Question I bought a Threadripper 1950x system with its few components, what ram should I pair it up with ?

[Zaki Yudhistira]

I recently bought a Threadripper 1950x with a gigabyte x399 Aorus pro gaming motherboard with a Noctua nh-u14s-tr4-sp3 cooler for around 225 $.
Is it a good deal?
and what ram should I pair it up with, I'm thinking around 16 gigs of ddr4 ram
and for a GPU I'll slap an RX 580 (my spare card)

 

[Darkbreeze]

If you are only interested in using 16GB of RAM with a 1950x, then you wasted your money, even though you didn't spend as much as you might have on it. Although, it REALLY depends on exactly WHAT you are planning to do with this system?

Specifics please, if you want realistic recommendations and advice.

 

[Zaki Yudhistira]

I'm planning to use it for productivity tasks such as 3d rendering, machine learning, code compiling, and multimedia workloads such as video editing, and photo editing.

I might add more ram in the future, for now, I only have two 8GB sticks laying around

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ok, so if you already have two 8GB sticks and those are what you are planning to use, then why bother asking:

what ram should I pair it up with

And being as this board utilizes a Quad-channel memory architecture, it doesn't really make a lot of sense to run only 16GB, for the kind of tasks you have in mind, AND only dual channel. You are leaving a lot of performance on the table. I'd say minimum you want a 4x 8GB configuration of matched sticks. Do you even know if the memory you have is actually compatible with this board? And by compatible I don't mean "DDR4 of a certain speed". I mean "compatible", as in, it has been validated at both JEDEC and XMP speeds WITH the exact board you are intending to use.

What is the actual model of the memory kit you have and was it a single kit with two DIMMs that came both in the same blister pack, or is it two separate DIMMs that were purchased individually, regardless of whether they are the same model or not? Do you know if the kit is on the QVL list for this motherboard, or is listed on the memory manufacturer's compatibility list as validated for this board? That is to say, it might still work even if it isn't, but it might also not. Or it might "work" but have "issues".

Knowing the exact kit model would be helpful.