. What slot should it go in?

[Matty2048]

if you have a single stick it doesnt really matter, put it where you like, closer's probably better.

[mariushm]

Actually, theoretically the further away slot or the 2nd slot from the cpu socket would be best options.

In practice from a performance point of view it will make no difference. Motherboard may refuse to boot if you don't plug the stick in those two slots I mentioned, or show a warning message.

 

The manual should point this out,<removed by moderators>

[Niswendel]

Well I did and it didn’t say anything. Maybe don’t jump to the conclusion. It’s a lot harder to go in a forum anyway.

[Eighjan]

6 minutes ago, mariushm said:

The MANUAL should point this out, <removed by moderators>

This... there should also be a copy in the box.

[mariushm]

1 minute ago, Niswendel said:

Well I did and it didn’t say anything. Maybe don’t jump to the conclusion. It’s a lot harder to go in a forum anyway.

 

It's on page 10. https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_x570-gaming-x_e.pdf

 

Note : the last line ... use DDR4_A2 and DDR4_B2  (2nd and furthest from the socket) for optimal performance.

In single channel mode, use either one of those ... A is first channel, B is second channel ... with one stick, doesn't matter which channel is used.

 

[Niswendel]

https://download.gigabyte.us/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_x570-gaming-x_e.pdf

[Eighjan]

To be honest, if a single stick option is as actively avoided as this case, chances are it's not a recommended option.

[Niswendel]

2 hours ago, Eighjan said:

To be honest, if a single stick option is as actively avoided as this case, chances are it's not a recommended option.

What?

[Eighjan]

Use two sticks of RAM - it's better all round.

[Niswendel]

1 minute ago, Eighjan said:

Use two sticks of RAM - it's better all round.

How?

[Eighjan]

Dual channel gets enabled; single channel cripples RAM performance.

[TetraSky]

8 minutes ago, Niswendel said:

How?

https://www.hardwaretimes.com/dual-channel-vs-single-channel-ram-which-is-better-for-gaming-on-amd-ryzen-3000-cpus/

Depending on the workload/game, it can make quite the difference between having your RAM in single channel or in Dual Channel.
Like...
Double the difference in FPS for AC Origin. (SC=Single Channel, DC=Dual Channel, see the two 3600MHz test)

[mariushm]

Yes, you get more performance if you use two sticks, because data is read and written in parallel to both sticks of memory, so most operations will be done in almost half the time.

It's almost, because initializing a read or write operation (getting ram sticks ready to write data, or waiting for ram to access a certain location in ram chips and start transfer towards the cpu) takes a bit of time... which is kinda fixed ... like let's say no matter if you're reading 1 KB or reading 1 MB of ram, it takes 5 nanoseconds to prepare for reading or writing, then reading or writing may take 2 nanoseconds with single stick, or 1 nanosecond with two sticks.  ... so total time is 5+1 vs 5+2 nanoseconds. 

They're bogus numbers, just to make a point.

 

So yeah, eventually you absolutely should get a second stick of ram, because you'll get more performance, at least 5-15% more compared to using a single stick.

But, if your budget is tight or your motherboard has only two slots and you decide to buy a high capacity stick now to get a 2nd one later,  it's absolutely fine to buy a single stick