AM5: would you recommend 1x64 GB over 2x 32 GB?

Quartz

Quartz

Quartz

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On the basis that upgrading down the line will be easier?

Assume they need 64 GB now and the PC is used for a mix of games and productivity.
 
kindai said:
Nope. 2x 32Gb will give you better performance.
Click to expand...
Agree with this largely.

If they need to upgrade, it only means they need more capacity, the 7000 and 9000 series of chips, works best as 2 x Y GB sticks. 1 x Y GB means you're going to upgrade later down the line, but capacities right now are:

7000 Chips confirmed for : 128GB at 5200MT or greater (2 x 64GB DDR5), or 196GB (4 x 48GB DDR5) at 3600MT ONLY.
9000 Chips confirmed for : 128GB at 5200MT or greater (2 x 64GB DDR5), or 256GB (4 x 64GB DDR5) at 3600MT ONLY.

Since no matter what, if you want the performance, you need to go 2 x Y GB sticks - you're going to go with 128GB by 2 x 64GB DDR5 which is only a recent release, which will remain a high price, or a lower capacity of 2 x 32GB DDR5, which ultimately is not going to be enough if you were going to go with 1 x 64GB anyway and upgrading later (and potentially get a stick that doesn't work well with the existing stick).

So realistically, if they're hoping to jump to 256GB+ for an AM5 system, they're looking at an unknown time frame of release (256GB was already 2 years when we first heard of it). And if they need the RAM, 256GB is what you jump for off the bat now since you gain no performance anyway (stuck at 3600MT), or if you want the performance, might as well go with 2 x 64GB DDR5 and get the DRAM Kit (which will be paired and matched to work together).
 
DDR5 single channel and dual rank is not bad for gaming from the benchmarks I've seen, but it does have a strong impact on the lows. For a single player RPG gamer I'd say "meh", but it is not ideal for a competitive esports gamer.

Productivity, for the most part: fine, but there are some tasks that need memory bandwidth. Off the top of my head: I think compression and encryption?

AMD's dual CCD CPUs also respond differently, so I don't know if the impact is bigger there.
 
When I was researching buying 32GB DDR4 recently there was a common theme where some memory kits used multiple memory IC's from many memory manufacturers (Samsung B/C/D Hynix A/D/E Micron B/E etc..) So to buy a single stick now on the basis to pick up another in the future may cause issues as the next single stick could use a different memory IC's and it could cause compatability issue's.
 
Always buy the memory you need now. Down the line when you're thinking of upgrading, you'll be able to buy better and faster memory, than what you put in there now.
Get 2 sticks now. If the time comes to upgrade, then sell them off or use them in a parts PC.
 
This seems to be something that so few people do that it's actually hard to find decent benchmarks on how much difference a single stick makes, the closest I could find is this video:


tl;dw: you're throwing away a significant amount of performance. Going from dual DDR5 6000Mhz to a single stick will hurt about as much as going to DDR4 3000 or 3200. It isn't quite a perfect comparison, but should give a ballpark.

IMO, therefore, you're better to go with the dual kit and worry about an upgrade later.
 
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