[SOLVED] Samsung B-Die important?

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Kalik212

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I'm in the planning stages of a new build and have a general question...how important is Samsung B-Die when choosing memory?...I keep hearing it's the best...I want to get 32GB of total memory for my upcoming Zen 3 (or maybe Zen 2) build...I found a 2 x 8GB pairing (16GB total) which uses Samsung B-Die...but I really want to get 32GB of total memory (2 x 16GB) but they don't have 2 x 16GB with Samsung B-Die...is it fine to get 2 x 16GB non-Samsung B-Die?

2) with AMD builds do I need to stick with 2 sticks of memory for best performance or is 4 sticks OK?...I found a 4 x 8GB (32GB total) Samsung B-Die kit but I always heard it wasn't good to fill up all the memory slots for optimal performance
 
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Yes. It's a best case scenario really, buying what you want/need in One kit. Adding ram can be easily less than satisfactory, if it even works at all.

Ram is made up of silicon ic's cut from a unique sheet of silicon. Each sheet has its own individual set of impurities, no 2 sheets exactly alike. Even the best silicon has these impurities, traces of anything from aluminium to zinc or any combination. Most people only see the Primary timings, the 16-19-19-39 2T not realizing there's 40+ Secondary and Tertiary timings too. It's those timings that are important for compatability and they are set by the impurities and levels.

Get those timings even a little out of sync, try mixing a ram stick full of copper impurities with a stick full of...

Lutfij

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After the latest AGESA microcode updates version 1.0.0.6(I think) you can plonk in pretty much any ram on the block and enable D.O.C.P or X./M.P or manually set the timings, voltage and frequency in BIOS. Link to your ram kit...?

In short, you're good to go.
 

Kalik212

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After the latest AGESA microcode updates version 1.0.0.6(I think) you can plonk in pretty much any ram on the block and enable D.O.C.P or X./M.P or manually set the timings, voltage and frequency in BIOS. Link to your ram kit...?

In short, you're good to go.

I was using this Samsung B-Die website to help me find B-Die kits...I prefer to use G.Skill but they don't have any 2 x 16GB B-Die kits

https://benzhaomin.github.io/bdiefinder/

what about 4 sticks of memory versus 2 sticks for a Zen 2 build?
 

Kalik212

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according to that B-Die website I linked to earlier, it's saying this is not Samsung B-Die but when I search other sites and Newegg reviews it says it is B-Die...so is this confirmed to be B-Die?...apparently it's also DR (dual rank) vs SR (single rank) which limits overclocking...does DR actually matter much and does the kit you linked to come in a SR kit?

https://benzhaomin.github.io/bdiefinder/

which will yield better performance...having Samsung B-Die or having 2 sticks vs 4 sticks of total memory?
 
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according to that B-Die website I linked to earlier, it's saying this is not Samsung B-Die but when I search other sites and Newegg reviews it says it is B-Die...so is this confirmed to be B-Die?...apparently it's also DR (dual rank) vs SR (single rank) which limits overclocking...does DR actually matter much and does the kit you linked to come in a SR kit?

https://benzhaomin.github.io/bdiefinder/

which will yield better performance...having Samsung B-Die or having 2 sticks vs 4 sticks of total memory?

There are no single rank 16gb sticks.

You're better with 2 x 16gb sticks than 4 x 8gb, less stress on the memory controller, less latency, more chance of higher clock speeds.
 
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Kalik212

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There are no single rank 16gb sticks.

You're better with 2 x 16gb sticks than 4 x 8gb, less stress on the memory controller, less latency, more chance of higher clock speeds.

does SR vs DR have any noticeable performance differences?...or is it mainly when extreme overclocking that you notice any differences?

