Unusual memory issue.
Unusual memory issue.
Hey everyone. I'm someone who's been around the forum for a while now. I've got an issue with my PC setup. I had my Ryzen from 2018 upgraded to an I7 temporarily, and then I used an older machine with an FM1 board and an RX 470 chipset. The specs are pretty standard: AMD 8-3870K, Asus F1A75-M RAM, 2x8GB at 1600MHz, and an AMD Sapphire RX 470 Platinum GPU. Now the odd thing is that it only shows 8GB memory in BIOS, even though it's actually reading 16GB. I've tried everything—adjusted timings, enabled AutoGPU (which makes it not show at all), ran MemTest on both modules, changed settings with msconfig. They work individually but not together. I have a few ideas. First, since it's ECC RAM, maybe the dual-rank chips are the issue. It’s possible the other stick has single-rank memory that hasn’t been tested yet. I mainly use this setup for web development and light gaming, with Forza Horizon 5 as a test. On higher settings, it drops to 15–20 FPS and uses about 20% GPU power. I’d expect better performance if the RAM could actually boost speed. I’ve also checked the system info and Task Manager—everything seems normal except for the memory detection. I disabled BIOS settings and voltage changes, hoping that would help. If anyone has any tips, it would be a huge relief. This machine would last me a few months at most, especially in South Africa where we don’t have much access to cooling solutions. Thanks!
You're confused about how storage works. Each stick reports 8GB instead of the full 16GB because of how the system splits data. Dual channel doesn't significantly change this. The 8GB might be reserved for certain files, and there could be a large cache file affecting performance.
I have two 8GB drives and I turned off the page file to check if that helps. It seems to work as it appears in the BIOS, but only shows 8GB available. I might share a photo later tonight since I have a lot of tasks to complete.