Question Ryzen: Does it benefit from extra ram, more than Intel?

Cableaddict

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OK, so I understand that, unlike Intel, Ryzen cpu's always benefit from faster ram. On my new 3950x rigs, I'll start out with 4400, as per the Tom's suggestion.

However, I'm wondering if, because of the same nature of the Ryzen memory management system, these cpu's also somehow benefit from EXTRA ram?

I do pro AV production, and with Intel rigs I've never needed more than 8 Gb.
I'd be using a minimum of 2 X 8 GB on my new Ryzen rigs, which again is massive overkill for just my apps. But again, Ryzen's memory system is so different. Could running 4 X 8 GB actually help? (Or could having 4 sticks, if I don't need all that ram, actually slow things down?)
 
I never recommend 4 sticks as it tends to cause compatibility issues. 2x16GB wouldn’t hurt.

Not sure where you saw anything about DDR 4400. I would go with DDR 3600, I think there is very diminishing returns for performance vs the price. I’d be surprised if there is over a 2% performance gain.
 
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boju

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Don't need 4400 ram, you'll have a hard time trying to reach those speeds anyway. 3000~3200MHz is fine for Ryzen and also 2x sticks for dual channel to improve bandwidth.

https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-ryzen-9-3950x

Memory specs: Two channels, so even if had 4 sticks, it's architecture is limited to dual channel and won't make cpu run faster.

If 16GB is more than what you actually need then 2x 4GB.
 

cat1092

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If 16GB is more than what you actually need then 2x 4GB
I don't know, while 8GB was once considered the 'sweet spot' of RAM (4GB was when Windows 7 was released in 2009), there's a lot more background tasks going on that soaks up RAM. Not to mention Google Chrome alone can use 8GB of RAM, have seen so in Task Manager numerous times.

If this were a year to 18 months ago, when RAM OEM's had jacked up pricing over one small facility (they tried to do what the HDD industry did 8-9 years ago), I'd say go with the minimum or buy used. In this day and age, 12-16 RAM is needed to cover the bases, to include whatever security apps are using. Usually, at least 1GB will be used by the hardware (audio/onboard video) alone. So 8GB won't go far, unless running 64 bit Linux.

As to the jacked up frequencies of RAM, I have to agree with you and others posting. There's little to be gained by running at 4400 MHz versus 3400-3600 MHz, in fact can cause instability & will require some voltage increase to maintain that level. This also leads to having to replace a MB sooner than normal, extra voltage means more heat & this is the bane of all electronics.

Purchase the amount of RAM needed for one's usage & go mild on the overclocking. Enabling XMP mode (AMD may call it another term, I believe on some boards DOCP) will (or should) automatically select the safe OC the RAM is designed for. By chance, just like CPU's & GPU's, if more is needed, then purchase higher frequency from the start. However, with DDR3 RAM, I couldn't really feel the difference between 1866 & 2400 MHz modules, I only purchased the GSKILL Trident X 2400 MHz kits because these were on promo ($99.99 per 16GB kit or 4 kits total for two Z97 rigs). This would max out the capacity of both, while having 2400 MHz kits for a total of $40 less than 1866 MHz ones.

However, my point being in the year of 2019, on a Windows machine, 8GB of RAM won't get the job done. If expense is a factor, then purchase used compatible set(s) on eBay, making sure the Seller has thousands of transactions with a score as close to 100% as possible. Due to pricing, I prefer eBay over Amazon. Both eBay and PayPal provides up to 60 days of protection for items at no extra cost, plus PayPal will reimburse any shipping costs for returns. However, it's not automatic, the receipt must be kept & any questions asked by PayPal must be truthful.
 

boju

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I agree with ram capacity. Was going by what the op said and making the point 4x sticks won't benefit quad channel.

For a high performance machine i recommend 32GB. Even 16GB is beginning to be on the low side with increased IO activity in triple A games.
 
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Encryption+

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You don't really need 4400 MHz RAM, 3200-3600 MHz RAM gets very good performance with Ryzen CPU's with less cost.

I definitely wouldn't go below 16GB of RAM and I'd prefer 32GB (or more) on any current high performance build. Something like this or this will give completely acceptable performance.
 
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