"gin-san - shitpost specialist" (gin-san-)
04/22/2020 at 12:04 • Filed to: PCLOPNIK
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"gin-san - shitpost specialist" (gin-san-)
04/22/2020 at 12:04 • Filed to: PCLOPNIK | 0
| 7 |
Hey oppos,
Once again, thanks for all your help and input in my GPU and CPU cooler stuff.
CPU-Z says that I have dual channel memory; from everything I’ve seen, you need matching memory sticks for dual channel (I see that memory kits are typically sold in pairs, e.g. 16GB RAM is sold as 2x8GB sticks).
I always knew that I had 12GB of RAM, but when I was installing my CPU cooler yesterday, I had removed the RAM sticks and it turns out I have one 4GB stick and one 8GB stick. W ill the difference in capacity between the two memory sticks cause a noticeable issue or bottleneck? Or does the fact that they have similar stats (like timing and all that crap) mean that the dual channel capability will work as expected?
facw
> gin-san - shitpost specialist
04/22/2020 at 12:22 |
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I had thought they had to match for dual channel to work appropriately? Otherwise it would treat it as single channel? Could be wrong, maybe the tech has improved without me noticing. Even if it could work with dual channel, best case would be less performance than a matched setup because data wouldn’t be stored evenly across the memory resulting in more bandwidth pressure on the big stick. RAM is cheap enough that if you are looking to stay with this machine for a while (sounds like you are happy with the performance after adding a new GPU), I’d just pick up an 8GB stick that can run at the same timings as your current one ($30-50 US). Alternatively, IIRC, Haswell isn’t particularly sensitive to memory bandwidth anyway, so maybe it doesn’t matter if that’s not optimized.
chaozbandit
> gin-san - shitpost specialist
04/22/2020 at 12:27 |
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Its optimal to follow what’s recommended by the motherboard manufacturer, but that doesn’t mean it won’t work at all. Mismatched ram, be it timing or capacity, can lead to instability and crashes depending on usage. These issues tend to be magnified with larger capacities where tighter timings are required. Motherboards will default to the lowest common speed between the dimms.
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gin-san - shitpost specialist
> facw
04/22/2020 at 12:29 |
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That was my understanding, too, which is why I was surprised to see two different sticks in there when my system is reporting dual channel memory.
I'll probably leave it as is since the performance I'm getting is at the level I want, the question was more curiosity, and Googling only returned info that I already knew.
PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120
> gin-san - shitpost specialist
04/22/2020 at 12:31 |
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The way dual channel works in a system with non-matched module sizes, is that you will get the benefit of the dual channel speeds, up until the smallest module size. In your case, you’ll get dual channel up through 4GBx2, so as long as you keep your full memory usage below 8GB, it’ll be more-or-less undetectable.
I recommend finding another 8GB module and bringing your full capacity to a matched 16GB. Should be about $20-30 bucks on ebay, maybe less if you can find a good deal.
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gin-san - shitpost specialist
> chaozbandit
04/22/2020 at 12:32 |
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I may leave it, it's the OEM RAM that came with my HP system. If I wanted matching sticks I'd probably pull both of these and replace with a matching 8GB pair. Unless I know I'll see a noticeable performance bump I'll leave it as is.
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gin-san - shitpost specialist
> PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120
04/22/2020 at 12:33 |
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Cool! Thank you!
DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever
> gin-san - shitpost specialist
04/22/2020 at 12:42 |
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I think it’d mostly depend on the specific motherboard. I know some motherboards will let you use different RAM stick, although in a situation like yours, some motherboards will only use 4 GB of the larger stick.