2 RAM Sticks Vs 4

In most circumstances, whether or not 2 or 4 RAM sticks carry out nearly the identical with negligible efficiency distinction so long as the system’s reminiscence utilization doesn’t exceed its reminiscence restrict. 

However, relying on the CPU or the motherboard, using 4 sticks of RAM could outperform 2. This is very the case when using an AMD Zen 2 CPU or larger. 

On a standard consumer-level motherboard, the system will run on twin channels, even once you set up 4 RAM kits. Only the motherboard and CPU that helps quad channels can concurrently entry all 4 reminiscence sticks.

To provide you with detailed data on how a lot a CPU can profit from both 2 or 4 sticks of RAM, our workforce carried out a number of benchmark assessments. This ought to give you the required data and show you how to select between 2 RAM sticks or 4.

2 RAM Sticks

When you ask an expert PC builder about what number of sticks of RAM it is best to use, the reply will at all times be 2 sticks of RAM. This is as a result of two sticks of RAM are the minimal variety of reminiscence sticks it’s good to run in dual-channel mode.

Installing 2 sticks of RAM on the proper reminiscence slot permits a multicore CPU to run on twin channel mode, the place it will probably entry information from each sticks of reminiscence concurrently. Here, the proper reminiscence slot means alternate reminiscence slots on the motherboard. 

The system efficiency takes a success when inserting the reminiscence sticks in an incorrect slot. This is as a result of the CPU can not entry the reminiscence sticks concurrently if the 2 reminiscence sticks are positioned in an incorrect slot.

In quick, using two reminiscence sticks is simply helpful once you insert the reminiscence sticks on a dual-channel setup. If you might be confused about inserting the 2 reminiscence sticks within the right slot, you may at all times discuss with the motherboard’s person handbook to verify which reminiscence slot runs the twin channel.

4 RAM Sticks

So, two reminiscence sticks provide you with double the reminiscence bandwidth, and most customers might imagine that using 4 sticks of reminiscence quadruples the reminiscence bandwidth. But this isn’t true.

Most consumer-level motherboards solely permit the CPU to run in dual-channel mode. So even should you use 4 sticks of RAM, it should solely run on twin channel mode. And subsequently, the efficiency can be related, or solely barely larger, to using two sticks of reminiscence.

However, if the motherboard helps quad-channel reminiscence, the multicore CPU can concurrently entry 4 totally different reminiscence sticks, growing the reminiscence bandwidth of the system.

Only high-end motherboards and CPUs assist quad-channel reminiscence and may solely profit from the elevated reminiscence bandwidth offered by it.

Workstation motherboards like ASUS Pro WS W790 SAGE or the GIGABYTE TRX40 AORUS Xtreme assist quad-channel reminiscence.

When paired with the precise processor, solely these methods can truly make the most of the total functionality of 4 and even 8 reminiscence sticks.

2 Vs 4 RAM Sticks Benchmark on Ryzen 2000

To provide you with an in depth thought of how a lot efficiency distinction you’d get on a 2 v 4 sticks of RAM, we carried out some CPU benchmarks.

Here is the system specification of the take a look at system.

I ran Geekbench, Blender Benchmark, and Cinebench to check the CPU efficiency using totally different sticks of reminiscence.

Geekbench runs a collection of assessments to emphasize out all of the cores of the CPU and information a rating. The rating is predicated on how briskly the CPU finishes every of the assessments. Blender information the overall samples a CPU can render. 

And lastly, Cinebench renders a high-resolution image and scores primarily based on how briskly a CPU can render. In all these assessments, a better quantity means higher efficiency.

Before every take a look at, I let the system relaxation for some time to chill it down to forestall thermal throttling.

This slight efficiency increase you noticed on the CPU was not because of the elevated RAM capability. The complete RAM utilization in all these assessments didn’t exceed 9-10 GB, and subsequently, the system didn’t resort to a web page file.

This increase was possible as a result of the system ran on twin rank within the case of 4x8GB. All the reminiscence sticks have been single-ranked. Therefore, using all 4 sticks allowed them to run on twin rank, thus barely growing the efficiency.

2 RAM Sticks V 4 Benchmark On Ryzen 5000

Although the efficiency variations on the above system have been fairly related, the case is sort of totally different for the Ryzen 5000 CPU. 

Just just like the above system, the Ryzen 5000 collection additionally solely helps dual-channel reminiscence configuration. But the efficiency increase you get on this CPU using 4 RAM sticks is significantly larger than 2 RAM sticks.

Furthermore, benchmarks on a number of reputed tech reviewers additionally noticed an improved efficiency when pairing 4 sticks of reminiscence with a Ryzen 5000 collection CPU. So, we put that to the take a look at and received some fascinating outcomes.

But first, right here is the specification listing of the system.

Here, you may see that the rating on CPU multi-core efficiency on a four-stick RAM is significantly larger than the efficiency on a two-stick RAM.

Single Core efficiency, then again, stays fairly the identical, similar to within the earlier benchmark. This is as a result of the CPU doesn’t make the most of dual-channel options when it’s using only a single core.

Note that this increase in efficiency we obtained just isn’t as a result of we elevated the reminiscence capability. In all of the assessments above, the overall reminiscence utilization didn’t exceed 8GB.

This efficiency increase on the Ryzen 5000 CPU is because of AMD’s Infinity Fabric. It is an inside bus to switch information between parts contained in the processor (cores, peripheral, reminiscence controller, and many others.). Intel’s equal for AMD’s Infinity Fabric is the Direct Media Interface (DMI).

The cause it really works for Zen 3 or larger CPUs is that it’s the best answer for AMD’s closely decentralized CPU design.

Final Thoughts

In some circumstances, the 4 sticks of RAM carry out higher than the two sticks. This is particularly true for Ryzen Zen 3 (5000 collection) processors. However, generally, the efficiency distinction is simply barely noticeable. 

Furthermore, reminiscence rank also needs to be thought of when selecting between the variety of RAM sticks. Single-rank reminiscence is barely slower than dual-rank. If you might be using a single-rank reminiscence, I like to recommend that you simply use 4 sticks of such reminiscence.

This permits the system to run on twin rank as the 2 units of RAM are operating on twin channels. If the reminiscence module is twin rank, you should use 2 RAM sticks to realize the utmost efficiency.

If value is of the essence, I counsel that you simply select 2 reminiscence modules and run a dual-channel setup. Getting 4 separate reminiscence modules will find yourself costing you greater than two reminiscence modules.