Single Channel vs Dual Channel RAM in 2022

Testing and comparing 5 games using 16GB of RAM in single channel and dual channel configurations.

Every YouTuber worth their salt will recommend dual channel memory. It seems like a no-brainer; it doesn't really cost any more money, it gives better performance... hell, it's even there in the name, Double Data Rate (DDR)! So it seems as though everyone agrees DDR is best used in pairs, at least among those of us who give advice on building PCs.

Despite this, prebuilt PC OEMs are commonly sold with only single channel memory, even in PCs advertised for gaming. Do big manufacturers know something we don't? Is the performance loss from reduced memory bandwidth less than we'd come to expect? Or do they really just hope nobody will notice, so they can pocket the cost difference?

To find out, I've tested 5 games using both single and dual channel memory to see how big the impact on frame rates is.

C H A P T E R S

00:00 Single Channel vs Dual Channel
01:01 Testing my assumptions
02:09 Test Setup: Ryzen 5 5600X, RTX 3070
02:32 Memory Setups: 2x8GB, 1x16GB
02:45 Gaming Benchmarks
02:49 Benchmarks: Fortnite
03:54 Benchmarks: SplitGate
04:29 Benchmarks: Apex Legends
05:04 Benchmarks: Call of Duty Warzone
05:36 Benchmarks: Cyberpunk 2077
06:14 Conclusion: is dual channel that important?

P A T R E O N

O T H E R V I D E O S

A D S
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G E A R
Audio:

Video:

C O N T A C T
Twitter/Insta @IcebergTop10s

#dualchannel #ram #memory

[bardofhighrenown]

I think the difference really is that it is a cost savings measure from OEMs, but the kinds of things most people do on those computers, don't need the extra bandwidth, games are constantly loading and unloading things from ram so the bandwidth becomes a bottle neck, but if you're just watching youtube or using excel, you're never going to notice that bandwidth restriction. It's also that a dual channel kit doesn't cost significantly more than just a single stick of the same quantity of ram, so if you plan to play games you should just spend the money on the dual channel kit because it's one of the best cost to performance upgrades you can make on a computer.

[arcanethink]

I would NEVER recommend getting a dual channel prebuilt/laptop. They charge 20% higher price for it. Which is insane. Its always better to install it yourself. Its cheaper that way.

[Sard_Onyx]

I believe why you saw less of a difference was that your single channel ram was dual rank. I bought a prebuilt in June 2020 and got a 16gb at 3200hz, single rank stick. I feel it would be worth retesting this with 1x16gb and 2x8 sticks, but with single rank on both configs. I anticipate this would be a more appropriate way to recreate a "real-world" prebuilt configuration.

[houseandhobby]

The benefit of single men module from oem is that you only need to buy one stick of equal specs to go to dual channel. And you get to keep the orig stick when doubling ram instead of replacing two half size sticks.

[SB-pfrc]

wandered over here from Dawid's comments. good video! nice mix of information and humor. subscribed.

[ecchichanf]

My friend had laptop with only singe-ram.

Dark Souls 3 ran between 35-55 fps regardless of the graphic settings.
After I learned that her run with single channel I gave him strongly the advice to buy a second ram stick for dual channel.
With dual channel Dark Souls 3 ran finally with 60 fps :3

[LunarLaker]

with DDR5 having 2 channels per DIMM and approaching twice the transfer speeds, we might see single (64b) channel become a practical method to cut power consumption (and size) in laptops like how GPUs are getting fewer PCIe lanes. The trend of larger L3s would also help with this.
Similar to 6500xt, cost cutting here has awful synergy with cost cutting elsewhere though

[intriguingfacts]

Impacts of dual channel RAM are negligible or even inconsistent if you have decent dedicated GPU. But, if you have an APU with integrated graphics like 5700G, dual-channel RAM can give you up to 80 percent performance boost.

[shadesofbeige]

The affect of using single channel memory really depends on the CPU. Ryzen, especially Zen and Zen+ are particularly sensitive to the RAM speed, timings and configuration. I think that's why the conversation became a hot button issue. Lol

[baroncalamityplus]

Another factor with pre-builts are they cut costs in other areas. Such as the motherboard.

