[SOLVED] Is using 4 DIMMS on a dual channel motherboard/cpu pointless?

[_dawn_chorus_]

I just wanted to upgrade from 16 to 32 gb of ram now that its cheap. I currently have 2x8 in 2 of my 4 available slots on the motherboard, and was going to just buy 2 more of the same sticks I already have but from what I gather using 4 slots would be pointless and perhaps detrimental to performance because my cpu and motherboard can only run dual channel. Meaning I should just buy 2x16gb sticks and sell my old ones.
Can someone clear this up for me?
Why do I see so many "gaming" builds with all 4 slots populated? Just for aesthetic reasons?
How does it change/affect performance populating all 4 slots for a dual channel motherboard?

Cpu: i7-8700k
Mobo: Gigabyte Aorus Pro z390

I mainly use my computer for music production and am hitting 75% usage on some projects for memory.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Performance? Almost none. Either 2 or 4 performance at the same speeds and size will be negligible, 2 DIMMs might perform slightly better on synthetic benchmarks but not enough to make you look twice.

Using two dimms vs 4 however would bet better in terms of MC stress, less DIMMs less work, and potentially better overclocking if you plan to do that.

The main purpose for having 4 slots is to maximize how much memory you can get into the system, which most mainstream boards is 64GB with 4 16GB DIMMs (more once 32GB becomes more mainstream but that will be more prevalent with DDR5 most likely).

Plus looks. 4 DIMMs looks better than 2 I guess.

 

[_dawn_chorus_]

Performance? Almost none. Either 2 or 4 performance at the same speeds and size will be negligible, 2 DIMMs might perform slightly better on synthetic benchmarks but not enough to make you look twice.

Using two dimms vs 4 however would bet better in terms of MC stress, less DIMMs less work, and potentially better overclocking if you plan to do that.

The main purpose for having 4 slots is to maximize how much memory you can get into the system, which most mainstream boards is 64GB with 4 16GB DIMMs (more once 32GB becomes more mainstream but that will be more prevalent with DDR5 most likely).

Plus looks. 4 DIMMs looks better than 2 I guess.

Thanks for the answer!
What is "MC Stress" though?

 

[bignastyid]

MC=Memory Controller

 

[_dawn_chorus_]

MC=Memory Controller

Oh is that a concern at all? I am running Ripjaws 3200 c14 and will not be overclocking it at all. I occasionally overclock the CPU to 5ghz, if that impacts anything at all.

 

[bignastyid]

If you aren't overclocking you'll likely never see a difference as jimmy stated.

 

[_dawn_chorus_]

If you aren't overclocking you'll likely never see a difference as jimmy stated.

Wait I wont be manually overclocking but does XMP profile count? It will still run at the 3200mhz speed right?
Sorry for all the questions..

 

[bignastyid]

XMP should be fine. I wouldn't really consider that overclocking.

 

[_dawn_chorus_]

XMP should be fine. I wouldn't really consider that overclocking.

Ok thanks!
Last question.. what would you put in your system if it was you, the 2x16 or the 4x8 of the same ram? (Looks don't matter)

 

[bignastyid]

Currently I'm using a 4x8Gb set with my 8700k and Z390, but it was an aesthetic choice(RGB ram just looks better with all the slots populated). If Aesthetic's wasn't an issue I would have likely just gone with a 2x16 kit.

 

[_dawn_chorus_]

Currently I'm using a 4x8Gb set with my 8700k and Z390, but it was an aesthetic choice(RGB ram just looks better with all the slots populated). If Aesthetic's wasn't an issue I would have likely just gone with a 2x16 kit.

Lol ok awesome I didn't expect you'd have the same general set up too. I have the P400s case so nothing can be seen anyway, but I will have to sell my 2x8 to justify buying 2x16 likely at a small loss.. NewEgg has the 2x8 kit of that ram for only $120 right now so guess I'll just go for 2 more sticks.
Thanks for all the help