Confusion about Ryzen Memory Ranks/Clocks

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Even since before the Zen Launch I've been thinking about getting a new PC, but waited for what Ryzen had to offer.

Since the launch I've been pondering about several parts to take, but I'm stuck at RAM.

I know the Ryzen memory controller is a little picky, and officially it says this:

Modules       Rank       Clock
1 / 2         Single     2666
1 / 2         Dual       2400
3 / 4         Single     2133
3 / 4         Dual       1866

Bear in mind I'm currently watching out for supported clocks only, since I'm not exactly experienced in Overclocking and Memory OC is kinda dodgy on Ryzen anyway (if it works fine, if not I still want the maximum supported).

So far so good. But I remember wendell saying in one of the review videos that it could be potentially
better to get Dual Ranked memory in 4 slots since you'd be able to clock it higher then Single in 2 slots? Unfortunately I can't remember which video it was (and I can't look it up since YT and proxies are blocked at work). Maybe I misunderstood this somewhere, but nonetheless I'm not sure about the RAM overall. It's also somewhat hard to pick when 2/3 of memories don't even state if it's single or dual ranked...

So I'm a little confused overall.

Currently I'm looking at this Corsair Kit (single rank with 2666 XMP profile) and this Crucial Kit (dual rank with 2400) (trying to go for a Black/White kind of scheme). Also good lord is RAM expensive these days.

I'm not 100% yet, but this will probably all go on a GB AX370 Gaming 5 with a 1700, this is more about the memory in general though.

Any help appreciated :stuck_out_tongue:

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I'm not sure what the question is.

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Ah well, sorry, should have summarized at the end :slight_smile:

Mostly my confusion stems from what wendell said (or I think he said) in one of the videos.
He said dual ranked might be better then single in certain cases, but according to the officially supported list dual ranked is always worse then single ranked.

Maybe it was about 2 dual ranked sticks vs. 4 single ranked sticks, but the same memory size in total? Or in which cases may dual ranked be better then single in general?

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It was in this video, he was saying you are better to have 2 x 16 rather than 4 x 8.

GSkill have the Flare X & Fortis series of DDR4 which is made specifically for Ryzen. I have the Flare X 2x8GB @ 3200 in my build, but have yet to power it up, so can't say how good or bad it is. But if you're looking for guaranteed compatibility at official speed, then it's probably a decent way to go.

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Oh ok, so the second idea was the right one then... just got confused about it :slight_smile:

I'm was just thinking about how much RAM I should get... On the one hand 16GB is probably enough for now, but I was thinking maybe go balls to the wall and just hammer 32GB in there... I want to use it for a while, so might as well...

At this point I don't really get around 4 sticks though, would need to search for 16GB sticks for 2 slots...

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The 2 x 16GB kits aren't working well at overclocked speeds yet, so you may be better off getting 2x8GB for now, then upgrading later on if you feel the need to. By that stage there may be faster kits available with better compatibility- or at a better price.

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Yeah that's what I thought... or I could get the same kit again and might be able to clock it higher due to UEFI Updates...

So many decisions :confused:

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I believe what he said was that for 32GB it was faster to go Dual Rank 16GB x 2 Dual Channel than Single Ranked 8GB x 4 as there is no Quad Channel support at this time for Ryzen ecosystem.

Oops! I see you found the answer already as I didn't read carefully.
I'm glad you cleared this up as it was a very good question.

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Sorry for my lack of spacing in the formatting.
I believe this supports the assertion that 2 x 16GB Dual Rank Sticks will run at a higher frequency than 4 x 8GB Single Rank Sticks if you are wanting 32GB.

Ryzen Series CPUs:
UDIMM Memory Slot Frequency(MHZ)
A1 A2 B1 B2
- SR - - 2667
- DR - - 2667
- SR - SR 2667
- DR - DR 2400-2667
SR SR SR SR 2133-2400
SR/DR DR SR/DR DR 1866-2133

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I've also got the g.skill fortis kit.
I haven't received all my other parts yet, but I'll share my experience once I do.

my philosophy is it's better to have 4 × 16.

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If I had the money for that I'd go for that too. But at current RAM prices, the memory alone would cost more then the other components combined lol.

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Maybe this is interesting?

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This was relating to speed, not capacity.

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I believe the intended capacity is relevant as people need to consider to what capacity the goal is when picking modules.
At the present time I cannot purchase 32GB at once, so I will go one 16GB, then buy another later so as to have the best speed. 16 x 2 > 8 x 4

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Yeah same goes for me, 16GB minimum for the new PC, but eventually I would like to be able to use all 4 Slots without having to rip out old modules... Problem is then I'd need to take a single 16GB stick :<

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I just made a deal with Newegg, they are refunding me $20 on this stick:

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yeah. i'm starting with only 2 × 16; will get the second pair later.

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You realize that 4 x 16GB will lower your speed, yes?

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well, chipset won't do 2 × 32, so dunno what you're getting at :wink:

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Hey guys... the best SCHTICKS yet... so far for people trying to get past 3200.. theres alot of people making 3460 and 3600 on these. Only these ones though and specifically

the F4-3200C14D-16GFX