2 v 4 dimm configuration question

[calarahil]

Currently debating whether I should just add another 16 gig kit or sell what I have to get a single 16x16 = 32 kit. I don't overclock I feel my system at stock is fine I am going to upgrade to a RTX 3000 series at some point soon not sure if 3800 or a 3700 probably 3700. I've been hearing more and more that 32 is going to become the new normal and I don't intend on upgrading for a long while probably hold out on ddr5 for quite some time. So, just trying to plan ahead and avoid high cost on memory when availability on legacy hardware is a thing. My current setup is below and I only use my pc for gaming. 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i9-9900K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor	$423.59 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler	$89.95 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z390 AORUS ULTRA ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$249.99 @ Amazon
Memory	G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory	$87.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Samsung 950 PRO 256 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Storage	Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage	Samsung 860 Evo 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$139.99 @ Adorama
Video Card	Asus GeForce GTX 980 4 GB STRIX Video Card	$474.95 @ Amazon
Case	Fractal Design Define R6 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply	Corsair HX Platinum 750 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$299.99 @ Amazon
Sound Card	Asus Xonar Essence STX 24-bit 192 kHz Sound Card
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1766.45
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-19 21:42 EDT-0400

 

[Mister Woof]

Edit: can't read. You can just keep what you got imo. Otherwise:

 

You don't need 32gb for gaming, and the 16gb kit you listed is expensive for being only cl18.

 

There's readily available 16gb g skill 3600 cl16 stuff that's better, and you could just get two of those if you really want 32gb.

 

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-16gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820232880?item=N82E16820232880&source=googleshopping&nm_mc=knc-googleadwords-mobile&cm_mmc=knc-googleadwords-mobile-_-pla-_-memory+(desktop+memory)-_-N82E16820232880&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=CjwKCAjwm_P5BRAhEiwAwRzSO5bOYQKI4kcWG6mxIDcG4qLFrHZsut0YS23OuDahan2DeD4rDucZChoCWUEQAvD_BwE

 

Or just one kit of this may be easier on your IMC

 

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820232907

[Mister Woof]

Nevermind, can't read

[calarahil]

35 minutes ago, Mister Woof said:

Nevermind, can't read

I normally don't populate all my dimm slots so I didn't know if having all slots filled could be a bad thing. Also, techdeals a YouTuber has made a pretty convincing case for 32 gb   

 

[Mister Woof]

16 minutes ago, calarahil said:

I normally don't populate all my dimm slots so I didn't know if having all slots filled could be a bad thing. Also, techdeals a YouTuber has made a pretty convincing case for 32 gb   

 

I have all four populated at 32gb.... No difference in performance that I could see, but HUB did a piece on this subject that could explain how it could affect performance

 

 

But for real I only got them to fill my slots for looks

[Moonzy]

2x16 and 4x8 should perform the same since they're the same memory rank

Here's a video detailing it

Spoiler

 

 

[calarahil]

10 hours ago, Mister Woof said:

I have all four populated at 32gb.... No difference in performance that I could see, but HUB did a piece on this subject that could explain how it could affect performance

 

 

But for real I only got them to fill my slots for looks

Was more concerned about over saturating the memory controller. I know that most prefer to have 2 occupied slots versus filling them all up. Trying to plan ahead before getting more memory for ddr4 is a struggle to obtain. Prob thinking Black Friday and just take the plunge so I dont have to worry. Just wanted opinions outside my own so I appreciate yours thanks

 

[Mister Woof]

13 minutes ago, calarahil said:

Was more concerned about over saturating the memory controller. I know that most prefer to have 2 occupied slots versus filling them all up. Trying to plan ahead before getting more memory for ddr4 is a struggle to obtain. Prob thinking Black Friday and just take the plunge so I dont have to worry. Just wanted opinions outside my own so I appreciate yours thanks

 

Anecdotally, with only 2x4, i could OC my 3200 RAM to 3600 witih looser timings (19-20-20-20, i think?) but with all 4 populated (with same RAM) the best I could do was 3466 with the same timings. So I just went back to 3200 CL16. It is more strain on the IMC.

 

That's why I mentioned the 2x16 kit earlier since it might be easier on the IMC.

 

In some benchmarks I noticed a difference between 3200 and 3600, but in games i lost some performance probably due to timing.

 

I opted to give up memory OC, and just went with cache overclocking which gave better results.

[calarahil]

16 minutes ago, Mister Woof said:

Anecdotally, with only 2x4, i could OC my 3200 RAM to 3600 witih looser timings (19-20-20-20, i think?) but with all 4 populated (with same RAM) the best I could do was 3466 with the same timings. So I just went back to 3200 CL16. It is more strain on the IMC.

 

That's why I mentioned the 2x16 kit earlier since it might be easier on the IMC.

 

In some benchmarks I noticed a difference between 3200 and 3600, but in games i lost some performance probably due to timing.

 

I opted to give up memory OC, and just went with cache overclocking which gave better results.

I hope I won't have that problem the gskill kit I have is already a 3600 kit so adding 2 more I'd imagine I could do the same. I just turn xmp on and leave it alone. 

[Mister Woof]

12 minutes ago, calarahil said:

I hope I won't have that problem the gskill kit I have is already a 3600 kit so adding 2 more I'd imagine I could do the same. I just turn xmp on and leave it alone. 

I think you'd be okay if they are advertised at that speed.

 

Keep in mind my results was trying to overclock 3200mhz cheap SK Hynix ram to 3600, and that I was actually successful in getting 3466 with all four.