16GB of RAM .. 2x8 or 4x4??

[NikePortugal]

I have this idea in my head that 4x4 would be better.. faster timings or better optimization or something..

 

Am I crazy? 2x8 would allow me to get a Noctua NU14S without worrying about RAM clearance on the first slot...

[Garden_Phantom]

4x4 is you are using lga 2011. If you are using anything else get 2x8 for upgradeability.

[Langdon]

2x8 is better, there isn't any noticeable speed difference between the two. 2x8 is also more upgradeable (although questionable with DDR4 coming soon).

[naca1227]

2x8, if your motherboard has 4 dimm slots and they're patterned then that usually means that 2x8 is better for it. (At least from what I've learned)

[Biased Opinion]

2x8 would result in lower latancey overall due to the way in which the traces are routed into the cpu.

[ViruZ_HUN]

2x8

[ViruZ_HUN]

4x4 is you are using lga 2011. If you are using anything else get 2x8 for upgradeability.

why is 4x4 better for lga 2011?

[NikePortugal]

Sweet thanks very much guys that works out well for me clearance wise as well then.

 

And yeah it would be some corsair vengeance most likely on an ASUS P8Z77-V Lk ATX LGA1155 Z77

[NikePortugal]

why is 4x4 better for lga 2011?

good question

[ViruZ_HUN]

Sweet thanks very much guys that works out well for me clearance wise as well then.

 

And yeah it would be some corsair vengeance most likely on an ASUS P8Z77-V Lk ATX LGA1155 Z77

i would recommend you Corsair vengeance pro series, if u can afford it and like it. 

[kcchi]

why is 4x4 better for lga 2011?

 

good question

Don't quote me on this but I believe quad channel offer more bandwidth since the data is effectively split into four independent channels whereas for dual channel memory, the data is split into two independent channels. You should theoretically get an increase in performance but I believe it isn't noticeable  

 

EDIT: it's better to have quad channel theoretically on lga 2011 since it supports it, unlike 1150 etc

[NikePortugal]

Well HERE is another question..

 

I heard on the WAN show from LINUS a while ago that some memory factory burned down or something.. i'm guessing that's why memory seems so much more expensive now..

 

If I can get faster memory for around the same price, I'm assuming it's not a big deal to stick it in there..

 

I have gone with 8 gigs of corsair vengeance ddr3 1600 on a ASUS P8Z77-V Lk ATX LGA1155 Z77 mobo with an intel i7 4770k for the last couple of builds

 

 

But... if I find faster speed memory it will just downclock right?

 

Or is it better to just stick with the proper speeds for the build in general and stick to ddr3 1600?

[NikePortugal]

Here is an example on ncix...

 

5 bucks difference.. same memory just one is faster speed. 1600 vs 1866

 

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=84341&vpn=CMY16GX3M2A1600C9&manufacture=Corsair

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=84346&vpn=CMY16GX3M2A1866C9&manufacture=Corsair

[kcchi]

Well HERE is another question..

 

I heard on the WAN show from LINUS a while ago that some memory factory burned down or something.. i'm guessing that's why memory seems so much more expensive now..

 

If I can get faster memory for around the same price, I'm assuming it's not a big deal to stick it in there..

 

I have gone with 8 gigs of corsair vengeance ddr3 1600 on a ASUS P8Z77-V Lk ATX LGA1155 Z77 mobo with an intel i7 4770k for the last couple of builds

 

 

But... if I find faster speed memory it will just downclock right?

 

Or is it better to just stick with the proper speeds for the build in general and stick to ddr3 1600?

Linus did a video not too long ago showing how the difference in performance of different memory speeds is very minimal. The main reason, i think, people go for lower speed memory is for reliability and stability, also compatibility issues but it's not as bad on Haswell. In this case, the difference between 1600 and 1866 won't really be noticeable and since Haswell is fairly good with high memory speeds it won't matter a lot, unless you're overclocking, then higher memory speed is yet another possible point of failure 

[NikePortugal]

Linus did a video not too long ago showing how the difference in performance of different memory speeds is very minimal. The main reason, i think, people go for lower speed memory is for reliability and stability, also compatibility issues but it's not as bad on Haswell. In this case, the difference between 1600 and 1866 won't really be noticeable and since Haswell is fairly good with high memory speeds it won't matter a lot, unless you're overclocking, then higher memory speed is yet another possible point of failure 

 

Interesting..

 

Well my point of thinking when putting together a new system is that I never overclock out of the gate..

 

It's not until I am thinking of building another system down the road that I usually think about "why not" just get some extra juice.

 

At that point I always figure faster memory (if needed for overclocking) will be cheaper..

 

Especially considering prices on RAM right now..

 

But having said that I doubt this build will be overclocked any time soon.

[kcchi]

Interesting..

 

Well my point of thinking when putting together a new system is that I never overclock out of the gate..

 

It's not until I am thinking of building another system down the road that I usually think about "why not" just get some extra juice.

 

At that point I always figure faster memory (if needed for overclocking) will be cheaper..

 

Especially considering prices on RAM right now..

 

But having said that I doubt this build will be overclocked any time soon.

If that's the case, I suggest you just go with 1600 or whatever's cheaper, it won't make any difference imo if you didn't see it already here's linus' video I was talking about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWgzA2C61z4

[Garden_Phantom]

why is 4x4 better for lga 2011?

quad channel ram is supported, with performance increases. you can put 4 sticks in any other mobo but will only take advantage of dual channel.

[Trippyginger]

I would go 2x8 so that you have room to expand in the future.