Question about configuring a 2 v 4 dimming setup
Question about configuring a 2 v 4 dimming setup
I’m weighing whether to purchase another 16 gig kit or sell my current gear to build a single 16x16 = 32 kit. I think my system is fine at its stock level and plan to switch to a RTX 3000 series eventually—maybe a 3700 or 3800, but probably leaning toward 3700. There’s growing talk that 32 will become standard, so I’m not rushing upgrades. I don’t want to overclock and believe my setup is sufficient for now. I’ll hold off on DDR5 until legacy parts are still available. My current configuration includes:
- Intel Core i9-9900K (3.6 GHz, 8-core) – $423.59
- Noctua NH-D15 CPU cooler – $89.95
- Gigabyte Z390 AORUS ULTRA ATX motherboard – $249.99
- G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16 GB DDR4-3600 memory – $87.99
- Samsung 950 PRO M.2 256 GB SSD – $139.99
- Samsung 850 EVO 1 TB NVMe SSD – $139.99
- Asus GeForce GTX 980 4 GB – $474.95
- Corsair HX Platinum 750W power supply – $299.99
- Asus Xonar Essence STX 24-bit card – $176.45
Total comes to $2,616.45.
I’m considering this plan to save on memory costs while keeping my hardware affordable, especially since I’m mainly using it for gaming.
Edit: can't read. You can just keep what you got imo. Otherwise: You don't need 32gb for gaming, and the 16gb kit you listed is expensive for being only cl18. There's readily available 16gb g skill 3600 cl16 stuff that's better, and you could just get two of those if you really want 32gb. https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-16gb-288-...UEQAvD_BwE Or just one kit of this may be easier on your IMC https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-288-...6820232907
I filled all four slots with 32gb each. Performance didn’t show any noticeable change, though the hub had a report explaining possible impacts. For actual use, I just got them to meet my display needs.
They function identically because they occupy the same memory address. The video explains this concept clearly.
Someone was worried about filling the memory controller too much. Most people like having two slots empty rather than all full. Planning ahead before buying more DDR4 is tough. I’m thinking of going for Black Friday and just jumping in to avoid stress. Thanks for your outside perspective!
Personally, with just a 2x4 setup, I could raise my 3200 RAM to 3600 using more relaxed clock speeds (19-20-20-20, maybe?). But when all four slots were filled with the same RAM, the top I achieved was 3466 under the same settings. That’s why I returned to 3200 CL16—it puts more stress on the IMC. I mentioned the 2x16 kit before because it might be less taxing on the IMC. In some tests I saw a gap between 3200 and 3600, but in games I noticed performance drops likely due to timing issues. I chose to skip memory overclocking and instead focused on cache overclocking, which gave better results.