Why are almost all ATX motherboards 4 DIMM when running 2 ram sticks optimal and all most people need

dave28 · 18 Jun 2024 at 19:24

I much prefer 4

I removed RAM that was extremely tight in a dimm in the past and broke it, it was a very expensive high end mobo

Luckily had 4 dimm slots so simply used the other pair that still worked and carried on using the mobo without issue

I know that is a rare case and it has only happened to me once but I still prefer to have 4

jigger · 18 Jun 2024 at 22:02

Joxeon said:
I’m not saying 2 dimm boards should replace 4 dimm but rather consumers should get a choice.

Nobody is forced to populate all slots. 4 slots = more choice.

Quartz · 18 Jun 2024 at 22:24

Joxeon said:
2 DIMM boards have better memory stability and would probably be a cost saving for manufacturers so why are all ATX boards 4 DIMM when most users will only ever use 2?.

We gamers and home PC users may only routinely use two sticks, but there are applications which require large amounts of RAM and do not mind if the RAM is run at stock speeds.

jigger · 18 Jun 2024 at 22:38

Quartz said:
We gamers and home PC users may only routinely use two sticks, but there are applications which require large amounts of RAM and do not mind if the RAM is run at stock speeds.

Some of us don’t mind running large amounts of RAM overclocked either.

ooStevo · 18 Jun 2024 at 23:15

We'll need to download ram at this rate.

cavemanoc · 19 Jun 2024 at 09:25

It always used to be cheaper to by 4 smaller sticks, than 2 larger ones, especially if you were looking at the max sized dimms. 4x8gb was much cheaper than the same 2x16gb. I was always glad to be able to double my ram on the cheap from the 2nd hand market when the prices dropped - hoping nothing changes any time soon - although I wouldn't complain if the server style 4 slots on each side of the CPU became mainstream...

Joxeon · 19 Jun 2024 at 10:48

cavemanoc said:
It always used to be cheaper to by 4 smaller sticks, than 2 larger ones, especially if you were looking at the max sized dimms. 4x8gb was much cheaper than the same 2x16gb. I was always glad to be able to double my ram on the cheap from the 2nd hand market when the prices dropped - hoping nothing changes any time soon - although I wouldn't complain if the server style 4 slots on each side of the CPU became mainstream...

As ram speeds have increased especially now with the higher quality signaling required for DDR5 and going forward with DDR6 it’s becoming increasing difficult to run the same speeds on 4 sticks as it is with 2 which is why most people now opt for a 2 dimm set up when going for a new build.

ATIorNvidia · 20 Jun 2024 at 00:10

I would definitely welcome some 2 DIMM versions of popular ATX boards. Even with only 2 of 4 slots populated, 4 DIMM boards are still technically worse.

ttaskmaster · 20 Jun 2024 at 15:35

Woolly_ said:
I think you can get fake RAM modules to fill the spare slots..

Yeah, but only certain brands, and it just seems a little pointless.
Besides, having started out with two sticks for 32GB, I'm now finding that my new interests (flight sims) really want 64GB or more. Having the extra slots means I don't have to buy another mobo in order to upgrade, and since this is a pretty high-end and thus expensive board already, that's only a good thing.

Woolly_ said:
I guess from a manufacturing perspective it's simpler to leave the four slots in than have to make a separate PCB with the tracers removed

^this, very much, as well as cheaper.
Already there is a plethora of boards to choose from, each of which comes with stuff some users don't see the need for like twelve SATA ports, or firewire, WiFi antennae, eSATA, voltage monitoring points, or whatever... Making a couple dozen different board versions, or a configurator to include/exclude the stuff an individual does/doesn't need would only make the boards even more expensive.

arknor · 20 Jun 2024 at 15:40

Joxeon said:
I’m not saying 2 dimm boards should replace 4 dimm but rather consumers should get a choice.

meet in the middle and do 3 lanes

Woolly_ said:
I think you can get fake RAM modules to fill the spare slots..

they even have leds on them

cavemanoc · Sunday at 14:54

arknor said:
meet in the middle and do 3 lanes

they even have leds on them

Can confirm - even have a set in my build for "speed" purposes :cry:

Mcnumpty2323 · Sunday at 16:27

Probably showing my age here lol
But didn't we have triple channel ram way back when?
Pure guess as my memory sucks
Maybe in the days of i7 920 era?

arknor · Sunday at 18:28

Mcnumpty2323 said:
But didn't we have triple channel ram way back when?

back when ram was silly cheap and it seemed like a good idea

rare · Sunday at 19:51

Mcnumpty2323 said:
Probably showing my age here lol
But didn't we have triple channel ram way back when?
Pure guess as my memory sucks
Maybe in the days of i7 920 era?

Exactly that, x58 used it. I have a i7 980x build with 24GB

Mcnumpty2323 · Sunday at 19:56

rare said:
Exactly that, x58 used it. I have a i7 980x build with 24GB

My memory isn't totally shot then (yet :cry:

)
Vague recollection of i7 920 oc to 4ghz
If I can remember 2 things correctly
On the same day :cry:

MatteRB26 · Monday at 21:28

cavemanoc said:
Can confirm - even have a set in my build for "speed" purposes

I'm seriously eyeing up a set to go with my 2 Vengeance SL sticks :cry:

all 4 filled looks substantially better

ooStevo · Tuesday at 04:50

ATIorNvidia said:
I would definitely welcome some 2 DIMM versions of popular ATX boards. Even with only 2 of 4 slots populated, 4 DIMM boards are still technically worse.

What do you mean they are technically worse? Are you saying my MAG B550 would be better with 2 dimms? Because I like the fact I have the option to install another 16gb if,and when I want to.

ATIorNvidia · Tuesday at 06:00

ooStevo said:
What do you mean they are technically worse? Are you saying my MAG B550 would be better with 2 dimms? Because I like the fact I have the option to install another 16gb if,and when I want to.

Rambling about motherboard memory layouts.

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www.youtube.com

This is a good video that roughly explains 1 vs 2 dimms per channel (with the majority of boards being daisy chained currently)

Most people need not worry unless trying to push their memory clocks.

ooStevo · Tuesday at 17:39

I might try pushing my memory to 4000mhz or something. Is it even worth it?

ATIorNvidia · Tuesday at 18:02

ooStevo said:
I might try pushing my memory to 4000mhz or something. Is it even worth it?

Worth it as in will you see tangible gains outside of synthetic benchmarks? No.

You'd also need to run your FCLK at 2000MHz for it to make sense, and very few CPU's can do that stable. Most top out at 1900MHz.