[SOLVED] Can somebody explain the SIDE category?

[ToliazX]

Thanks in advance !

https://imgur.com/a/rsLJ2tO

View: https://imgur.com/a/rsLJ2tO

 

[clutchc]

RAM modules on one side of the stick only. That's a current limitation for Ryzen boards/CPUs at this time.

 

[Karadjgne]

Ram comes in ranks. Some are single rank (SR) some are dual rank (DR) and rarely quad rank for servers etc.

A single-rank DIMM has one set of memory chips that is accessed while writing to or reading from the memory. A dual-rank DIMM is similar to having two single-rank DIMMs on the same module, with only one rank accessible at a time. A quad-rank DIMM is, effectively, two dual-rank DIMMs on the same module. Only one rank is accessible at a time. The server memory control subsystem selects the proper rank within the DIMM when writing to or reading from the DIMM.

Dual- and quad-rank DIMMs provide the greatest capacity with the existing memory technology. For example, if current DRAM technology supports 8-GB single-rank DIMMs, a dual-rank DIMM would be 16 GB, and a quad-rank DIMM would be 32 GB.

Currently, because of limitations placed on Ryzen cpus by its use of Infinity Fabric, (ram speeds are used as the basis for communication speeds between cores) dual rank (has chips on both sides of the memory pcb) has issues at higher speeds.



Pretty much anything above 3200MHz will be SR and best compatability with 3200MHz or below will be with SR.

Because of space limits, SR ic's are larger, a 16Gb stick will use 8x 2Gb ic's or 4x 4Gb ic's to get the full 16Gb per stick. DR can use 16x 1Gb ic's, 8x per side, so is fundamentally cheaper to produce.

Because of the difference in memory controllers used by amd and Intel, Intel doesn't suffer from DR usage, ram that'll work on Intel is somewhat cheaper and usually DR. It's only when getting to the more expensive versions that you'll see prodominently SR.

Ryzens like the 3700x have far less issues with memory compatibility and stability using 3600MHz, than using 3200MHz simply due to the abundance of cheaper ram using DR. Why spend $180 for 2x 16Gb 3200MHz, when the exact same thing is $150. Not realizing the $180 kit is SR GTZRX C14 and the $150 kit is DR GTZR C16.