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2 x 4GB in Dual Channel and 1 x 8GB?

GM07
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What with the low prices for memory at present I am looking into upgrading my system from 8GB to 16GB. I built my PC about a year ago and really I should have just bought a single 8GB stick so this problem wouldn't have occurred but anyway... I was wondering whether or not it would be a good idea to have 2 x 4GB and a single 8GB stick, all of which would be the same Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz C9? I know it should work I'm just looking for some opinions?

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It's fine, most of the time.

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What with the low prices for memory at present I am looking into upgrading my system from 8GB to 16GB. I built my PC about a year ago and really I should have just bought a single 8GB stick so this problem wouldn't have occurred but anyway... I was wondering whether or not it would be a good idea to have 2 x 4GB and a single 8GB stick, all of which would be the same Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz C9? I know it should work I'm just looking for some opinions?

I'm fairly certain that dual channel operation will be fine if each channel is the same capacity, so you should put the two 4gb sticks in one channel and the 8gb stick in the other

I would prefer having 4 4gb sticks for aesthetic reasons, but it should work fine.

I'm not sure how dual channel operation works if you have mismatching capacities in each channel though. maybe I should test that. I have a enough systems to borrow RAM from to test it.

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dual channel only works in pairs

 

so if you add a 3rd stick

 

it revert back to single channel

 

 

if you do want dual channel

 

you need to have even number of sticks

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Try using matching sticks from the same kit- that gives you better performance but honestly, you are not going to see a massive difference in anything you do on your computer. RAM speeds matter the most with something like an AMD APU for example, where the GPU based on the die needs very fast memory (the RAM) because it hasn't got one of its own.

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I'm fairly certain that dual channel operation will be fine if each channel is the same capacity, so you should put the two 4gb sticks in one channel and the 8gb stick in the other

I would prefer having 4 4gb sticks for aesthetic reasons, but it should work fine.

I'm not sure how dual channel operation works if you have mismatching capacities in each channel though. maybe I should test that. I have a enough systems to borrow RAM from to test it.

it will work as single channel, but it makes little difference.

Location: Kaunas, Lithuania, Europe, Earth, Solar System, Local Interstellar Cloud, Local Bubble, Gould Belt, Orion Arm, Milky Way, Milky Way subgroup, Local Group, Virgo Supercluster, Laniakea, Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex, Observable universe, Universe.

Spoiler

12700, B660M Mortar DDR4, 32GB 3200C16 Viper Steel, 2TB SN570, EVGA Supernova G6 850W, be quiet! 500FX, EVGA 3070Ti FTW3 Ultra.

 

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I'm fairly certain that dual channel operation will be fine if each channel is the same capacity, so you should put the two 4gb sticks in one channel and the 8gb stick in the other

I would prefer having 4 4gb sticks for aesthetic reasons, but it should work fine.

I'm not sure how dual channel operation works if you have mismatching capacities in each channel though. maybe I should test that. I have a enough systems to borrow RAM from to test it.

Yeah I would have them in different channels. If you get time please do test that, I would quite like to know haha
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Yeah I would have them in different channels. If you get time please do test that, I would quite like to know haha

if I remember to, I'll do that tomorrow. hey @ZetZet. do you know what program I should use to test memory speeds and access times? it can be a windows/linux app or bootable usb utility, it doesn't make a difference to me.

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if I remember to, I'll do that tomorrow. hey @ZetZet. do you know what program I should use to test memory speeds and access times? it can be a windows/linux app or bootable usb utility, it doesn't make a difference to me.

look at what pro's use in reviews http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/GSkill/F3-1600C7Q-32GTX/6.html

Location: Kaunas, Lithuania, Europe, Earth, Solar System, Local Interstellar Cloud, Local Bubble, Gould Belt, Orion Arm, Milky Way, Milky Way subgroup, Local Group, Virgo Supercluster, Laniakea, Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex, Observable universe, Universe.

Spoiler

12700, B660M Mortar DDR4, 32GB 3200C16 Viper Steel, 2TB SN570, EVGA Supernova G6 850W, be quiet! 500FX, EVGA 3070Ti FTW3 Ultra.

 

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it should work but in some cases there can be some problem so the i would recomend geting 2x4gb

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Why not just buy another 2 x 4GB kit.

So I can leave free space to upgrade from 16GB if necessary.

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