Can I run Dual Channel/How important is it?

[TheArkhamKnight]

I currently have 2x8gb RAM sticks in my PC. However, it is unfortunately not enough and I am going to save up to buy 2x16gb sticks. If I were to get the exact same RAM (timings, brand, etc) but just with different sizes, and run then together for a total of 48gb RAM, would I still be able to run Dual Channel? If so, how, and if not, how important is it? I don't use integrated graphics or anything, nor is the primary use of my PC gaming. It is more focused towards Orchestral Music writing. Would not having Dual Channel severely impact performance or is it not that important outside of a gaming situation? Thanks in advance.

[Downkey]

2 minutes ago, TheArkhamKnight said:

I currently have 2x8gb RAM sticks in my PC. However, it is unfortunately not enough and I am going to save up to buy 2x16gb sticks. If I were to get the exact same RAM (timings, brand, etc) but just with different sizes, and run then together for a total of 48gb RAM, would I still be able to run Dual Channel? If so, how, and if not, how important is it? I don't use integrated graphics or anything, nor is the primary use of my PC gaming. It is more focused towards Orchestral Music writing. Would not having Dual Channel severely impact performance or is it not that important outside of a gaming situation? Thanks in advance.

Wait do you need 48GB? Would 32 be enough? 

Also while dual channel doesn't give a huge benefit outside of gaming, it does help with rendering and multithreaded tasks.

[SignatureSigner]

No you would not be able to run in dual channel with 4 sticks (That  know of) With ryzen dual channel is best for performance!

[mariushm]

Depends on motherboard and processor.

The amount equal on both channels will work in dual channel mode, and the rest will run in single channel mode.

 

So you'll want to put equal amount on both channels, 2 x 16 GB sticks in each channel, first slot (for example slots 2 and 4) and 2 x 8 GB sticks in each channel, 2nd slot of each channel (slots 1 and 3)

 

If you put the 2 16 GB sticks in slots 2 and 4, both of these will be one one channel, and the other will have only 2 x 8 GB ... so then only the amount equal in both channels will run in dual channel (32 GB , 16 GB from each channel x 2 channels)

 

You will want to double check that the motherboard supports 16 GB sticks, and that it supports more than 32 GB in total. Some motherboards don't support more than 32 GB.

 

Dual channel is important, it will give a few percent (up to 5-10%) increase, and in some applications (especially when using processors with integrated graphics) you can get weird random stutters or "hiccups" when in single channel mode.

 

[porina]

In theory you can have dual channel with different capacity ram on each channel. Worth trying for as this is easy performance to get (or keep).

 

7 minutes ago, mariushm said:

If you put the 2 16 GB sticks in slots 2 and 4, both of these will be one one channel, and the other will have only 2 x 8 GB ... so then only the amount equal in both channels will run in dual channel (32 GB , 16 GB from each channel x 2 channels)

I think there is some confusion in there. One channel is slots 1+2, the other channel is slots 3+4. A typical two stick configuration for dual channel is using slots 2+4. So put the same capacity modules in those. Put the other capacity pair in the remaining slots.

 

So with a pair of 8GB modules and 16GB modules, I'd probably try the following:

Slot 1: 8GB

Slot 2: 16GB

Slot 3: 8GB

Slot 4: 16GB

 

Both channels then have 24GB with modules arranged in the same order.

 

7 minutes ago, mariushm said:

You will want to double check that the motherboard supports 16 GB sticks, and that it supports more than 32 GB in total. Some motherboards don't support more than 32 GB.

16GB modules should be pretty safe in anything made in the last 5 years or so. It's 32GB modules that are more questionable.

 

7 minutes ago, mariushm said:

Dual channel is important, it will give a few percent (up to 5-10%) increase, and in some applications (especially when using processors with integrated graphics) you can get weird random stutters or "hiccups" when in single channel mode.

I'd go even further and say ram bandwidth is an often overlooked factor to system performance. CPU execution potential has been increasing far faster than ram bandwidth for multiple generations. Bigger on-CPU caches help out somewhat but you still have to get the data in and out at some point. To me having dual channel ram in any system that supports it is a basic requirement and not difficult to meet.

 

[TheArkhamKnight]

49 minutes ago, Downkey said:

Wait do you need 48GB? Would 32 be enough? 

Also while dual channel doesn't give a huge benefit outside of gaming, it does help with rendering and multithreaded tasks.

I don't necessarily need 48gb RAM always, but it's good to have the option, especially because some instruments I use take up a Gigabyte of RAM by themselves. So it's more of a case of giving me the option rather than always using it.

[TheArkhamKnight]

48 minutes ago, mariushm said:

Depends on motherboard and processor.

The amount equal on both channels will work in dual channel mode, and the rest will run in single channel mode.

 

So you'll want to put equal amount on both channels, 2 x 16 GB sticks in each channel, first slot (for example slots 2 and 4) and 2 x 8 GB sticks in each channel, 2nd slot of each channel (slots 1 and 3)

 

If you put the 2 16 GB sticks in slots 2 and 4, both of these will be one one channel, and the other will have only 2 x 8 GB ... so then only the amount equal in both channels will run in dual channel (32 GB , 16 GB from each channel x 2 channels)

 

You will want to double check that the motherboard supports 16 GB sticks, and that it supports more than 32 GB in total. Some motherboards don't support more than 32 GB.

 

Dual channel is important, it will give a few percent (up to 5-10%) increase, and in some applications (especially when using processors with integrated graphics) you can get weird random stutters or "hiccups" when in single channel mode.

 

I know that my motherboard supports up to 128gb total, I don't know about the module size. Will check know, thanks.

[TheArkhamKnight]

50 minutes ago, mariushm said:

Depends on motherboard and processor.

The amount equal on both channels will work in dual channel mode, and the rest will run in single channel mode.

 

So you'll want to put equal amount on both channels, 2 x 16 GB sticks in each channel, first slot (for example slots 2 and 4) and 2 x 8 GB sticks in each channel, 2nd slot of each channel (slots 1 and 3)

 

If you put the 2 16 GB sticks in slots 2 and 4, both of these will be one one channel, and the other will have only 2 x 8 GB ... so then only the amount equal in both channels will run in dual channel (32 GB , 16 GB from each channel x 2 channels)

 

You will want to double check that the motherboard supports 16 GB sticks, and that it supports more than 32 GB in total. Some motherboards don't support more than 32 GB.

 

Dual channel is important, it will give a few percent (up to 5-10%) increase, and in some applications (especially when using processors with integrated graphics) you can get weird random stutters or "hiccups" when in single channel mode.

 

Thanks, I've just check my motherboards memory support, and it can definitely handle up to 128gb, but I don't know about individual sizes. Does this make any sense to you?

 

3rd/2nd/1st Gen AMD Ryzen™/ 2nd and 1st Gen AMD Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics/ Athlon™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics Processors

4 x DIMM, Max. 128GB, DDR4 4400(O.C)/3466(O.C.)/3200(O.C.)/3000(O.C.)/2800(O.C.)/2666/2400/2133 MHz Un-buffered Memory

Dual Channel Memory Architecture

ECC Memory (ECC mode) support varies by CPU.

* Refer to www.asus.com for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists).

* The maximum memory frequency supported varies by processor.