1x8gb or 2x4gb - Which is Better.

[Bernard Baconawa]

May I know which is better, using a 1x8gb ram or 2x4gb ram? Thanks in advance

 

[Guest]

I would say the 2x config since they should operate in dual channel mode.

[Unimaginative Name]

2x4, as long as they are slotted correctly, will run in dual channel and will result in a noticeable performance increase in games and other tasks. If you only have a 2-slot motherboard, it severely limits your future upgradeability, but if you have a 4-slot board (as most are), 2x4 will yield significant performance increases at the cost of some upgradeability. 

[WereCat]

2x4GB is better because Dual Channel => more bandwidth

 

Buuuut...

If you only have 2 RAM slots on the motherboard get 1x8GB in case you will be upgrading in future.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Bernard Baconawa said:

May I know which is better, using a 1x8gb ram or 2x4gb ram? Thanks in advance

 

They both will be the same. I would use 8GB x 1 so you have a upgrade path. Both of them will have the same performance more or less.

[Bernard Baconawa]

I have 2 slot ram only so, I will pick 1x8gb then can I pair it with 4gb with the same frequency? 
So it will be:

1x8gb 2400 ddr4
plus
1x4gb 2400 ddr4

 

[ARikozuM]

Dual-channel hasn't produce significant results for consumers. I'd get the 1x8GB since you only have two slots on the board. 

 

 

[JoostinOnline]

11 minutes ago, Unimaginative Name said:

2x4, as long as they are slotted correctly, will run in dual channel and will result in a noticeable performance increase in games and other tasks.

Yeah, that's bullshit.  There isn't any noticeable difference.

 

Unless you have four slots and you save some money on getting two sticks, go with a single 8GB stick.

[NTDaws]

2x if you have four slots, 1x if you have two slots

[Princess Luna]

1x8

[Unimaginative Name]

1 minute ago, JoostinOnline said:

Yeah, that's bullshit.  There isn't any noticeable difference.

 

Unless you have four slots and you save some money on getting two sticks, go with a single 8GB stick.

 

I suppose it depends on who you ask and the testing methodology. I've seen benchmarks where dual channel nets performance increases that are significant, others where they aren't. It's like anything, the task needs to be optimized and in some things, you don't see much difference, if any. 

[JoostinOnline]

1 minute ago, Unimaginative Name said:

I suppose it depends on who you ask and the testing methodology. I've seen benchmarks where dual channel nets performance increases that are significant, others where they aren't. It's like anything, the task needs to be optimized and in some things, you don't see much difference, if any. 

Can you show me a game where dual channel made a difference?

[Unimaginative Name]

2 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

Can you show me a game where dual channel made a difference?

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/does-dual-channel-memory-make-difference-in-gaming-performance/

 

A group of benchmarks from a few years ago. In one game, there is an 8 fps increase (I'll take my victories where I can), the rest show little difference or sometimes worse single channel performance. In other tasks

         https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/1349-ram-how-dual-channel-works-vs-single-channel/Page-3

The results are more mixed, but it is still somewhat task-dependent, although, I will concede, it doesn't matter much. 

 

[i_build_nanosuits]

35 minutes ago, Bernard Baconawa said:

I have 2 slot ram only so, I will pick 1x8gb then can I pair it with 4gb with the same frequency? 
So it will be:

1x8gb 2400 ddr4
plus
1x4gb 2400 ddr4

 

yes you can but i would recommend 1x8 for now and when you have more money get another 8gb stick

[DocSwag]

35 minutes ago, Bernard Baconawa said:

I have 2 slot ram only so, I will pick 1x8gb then can I pair it with 4gb with the same frequency? 
So it will be:

1x8gb 2400 ddr4
plus
1x4gb 2400 ddr4

 

You could, though ideally you should have ram of the same frequency and timings.

 

It might depend on your motherboard though, but I'd imagine it SHOULD work fine

 

 

[JoostinOnline]

16 minutes ago, Unimaginative Name said:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/does-dual-channel-memory-make-difference-in-gaming-performance/

 

A group of benchmarks from a few years ago. In one game, there is an 8 fps increase (I'll take my victories where I can), the rest show little difference or sometimes worse single channel performance. In other tasks

         https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/1349-ram-how-dual-channel-works-vs-single-channel/Page-3

The results are more mixed, but it is still somewhat task-dependent, although, I will concede, it doesn't matter much. 

 

I'm chalking that up to acceptable variation.  I can run the same benchmark 10 times and get different FPS results each time.  A drop in performance doesn't make any sense.

 

As I understand it, dual channel makes a difference in compression algorithms, but that's not something games do much.

 

If you have four slots, I say get whatever is cheaper.

[Beowulff83]

With no real downside and only a couple $ difference why would you not go with a 2X dual channel configuration.  True, you will probably not see any difference in most games but there have been a few games that have shown a slight increase in fps running in dual channel.  Plus as stated there is other applications your pc can run where dual channel is beneficial.   I just don't see a good reason not to do it.

[Unimaginative Name]

28 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

If you have four slots, I say get whatever is cheaper.

 

If its the bottom line of a budget build, absolutely. And when it's between 2x4 and 1x8, the build truly is "budget" in this day and age. Things like GPU, PSU, and CPU should take a higher priority than dual vs. single channel ram.

[xg32]

1x8, leaves room to upgrade to 16gb later

[SupaKomputa]

1 hour ago, Bernard Baconawa said:

I have 2 slot ram only so, I will pick 1x8gb then can I pair it with 4gb with the same frequency? 
So it will be:

1x8gb 2400 ddr4
plus
1x4gb 2400 ddr4

 

If you have only 2 ram slot, 1x8gb is highly recommended, i even recommend this to anyone who has 4 ram slot.

Buying a 4gb stick is not a good investment right now. It will be obsolete in 2-3 years.

You may be comfortable with 8gb system, but you will need to upgrade to 16gb in the near future.

If you have 4gb you will need to sell it, or put it in your drawer in order to make room for 16gb.

Dual channel ram system is not hugely more faster than single channel system, the difference is negligible.

 

Oh yeah, you can pair 8gb with 4gb, no problem, you'll be running 12gb in single channel.

It will be fine mixing frequency and timing. The motherboard will adjust the speed to the lowest.

I've been mixing rams all of my life. 

 

Anyway why do you want to use the 4gb? Is it new? Or you have it already?

If its new, don't bother buy it, better save some money and get another 8gb when you can.

[AndrejTatar]

On 1/13/2018 at 12:52 AM, WereCat said:

2x4GB is better because Dual Channel => more bandwidth

 

Buuuut...

If you only have 2 RAM slots on the motherboard get 1x8GB in case you will be upgrading in future.

the only reason i replied is cuz ur slovakian... just like mua