1 8gb stick vs 2 4GB RAM

[UCLAco2016]

I was always under the impression that 2x 4gb would be better, but currently they're having a deal on this asrock z77 motherboard where you get a free DDR3 8gb Corsair stick of ram. I was originally going to buy a cheaper $100 h77 motherboard and a $50 8gb pair of ram, but this is an amazing deal and still within my budget.

 

[tiny voices]

2x4gb is always better. You could gran another 8gb stick and run 16gb. Dual channel RAM will always be faster.

 

[UCLAco2016]

2x4gb is always better. You could gran another 8gb stick and run 16gb. Dual channel RAM will always be faster.

How much faster are we talking about? 50% faster, 30%, 20%? I know most games don't need more than 4gb, and the only thing I will be using this computer for is school work, browsing the internet, and playing games. No photoshop, video editing, etc.

 

[tiny voices]

Not crazy faster, maybe 8%. Its usually just a normal thing to buy 2x4 over 2x8 but since you are getting it free just don't worry about it.

 

[cutebeans]

It's actually not noticeable.

It's only faster in synthetic benchmarks while in real world use. You really won't notice it.

 

[burritobob]

2x4GB actually makes a large difference because of the bandwidth of Single channel compared to Dual channel. In general you will see a large performance difference and with little to no cost difference. It can only help not harm.

EDIT: Didnt see you get the free stick, get that one you really don't need more. If you're worried about that you can get another stick xD.