With three RAM sticks, Flex Mode isn't functioning—should I add a fourth stick?
With three RAM sticks, Flex Mode isn't functioning—should I add a fourth stick?
Hello... I don't play games much and I'm using a budget desktop setup. I have an AMD Ryzen 3200G with an ASRock 450m Steel Legend motherboard and Crucial non-gaming RAM (three sticks at 8GB each). Apparently, the first 16GB should work in dual channel and the remaining 8GB in single channel. However, my computer runs slower than before even though I keep memory usage under 16GB. I checked the part numbers for all three sticks—they're different despite being the same model (one stick has eight chips, the others have four). If I add a fourth stick, it should match the third one (four chips), but I'm concerned because some people say their PC won't boot with four sticks of RAM.
Thank you for your message. I reviewed it again and found I actually have two sticks with eight memory chips (each with a different part number), plus one stick with four chips. I should rearrange the RAM slots: put the two eight-chip sticks in slots 2 and 4, and the three-chip stick in slot 3. I believe getting a fourth stick isn't necessary because the seller offers those with eight chips. This would result in three sticks total (eight chips) plus one stick with four chips—still no dual channel setup?
Test it out. Compare with two sticks each holding 8 chips in 2+4 slots and leave the other one out. Config A: 0848 flex, possibly reduced performance. Config B: 0808 dual channel. How much extra capacity do you need? You might benefit from one or two more sticks of 8GB with 8 chips. Config C: 4888, dual channel, slightly lower performance. Config D: 8888, dual channel, offers the best performance.
Thank you for your guidance and for your patience with my delayed response. I only managed to replace the RAM a few days ago, and now I have the '0848' setup—definitely an improvement. Previously, I faced issues with Yahoo News, but those have been resolved.