Basicaly how do you tell how many RAM sticks are most benificial to your system?
For example I have my mind set on 16gb of ram, how do I tell what is the best split of that? 2x8gb 4x4gb 8x2gb?
2x8 would be best. In case you wanted to get more. In terms of impact, all those would do the same thing. And theres very little difference which only really shows in specific conditions (like media production, coding, compiling, etc). In terms of gaming not much.
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It boils down to what your motherboard supports. These days it's dual channel for mainstream, quad channel for Enthusiast (X79/X99).
Dual channel:
If you have 2 slots and you want room to expand: Use a single stick, otherwise use 2
If you have 4 slots and you want room to expand: Use 2 sticks in the same channel, otherwise use all 4 slots
Quad channel:
If you have 4 slots and you want room to expand: Use a single stick or 2, otherwise use all 4
If you have 8 slots and you want room to expand: Use 4 sticks, otherwise use all 8
2x8 is far from the best if you're looking to use something like X99 or X79.
Also @sirepte unless you need maximum memory bandwidth for something like content creation then I recommend you populate all slots with the appropriate RAM, or take full advantage of dual channel of quad channel, whichever it is you have
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its best to have same kind/size/clock rate rams in all slots.
If you have 4GB sticks, stick with 4GB in all slots for best performance.
If you have 8GB sticks, stick with 8GB in all slots for best performance.
Performance is gained by dual/triple channeling ~ if they are in different sizes, those performance features might not work.
If you have different clock speeds of ram in your mobo; the mobo takes the lowest(slowest) clocked memory and sets it to all other ram modules.
Sometimes different brand memory do not want to work together.
etc.
@comradevodka yes i know that 2x8 would not be the absolute best but read the OP question again
in the constraints of 16GB 2x8 would be best for his situation. Don't call me out. Not in the mood.
Don't call me out. Not in the mood.
So it would seem since I did not call you out, I merely presented a fact.
in the constraints of 16GB 2x8 would be best for his situation
This is what I meant, not necessarily. Since he did not state the motherboard he was on he might very well be on a platform that has quad-channel, making 2x8 a lesser choice compared to 4x4.
ok
I dont have a mobo yet, but I am about to buy one and I was wondering how many RAM slots do I need, and should i fill them all. Expecialy since I am considering Asus X99-A and it has only 1 RAM slot.
EDIT: What I rly want to know is weather there is any real gain by using 8 2gb over 4 4gb in quad chanel mobo.
The Asus X99-A has 8 Memory slots if my memory serves me correctly.
If you want 16GB, and you have that board, and you want the fastest possible setup, really fast DDR4 8x2GB. But in all reality, you won't notice it unless you are running memory intensive programs. (games normally don't fall into this category)
I would suggest getting 4x4gb. Still leaves room for expansion, otherwise, I would get 4x8gb, and leave you with room to get 4x8gb more.
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Yeah, you are right it has 8. Must be a typo in the shop I was looking at. I feel foolish for falling for that... and I thoght I had found the most unusual mobo :(
Anyway thanks for explaining. I think Ill go with 4x4gb there is no way I need 32gb right now, Ill expand later if I need.
Thanks again!
Ehm, the Asus X99A board has 8 ram slots which support a total of 64GB DDR4 ram in Quad channel mode.
If you like to go with this particular platform, and you want 16GB of ram,
then its basicly the best way to buy 4x4GB DDR4 if you want to benefit from quadchannel memory capability's, which will help with productivity allot.
If your main focus is gaming, then it doesnt realy matter if you go with 2x8GB or 4x4GB,
because it wont effect gaming performance at all.
Also if your main focus is gaming on a single GPU, then X99 would be a waste of money.
Z97 would be a cheaper but better solution for gaming basicly.
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