2) is Samsung B-Die worth the price premium or does Hynix D-die offer comparable performance? (in terms of gaming performance)
 
does SR vs DR have any noticeable performance differences?...or is it mainly when extreme overclocking that you notice any differences?
Dual rank configurations can sometimes give an increase in performance, but it's usually not enough to matter for most games and shouldn't be a deciding factor when buying ram. DDR4 dual rank configurations are typically 4x single sided (memory chips) single rank modules or 2x/4x dual sided dual rank modules. Since you're looking to get 32GB of ram, you will be already be running a dual rank configuration. unless you weirdly decide to get slower DDR4 2133-2666 single rank 16GB modules (they do exist, but are harder to find.)

2) is Samsung B-Die worth the price premium or does Hynix D-die offer comparable performance? (in terms of gaming performance)
Unless you decide to overclock your ram beyond it's advertised speed and timings, highly overclockable ram like Samsung B-die on single rank or dual rank modules, is usually not worth the extra cost to the typical end user. I would just say buy the lowest timings with the speed you're looking for that is within your budget. DDR4 3600 CL18 would work fine for most end users and you are very unlikely to notice a difference in gaming compared to 3600 CL16.
 
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gtarayan

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according to that B-Die website I linked to earlier, it's saying this is not Samsung B-Die but when I search other sites and Newegg reviews it says it is B-Die...so is this confirmed to be B-Die?

It is definitely Sammy B-die. They are Dual Rank modules. As it was mentioned here, most of the time 2 dual rank modules will be better than 4 single rank. Check out the review (never-mind the 4x16 reference):

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/g-skill-trident-z-neo-ddr4-3600-mhz-cl16-4x16-gb/
 
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Karadjgne

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apparently it's also DR (dual rank) vs SR (single rank) which limits overclocking...
No. That's got nothing to do with OC.

Single rank is a series of chiplets on the pcb where data is pulled in series, starts at one chiplet and continues up the board, with availability to use the entire amount in 1 shot. Dual rank uses the same chiplets but runs the data in parallel, most commonly found in double sided ram pcbs. Servers and uber high ram usually use quad rank, 4 sets of chiplets in parallel.

Do not use 4x sticks on a Ryzen, and expect xmp speeds beyond 2933MHz /3200MHz. Not going to happen. A2/B2 are the primary slots and will use unlimited speed ram. A1/B1 are the secondary slots and will not, any ram populating those will be severely restricted.



It has to do with the way Infinity Fabric works, it simply doesn't like all the splits, so single rank ram in A2/B2 offers the best chance of stability and speed.
 
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Kalik212

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Kalik212

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Do not use 4x sticks on a Ryzen, and expect xmp speeds beyond 2933MHz /3200MHz. Not going to happen. A2/B2 are the primary slots and will use unlimited speed ram. A1/B1 are the secondary slots and will not, any ram populating those will be severely restricted.

so anytime I want to add more memory to my Zen 2/Zen 3 build it would be best to replace my existing ones instead of just adding more and populating all of my memory slots?...in that case it's better to go a bit overboard now and get 32GB of total memory (2 x 16GB) versus going for 2 x 8GB and trying to upgrade later on
 

Karadjgne

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Yes. It's a best case scenario really, buying what you want/need in One kit. Adding ram can be easily less than satisfactory, if it even works at all.

Ram is made up of silicon ic's cut from a unique sheet of silicon. Each sheet has its own individual set of impurities, no 2 sheets exactly alike. Even the best silicon has these impurities, traces of anything from aluminium to zinc or any combination. Most people only see the Primary timings, the 16-19-19-39 2T not realizing there's 40+ Secondary and Tertiary timings too. It's those timings that are important for compatability and they are set by the impurities and levels.

Get those timings even a little out of sync, try mixing a ram stick full of copper impurities with a stick full of carbon impurities and even if the sticks were otherwise absolutely identical, they don't work. (for example). And the faster the ram, tighter the timings, more sensitive is the ram to Secondary and Tertiary timings differences.

I got some replacement ram from Corsair years ago, 2 identical sticks, 9 serial production numbers apart. Total incompatibility. Obvious came from 2 different batches, 2 different silicon sheets and just simply too different altogether.

It's why it's always advised, buy One kit, don't add to upgrade. If you plan on 32Gb, bite the bullet and buy 2x16Gb kit.
 
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