Upgrade your PC with DDR5 RAM if you need more capacity.
Upgrade your PC with DDR5 RAM if you need more capacity.
Good afternoon everyone. Recently I upgraded my motherboard to an Asus ROG Strix x670e, installed an AMD 7950x processor, and added 32GB of DDR5 RAM a few weeks ago. At that time, I thought 32GB was sufficient since I previously had 128GB of DDR4. It turns out my usage with the new DDR5 stays between 50% and 88%, rarely dropping below 50%. Based on this, I’m considering adding more RAM. Reading online suggests I shouldn’t just add two more sticks because of how DDR5 RAM functions, and four sticks would cap at around 3000MHz. I currently have two 16GB sticks from GSkill DDR5 Trident Z5 NEO 6000 CL30-38-38-96 (6000MHz). My question is: where can I find a compatible kit with 6000MHz RAM? Do they mostly stop at 5200MHz on the QVL list? Is it mainly due to DDR5 being new? Should I wait a few months hoping for 64GB of DDR5 at 6000MHz, or should I stick with 32GB at 6000MHz? I’m unsure how much more speed matters versus capacity, and there’s a lot of conflicting advice out there. To recap: I mainly game and use my PC for AutoCAD, Revit, and fast productivity tasks—definitely a power user. Thanks for your thoughts and any guidance you can offer. A screenshot of the system specs is attached.
Ryzen appears to report 2x32GB and 4x16GB settings as similar. The main concern is the 4x32GB configuration, which caps around 4400MT/s unless you're lucky. Adding another 2x16GB setup seems doubtful, mainly due to the potential mix of Hynix A dies and Hynix M dies in a single kit—DDR5 combinations often fail in such setups. If your board uses A dies, switch to a 2x32GB model; if it's M dies, swap to a 2x16GB one. ASUS’s QVL might be limited here. G.Skill offers several compatible kits, and their documentation likely supports this configuration. Unless you're nearing 90% RAM usage, extra memory isn't beneficial—Windows tends to cache more when idle, so unused space is just wasted.
You started with 128GB and ended at 32GB, which would have been preferable to go for 64GB. Adjusting settings might be necessary to run four chips efficiently. I'm currently using two 32GB modules with 6000cl30 RAM, optimized via Buildzoid. EDIT: G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO Series (AMD Expo) 64GB (2 x 32GB) - F5-6000J3040G32GX2-TZ5N on a Strix B650e-f board.
I attempt to stay on top of developments but thought DDR5 wasn’t as crucial as DDR4. The 128GB I received seemed excessive, yet when I ordered it, DDR4 was so cheap I didn’t question it. Thanks. My system is already a bit temperamental and I’m hesitant about buying anything not listed on the QVL because this new generation is still evolving. Before the November BIOS update, I couldn’t even restart my PC without resetting the CMOS, and even then it took a few minutes for memory training to complete.
They claimed they didn’t exceed 90% capacity, meaning they didn’t fill the 32GB too much. The announcements came from Corsair and Micron, not G.Skill.