[AditVats]

I built Ryzen 1600 with RX580 some years back with one 8GB stick.
Worked fine but some games lagged.
The moment I put another 8GB stick, performance jumped phenomenally, despite RAM utilization remaining same.

[Crashed]

For people with integrated Graphics The Dual Channel bandwidth makes a huge difference.
A Ryzen 7 5700G with Vega 7 can play most AAA games at 1080p but not in single channel mode.

[ExtraSauceOnTheSide]

Single-channel and dual-channel should make a more significant impact when using iGPUs since their performance is usually bandwidth limited by system RAM.

But I think in general, gaming on single-channel with a dGPU shouldn't have a big impact as you found out. Dual-channel memory should impact memory-intensive processes which games tend not to be unlike simulations, video production, etc,

[evklinken]

I think if we assume the same capacity is used, it really is just an annoying downgrade of performance, even if slender. It's a bigger hit than having secondary apps open in the background, for example. (See Hardware Unboxed's video on that subject for reference)

[auntiepha]

Back in the day when I was poor and was working with early i3 based gaming rigs. I came to the conclusion that RAM doesn't make much difference. I have used mixed sized RAM, mixed speeds RAM, single channel RAM, Dual channel RAM, etc. Never noticed anything different between any of the RAM platforms without having a FPS monitor running like Afterburner to show it. Morale of my story, use whatever RAM you can fit in your slots and you should be fine.

[Loppyu]

Am not a serious gamer, so i doubt i could tell the differences in game play. Really thought the gap would be a lot bigger.

[christopherbohling]

I realize I'm a late commenter on this video, but I have a single 32GB stick of DDR4-3200 paired with a Ryzen 5 5600 and RTX 2070 Super (because my motherboard is crap lmao), and at least for single-player games at 1080p, I do not notice any problems that I can reliably blame on the RAM being single-channel. Even in CPU-demanding games like the Callisto Protocol, I was still able to get a near-locked 60 fps without noticeable stutters. Yeah, I might be able to get a performance uplift from 2 sticks, but it doesn't feel strictly necessary in order to keep games running OK.

[Treegrower]

2400 MHz DDR4 can already transfer 19 GB/s on a single stick of RAM. That's plenty IMO.

[brettleisy]

once you understand a couple of things everything becomes clearer.

understanding the idea behind dual channel... break it into more of a real world visualization. object is to get from point A back to A with information thats behind a door or set of doors. simplistically one larger room is well.. more simple.. but its not.

behind a single door the room filled with filing cabinets and a maze to go through, you have the address in your hand so you start walking to where you need to go but this could be easily in the back of the room, back corner even. you would have to travel the whole way to get there, then go back to point A.

with two doors, you pick the first part of the address so you go through one of the doors, the rooms are half the size, less information and less area to travel through. you will be standing back outside in much less time than the one door counterpart.

this also is why memory defragmentation helps too. not a lot or for long, but it does. if the single or double rooms are better organized and more towards the front of the room, less area to cover whether you are dropping off something or picking it up.

the reason the companies give you a single is MONEY. it doesn't cost them double to make a single stick. you have a BIT less material cost, then you have the manufacturing time per product. its twice as fast (almost) to make a single memory stick than it does for 2. it's also one less item they have to cover in warranty to fail. they only need to MARKET and ADVERTISE the amount of memory. most computer users wouldn't know 1 vs 2 sticks and why one option is better.

computer companies relied on consumer ignorance for decades. selling them half cache sized CPUs, single mem sticks, and lower cache sized HDDs and lower RPM HDDs. then they advertise on raw sizes and speeds of some things, but not the whole picture. people that build and understand the parts are not just doing it cause same stats are cheaper for the DIYer, but they also get these small things that really add up in the end. computer companies cut these corners, and often pay closer to manufacturing costs than what we see in the shops and online.

the ONLY advantage of single stick is in the future adding more. you just buy a second stick, and when you buy 2 more sticks (doors and much smaller rooms) you don't have to upgrade the 4x8gb sticks.

[basbas]

The point is more that OEMs often include rather low clocked single channel RAM sticks. As long as the bandwidth is enough I don't think there is that much of an issue, where it absolutely isn't makes for the problems as far as I know.