Question Is using 4 of my ram slots really that bad?

[TrippyFries]

So I currently have a 2x8gb stick of ddr4 3200 ram and I've been thinking on upgrading it to have double the ram amounts to 32gb.
But every single time I looked up on YouTube or googling it, people say to just buy a 2x16gb kit instead. But that is the problem for me, money is a little tight since I am also saving up for other stuff so I only have enough to buy another kit of the same brand. Plus I think it's a little wasteful to just throw away a perfectly good stick of ram as well.
Is it really that bad of an idea to just buy the exact same ram kit and just adding it on top of the first kit?

My specs just in case anyone needs it
CPU: Ryzen 5 5600
GPU: 1660 ti
Motherboard: ASRock b550m pro4
PSU: Fractal design ION 750w gold
RAM: Apacer nox 2x8gb 3200mhz cl16

 

[USAFRet]

"Adding" RAM is rarely a good idea.

There is no guarantee that your current 2x sticks will work with 2x new sticks. Even if you buy the same brand/model.

Better to buy 2x 16GB, and sell or repurpose your existing 2x 8GB.

 

[COLGeek]

In general, AM4 and AM5 based systems will actually run slower with all 4 slots populated. In some scenarios, quite a bit slower. Now, that is all relative and would likely have little/no impact on your user perspective. But, you would notice when benchmarking.

@USAFRet is spot on.

 

[bill001g]

The main issue is the actual answer to that question will be how well the memory controller on the CPU chip you happened to buy as well as all the memory chips on ram sticks function together. You never really know until you actually try it.

Your motherboard actually has a very clear chart of how fast memory will run depending on what cpu you have and how many memory slots you use.

https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/B550M Pro4/index.asp#Specification

You will notice none run at 3200 with 4 sticks. This though is with XMP disabled.

The motherboard and cpu support much faster memory if use XMP. They still indicate that if you use 4 sticks you can't run it as fast as 2 sticks.

XMP is overclocking so there really is no guarantee anything above the base will function.

If this was purely a question of can you make it work. It likely can be made to work by reducing the memory speeds and changing other timing settings. When you talk about spending money it is do you gamble or do you buy something you know will work.

 

[punkncat]

The above advice is all correct and is best course of action.



With that said, many of us have been tight on cash and have had to consider taking a course that may or may not be "fraught". IMO the shortcoming of your current build is going to be the 1660ti. I am not sure that the very small framerate/performance difference you might be able to perceive from running that RAM at 3000 (where I suspect it is going to fall) instead of 3200 is enough to be concerned about while money is key. Further to say that the added benefit of having double the RAM is likely to outweigh that very marginal and probably imperceivable difference anyway.

My thoughts? Find the same kit and try them, used if you can, to save more money. Make sure you have an open return policy to work with. If it doesn't work, then it just sets you back a bit timewise.