Help deciding ram upgrade path.

[antonhavree]

Basically, i'm looking to upgrade my ram to 32GB 3600Mhz from my weak 16GB 2666Mhz but unsure how i should go about it.

 

What i use my pc for is anything from simply studying to gaming(and record), video editing and play with blender for fun.

16GB is simply not "enough" ram for my usage, as it is starting to peak during some games, mainly modded GTA V. But also getting close to peaking during some editing projects.

 

And thus i got the smart idea to upgrade my ram, 32GB should be enough. I'll just get another set of what i already have... 

But thought of, why not go for 3600 for some more cream in most new games, it's not much more to spend, so worth it in my eyes.

 

However, i'm not sure if i should be going for 2x16 sticks or 4x8.

Money would become rather tight if i went for the 2x16, so i'm stuck with either wait another month or go for 2x8 at 3600 now and then another pair next month when i have money for it.

 

However, i do also 'need' more ram, so i'm thinking of going for the 2x8 at 3600 now, use it with my curreny 2x8 and have them clocked at 2666 (if that works), then replace my 2666 pair with 3600 ones and have 4x8GB at 3600.

 

But at this point, would performance be worse due to it being 4x8 instead of 2x16?

 

Pc specs:

CPU: I9-9900k

Ram: 16GB at 2666

GPU: RTX 2080

 

Almost forgot to mention, aiming to game at 1080p with 90+ fps in the future. Maybe 1440p, gpu not feeling it in newer titles. Which i will upgrade at some point, either woth next gpu cards serie or if current prices goes down.

 

Derp edit: money isn't an issue as the end goal is the same and would be fulfilled around the same time no matter which path is taken.

Edited March 28, 2021 by antonhavree

[Chris Pratt]

For dual channel (the norm) you're always best running two sticks. It's not going to affect performance drastically, but 4x8 will be slower than 2x16.

 

Given that you intend to get rid of the current two sticks eventually, I'd just bite the bullet and do 2x16 now. You're going to pay more over the long run for two 2x8 kits. If you were going to keep your existing RAM that might be a different story. You can always flip your existing kit for a little extra cash to offset the cost a bit too.

[svmlegacy]

31 minutes ago, antonhavree said:

would performance be worse due to it being 4x8 instead of 2x16?

No.

20 minutes ago, BillyGoat1776 said:

I think the 9900k will only run dual-channel.  There is a lot of conflicting information about the 9900k and running 2 mem modules vs. 4 mem modules.

The 9900K is Dual-Channel. 4 DIMM slots exist because you can run two DIMM's in each channel, totalling 4 modules.

32 minutes ago, antonhavree said:

going for the 2x8 at 3600 now, use it with my curreny 2x8 and have them clocked at 2666 (if that works), then replace my 2666 pair with 3600 ones and have 4x8GB at 3600.

This is a perfectly reasonable approach.

[Chris Pratt]

22 minutes ago, BillyGoat1776 said:

I think the 9900k will only run dual-channel.  There is a lot of conflicting information about the 9900k and running 2 mem modules vs. 4 mem modules.

Traditionally, the prevailing wisdom has been to run the fewest number of modules that will take full advantage of either dual or quad channel.

However, I read that, in some cases, running 4 mem modules with the 9900k can reduce latency (something to do with ranking).  Maybe look into that for your specific configuration and see if it is something your rig can take advantage of or not.
 

Having said all of that, normally I would suggest going with 2x16 for dual channel setups.

 

I hope this helps....and...good luck  

The number of channels has nothing to do with the number of sticks, aside from wanting to always have multiples of that. In other words, for dual channel, you just want 2 or 4, not 1 or 3 sticks. Dual channel doesn't mean just two sticks.

[antonhavree]

32 minutes ago, Chris Pratt said:

For dual channel (the norm) you're always best running two sticks. It's not going to affect performance drastically, but 4x8 will be slower than 2x16.

That would make sense, i've looked at benchmarks comparing and tha avg fps seems to be rigjt around the same, a frame here and there. However that was an amd system.

And with it being slower, it wouldn't really affect performance *that* much to the point of being noticible to the naked eye right?

 

1 hour ago, BillyGoat1776 said:

I think the 9900k will only run dual-channel.  There is a lot of conflicting information about the 9900k and running 2 mem modules vs. 4 mem modules.

Hmm, well seems like the search goes on.

But going for 2x16 does seems more enticing to be safe, however. I do still wonder, would the possible performance gain even be noticible to the naked eye comapared to a 4x8?

I can see how maybe it is for editing, but for games where most things are already stored becomes kind of iffy.

Maybe go for the 2x16 and maybe become mad and upgrade to 4x16 in the future for no good reason other than fun.

 

Thank you both a lot, i will keep searching for a concrete set answer. If either of you for some reason find something more, i'll gladly read it. Til then!

[antonhavree]

26 minutes ago, BillyGoat1776 said:

Personally, I do not think there would be a tangible difference and the other two poster's are not wrong...I doubled down because I didn't want anyone thinking I was giving bad advice or simply talking out of my a*s

 

Good luck!

I've done some more digging and come to the conclusion that best case scenario i might get 1-2 fps extra. If it support quad channel over dual.

Only difference i more than likely would notice is the latency, which there would also be 1-2% increase. Assuming both have the same CAL, which one can play around woth in bios on your owk if i remember.

 

So i'll be going for 4x8 for the small gamble of maybe an extra fps in games.

At the point where i'll be needing 64GB ram i'll probably be building a new PC all together or have the cash flow to just buy it without a worry.

 

Thank you all for the answers and info, it got me to look in the right direction for my own digging.

 

Case closed~