Will [Asus B550M-A Prime Wi-Fi II & Bluetooth (DDR4)] motherboard work with 1 stick of 16GB ram? or need minimum 2 sticks of ram to work?
I am wondering if I have 2 sticks of 16GB ram, if one day my PC is black screen or nothing happens after pressing the power button, can I use only 1 stick of ram in my PC? (troubleshooot ram by removing 1 stick and only use 1 stick at a time to try if it is ram problem)
It'll work with one stick of RAM, but it will be slower... because it will be in single channel.
Single channel vs. dual channel benchmarks...
General rules of thumb for RAM...
1. Two sticks is better than 4 sticks for the same total RAM amount. It's much easier for the manufacturer, to get two sticks that are "matched" than to get four sticks that are matched. And on your end, two sticks is easier to keep "stable" than four sticks.
2. Always run RAM in dual channel. 99% of motherboards are dual channel. Back in the day, there were triple channel and even quad channel motherboards. But dual channel is the big winner.
3. At the same frequency, RAM with lower timings will run faster.
Last edited by Ghot; 08 Feb 2024 at 08:39.
Is it common for two sticks of ram to be faulty at the same time? I intend to put 2 sticks of 16GB so I assume I would always have at least 1 good working condition ram so I can continue to use my pc immediately during the other 1 ram is faulty.
"And on your end, two sticks is easier to keep "stable" than four sticks." What does "stable" mean?
2x16GB (32GB set), sticks will probably outlast the computer.
RAM also has a lifetime warranty.
You're gonna give yourself grey hair worrying about this.
Really, really short version...
Always buy RAM in two stick matched sets, and run it in dual channel. ^^
Note: IF a stick ever goes bad, just contact the manufacturer and start an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization).
Because it's RAM which your computer needs to be able to work... most manufacturers will send you the replacement RAM (set), and THEN you send them the faulty RAM (set).
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