i bought a ryzen 2400 cpu , asus b350 plus mobo with 2 DDR4 RAM sticks (4 Gb each of hyper x fury ) few months ago. problem is cpu fan is so big that its edge came right on the top of RAM slot 1 so it cannot be used. now using RAM slot 2 and 4. in order to upgrade RAM, technical guy suggested to buy 8 Gb single stick and use slot 3. All are same refresh rate @ 3000 Mhz mother board guide says to fill alternate slots for faster performance. but since slot 1 cannot be used , slot 2 and 4 having 4 Gb sticks. if i put 8 Gb stick in slot 3 , will it reduce performance or not is my question ?
Performance will be reduced, you coming down from dual-channel mode to single channel one, and memory size isn't increasing (same 8GB). If you were increasing the memory size to 16GB (1 stick), this solution as workaround due to the fan problem would add overall performance while cutting the video performance. As you are using a APU, its performance scales on memory speed, therefore that solution is real bad. 1) Dont change it 2) Solve cpu fan problem - Add 2 similar sticks - fill all slots = Best cost solution probably 3) upgrade the 2 sticks to 8GB ones (16GB total) - New sticks = Expensive solution Remember the memory is shared between cpu/gpu parts of the APU, if you allocate 4GB to video memory you only get the remain 4 to the rest.
thanks. i don't know if cpu fan can be adjusted for enough room. next case is to get 2 sticks of 8 Gb which is expensive. i need to sell these 4 Gb sticks for less money ( they were new when installed). don't do anything means i must keep on 8 Gb Ram forever.
I am a bit surprised with the fan/memory slots space problem, on a full atx recent motherboard, honestly.
Or at the least the name and model of the cpu cooler, Some of those CM 212 cooler fans can be adjusted to rise higher to get over the top of the memory if you have too. Also getting different memory sticks that do not have heat spreaders will often work below a lot of coolers too
If you have 3 sticks of ram, your system will work in dual-channel asymmetric mode. This means that 4x4gb will work at dualchannel and the remaining at single channel. So you shouldn't have a noticable impact in performance. Even if you only have 1 dimm on your system, single channel vs dual channel performance is not that big of a deal unless you are using your cpu graphics instead of a dedicated card. If possible, search for low profile DIMMs that may or may not fit with your cooler and buy 2 of them instead of only 1x8gb to keep the full dual-channel configuration.
I will reduce and we lost dual channel (become single channel). You should buy a new cpu fan to free your slot 1. Water cooling kit all in one can help you free slot 1. Trust me.
I read quite a few years ago the difference between single and dual channel is around 15% and most users wouldnt notice a difference, only gamers etc.
If ram slot 1 is closest to the cpu, 1 to 4 from left to right then whats the problem using slots 2 and 4? 8gb in 2 sticks not enough? Slots will usually be paired by channel anyway, 1 and 2, 3 and 4.
I forgot this thread and now 2 years gone. Latest info is Asus B350 plus board died of too much bios updates ( i did intentionally without knowing that bios will die ). The new board is Gigabyte AB350M Gaming 3. I told seller to fit cpu fan so that i don't get trouble for Ram and he fitted it correctly. He put Rams on slot 2,3,4 ( 4 Gb , 16 Gb, 4 Gb in order ). He left first slot intentionally. 4 Gb sticks are 2133 Mhz and 16 Gb stick is 2300 Mhz. 16 Gb stick purchased recently and i couldn't find a 2133 Mhz of it. Seller said there is no problem with slight difference in Ram refresh rate. Bios will run 16 Gb stick also at 2133 Mhz. The new mobo is almost similar to Asus B350 plus but audio chipset is Realtek ALC1220 while old one was ALC887. There is much difference in quality. ALC1220 is awesome on 5.1 speakers.