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Best Memory Configuration?

stockloser
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Go to solution Solved by Imakuni,

Depends on the CPU and the actual usage. Say, for a Skylake, 4 4gb sticks would generally identical to 2 8gb sticks, as it can only run in dual channel at max. And in fact, even a single 16gb stick would also be just as good as the other 2 for the vast majority of tasks.

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I plan on buying a new set of RAM (between 32, 64, or even 128). I would love advice about how many channels is optimal. Is having a four stick set (8 in each stick) inherently better than having one stick of 32 (assuming everything is clocked the same)? Is two the magic number? Any advice would be great!

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Depends on the CPU and the actual usage. Say, for a Skylake, 4 4gb sticks would generally identical to 2 8gb sticks, as it can only run in dual channel at max. And in fact, even a single 16gb stick would also be just as good as the other 2 for the vast majority of tasks.

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6 minutes ago, stockloser said:

I plan on buying a new set of RAM (between 32, 64, or even 128). I would love advice about how many channels is optimal. Is having a four stick set (8 in each stick) inherently better than having one stick of 32 (assuming everything is clocked the same)? Is two the magic number? Any advice would be great!

A singe huge RAM stick is better than multiple smaller ones. That's simply because it'll give you more room to grow it later. However, there isn't that many programs or games that can eat through 8GB of RAM so going with a dual channel 8x2 for a total of 16GB is better than going for a massively expensive 32GB RAM.

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Just now, leonard_sun said:

A singe huge RAM stick is better than multiple smaller ones. That's simply because it'll give you more room to grow it later. However, there isn't that many programs or games that can eat through 8GB of RAM so going with a dual channel 8x2 for a total of 16GB is better than going for a massively expensive 32GB RAM.

To call it "massively expensive" is far from realistic. (The following concerns DDR4 at my local MicroCenter) Eight is about 35-50 based on what out-of-the-box speeds you're looking for, sixteen is about 70-100 (same variance),  and 32 is only 150-200 (even 230~ if you want a seriously high end set).

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Just now, stockloser said:

To call it "massively expensive" is far from realistic. (The following concerns DDR4 at my local MicroCenter) Eight is about 35-50 based on what out-of-the-box speeds you're looking for, sixteen is about 70-100 (same variance),  and 32 is only 150-200 (even 230~ if you want a seriously high end set).

Ok you are correct there.

 

That said, there is still nothing, short of running multiple VMs, that can eat through 32GB so might as well save some.

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