What kind of RAM Setup I should get? 2x16GB or 4x8GB?

[DankDoodles]

As it says in the title...

What kind of RAM Setup I should get? 2x16GB or 4x8GB at 3200Hz speeds.

 

Specs I am going for are:

Intel Core i5-11600K 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor

Asus TUF Gaming Z590-PLUS WIFI ATX LGA1200 Motherboard

Asus GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB TUF GAMING OC Video Card

 

Is there a difference? Or is the only difference is the prices?

Edited June 10, 2022 by DankDoodles

[Guest]

2x8gb 4000mhz B-Die + 12700K + Z690 + 3090??!!?!?!!!!

 

what's the memory going in?

[CasoF13]

what ddr are we talking about ddr4? ddr5? and at which speeds ?

anyway less sticks means you could more easly upgrade later down the line. so personally i would go with 2x16 . also ram oc is easier with less sticks but of course it all depends on your budget

oh and also you should get 3200/3600 which seams to be the price/performance sweetspot

[RONOTHAN##]

This is a very loaded question, and this does really depend on the memory speed you get. 4x8GB is guaranteed to be dual rank memory, while 2x16GB is usually single rank. Dual rank has a fairly significant advantage to it, usually performing like it was clocked 200-300MHz higher than it actually was. If you were looking at 2x16GB 3600MHz CL16 vs 4x8GB 3200MHz CL16 though, the performance of the 3600MHz kit will be better.

 

4x8GB though is in a rougher spot compatibility wise though, because there are two ways of doing this. You can either get 2 2x8GB kits or a 4x8GB kit. The 4x8GB kit is usually more expensive, so you usually want to avoid it. 2 2x8GB kits are weird though, since unless you're shopping for very specific memory bins, you can get different memory ICs on them, and compatibility between different ICs is very hit or miss. If you're shopping for specific memory bins that are guaranteed to be certain memory ICs, then you might as well aim for 2x16GB since they will overclock better, have better motherboard compatibility, and it's usually cheaper (not always though). 

 

I'd personally aim for a 2x16GB config for compatibility sake, and you can just get a slightly higher clocked kit to make up the performance difference. 

[DankDoodles]

6 minutes ago, Guest 5150 said:

2x8gb 4000mhz B-Die + 12700K + Z690 + 3090??!!?!?!!!!

 

what's the memory going in?

Intel Core i5-11600K 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor

Asus TUF Gaming Z590-PLUS WIFI ATX LGA1200 Motherboard

Asus GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB TUF GAMING OC Video Card

 

(Maybe a 3060 or 3070 in the future)

[GeorgeMKane]

9 minutes ago, DankDoodles said:

As it says in the title...

What kind of RAM Setup I should get? 2x16GB or 4x8GB?

 

Is there a difference? Or is the only difference is the prices?

2x16GB. This allows for easier upgradeability in the future, if wanted or needed, and puts less strain on the memory controller. The price is usually better for 2x_GB also.

[DankDoodles]

3 minutes ago, CasoF13 said:

what ddr are we talking about ddr4? ddr5? and at which speeds ?

anyway less sticks means you could more easly upgrade later down the line. so personally i would go with 2x16 . also ram oc is easier with less sticks but of course it all depends on your budget

oh and also you should get 3200/3600 which seams to be the price/performance sweetspot

DDR4 Memory at 3200Hz since the stuff I am going to do on this computer won't be super crazy

[Guest]

Just now, DankDoodles said:

Intel Core i5-11600K 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor

Asus TUF Gaming Z590-PLUS WIFI ATX LGA1200 Motherboard

Asus GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB TUF GAMING OC Video Card

 

(Maybe a 3060 or 3070 in the future)

So it's a mid/high end gaming rig.

 

16GB unless you are keeping 90 tabs open, have a bunch of stuff running and streaming. If you don't do all of that, then 16GB would carry you a bit.

 

Performance from frequency. That Cpu is capable of some pretty high memory speeds. 4000mhz on Intel is the performance sweet spot after all  

[DankDoodles]

1 minute ago, Guest 5150 said:

So it's a mid/high end gaming rig.

 

16GB unless you are keeping 90 tabs open, have a bunch of stuff running and streaming. If you don't do all of that, then 16GB would carry you a bit.

 

Performance from frequency. That Cpu is capable of some pretty high memory speeds. 4000mhz on Intel is the performance sweet spot after all  

Noted, but I am looking between either 2x16GB or 4x8GB 3200Hz RAM.

[CasoF13]

like i said 2x16 at 3600 seams like a good choice to me for price/performance and future upgradability

[Guest]

Just now, DankDoodles said:

Noted, but I am looking between either 2x16GB or 4x8GB 3200Hz RAM.

It will hardly matter. If you like filling all the slots, like the look, go for the 4x8 imo. 

[CasoF13]

2 minutes ago, Guest 5150 said:

It will hardly matter. If you like filling all the slots, like the look, go for the 4x8 imo. 

for that purporse he better should get 2x16 and corsair/gigabyte fake rgb ram

[Guest]

24 minutes ago, CasoF13 said:

for that purporse he better should get 2x16 and corsair/gigabyte fake rgb ram

That's a pretty neat idea actually.