1x8gb stick or 2x4gb stick?

[chafin96]

The motherboard I'm getting has 2 dimms for memory. I want to be able to upgrade the memory to 16 gb next weekend so I was wanting to buy one 8gb stick for now and then buy another of the same memory next weekend. Will this be okay, or should I go with two 4gb sticks and hold out on the 16gb of memory? My main concern is that one 8gb stick won't perform as well as two 4gb. I don't really know how that sort of stuff works.

 

[kanewolf]

You should wait until you can buy a matched set of memory, IMO. Wait a week and buy a matched set of 8GB DIMMs. That way the manufacturer guarantees that the two DIMMs will work together. Anything else, the responsibilities are on you.

 

[n0ns3ns3]

The motherboard I'm getting has 2 dimms for memory. I want to be able to upgrade the memory to 16 gb next weekend so I was wanting to buy one 8gb stick for now and then buy another of the same memory next weekend. Will this be okay, or should I go with two 4gb sticks and hold out on the 16gb of memory? My main concern is that one 8gb stick won't perform as well as two 4gb. I don't really know how that sort of stuff works.

The dual/quad channel memory is overrated The caching mechanisms on modern CPUs are so good, that it's almost irrelevant.
buy 1 stick of 8GB now. You will not see or feel any difference IRL usage.
Get another one when you have budget/feel need.

 

[chafin96]

You should wait until you can buy a matched set of memory, IMO. Wait a week and buy a matched set of 8GB DIMMs. That way the manufacturer guarantees that the two DIMMs will work together. Anything else, the responsibilities are on you.

I thought the only thing that mattered when pairing memory sticks were the specs. So are you saying that ordering two sticks of ram from the same manufacturer with the same specs can actually not work together?

 

[kanewolf]

You should wait until you can buy a matched set of memory, IMO. Wait a week and buy a matched set of 8GB DIMMs. That way the manufacturer guarantees that the two DIMMs will work together. Anything else, the responsibilities are on you.

I thought the only thing that mattered when pairing memory sticks were the specs. So are you saying that ordering two sticks of ram from the same manufacturer with the same specs can actually not work together?

They are not tested by the manufacturer and guaranteed to work as a set. Matched sets are. You are paying for that pre-testing before they ever get to you. They will be the most reliable installation.

 

[Tradesman1]

You should wait until you can buy a matched set of memory, IMO. Wait a week and buy a matched set of 8GB DIMMs. That way the manufacturer guarantees that the two DIMMs will work together. Anything else, the responsibilities are on you.

I thought the only thing that mattered when pairing memory sticks were the specs. So are you saying that ordering two sticks of ram from the same manufacturer with the same specs can actually not work together?

They are not tested by the manufacturer and guaranteed to work as a set. Matched sets are. You are paying for that pre-testing before they ever get to you. They will be the most reliable installation.

__________________

+1

might look at items 2 and 6 in my DDR3 fiction article:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ddr-dram-myths,4155.html

or simply look through the forums there are lots of threads of people trying to mix packages of DRAM (and often two identical sets, purchased to save a few dollars over a 4 stick set, which often cost a bit more as it takes more testing to find 4 sticks that play nice). Also want to keep that in mind with the 8GB option as suggested by n0ns3ns3, there will be no guarantee you can simply add another stick as he suggest, it can often be expensive, i.e. they don't play, you have to pay return postage or a trip to the store, possibly re-stocking fees (if they even offer returns) etc

 

[n0ns3ns3]

You should wait until you can buy a matched set of memory, IMO. Wait a week and buy a matched set of 8GB DIMMs. That way the manufacturer guarantees that the two DIMMs will work together. Anything else, the responsibilities are on you.

I thought the only thing that mattered when pairing memory sticks were the specs. So are you saying that ordering two sticks of ram from the same manufacturer with the same specs can actually not work together?

They are not tested by the manufacturer and guaranteed to work as a set. Matched sets are. You are paying for that pre-testing before they ever get to you. They will be the most reliable installation.

__________________

+1

might look at items 2 and 6 in my DDR3 fiction article:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ddr-dram-myths,4155.html

or simply look through the forums there are lots of threads of people trying to mix packages of DRAM (and often two identical sets, purchased to save a few dollars over a 4 stick set, which often cost a bit more as it takes more testing to find 4 sticks that play nice). Also want to keep that in mind with the 8GB option as suggested by n0ns3ns3, there will be no guarantee you can simply add another stick as he suggest, it can often be expensive, i.e. they don't play, you have to pay return postage or a trip to the store, possibly re-stocking fees (if they even offer returns) etc

to avoid those issues, you can use a standard clocked RAM. I have mixed memory from different manufacturers even with different speeds in hundreds of PCs starting with SDRAM all the way to DDR3. Just make sure your bios set to specific standard speed.

 

[Tradesman1]

Others have mixed DRAM also and it used to be fairly easy especially with the older DDR2, DDR and prior. And 'Standard' clocked DRAM doesn't mean a whole lot when the sticks and memory chips are constantly changing - i.e. Corsair even labels there 'standard' lines of DRAM by version number which can indicate different chips used and possibly even a change of PCB or solder.

Simply put, when you can pull sticks right off the assembly line and they might or might not play, and the fact the manufacturers test DRAM together to ensure they package compatible sticks in a package should tell you something. If indeed mixing was as simple as you want to make it sound, then all they would do is sell single sticks at higher prices, eliminate the testing and reap higher prices. Take note they don't guarantee mixed packages - even the same exact model.

Sure they might play, but they might not - it's pretty much a 50/50 crapshoot - another fun thought, I've had sets that simply won't play at all on different mobos, and will play perfectly fine on others 😉

 

[n0ns3ns3]

Others have mixed DRAM also and it used to be fairly easy especially with the older DDR2, DDR and prior. And 'Standard' clocked DRAM doesn't mean a whole lot when the sticks and memory chips are constantly changing - i.e. Corsair even labels there 'standard' lines of DRAM by version number which can indicate different chips used and possibly even a change of PCB or solder.

Simply put, when you can pull sticks right off the assembly line and they might or might not play, and the fact the manufacturers test DRAM together to ensure they package compatible sticks in a package should tell you something. If indeed mixing was as simple as you want to make it sound, then all they would do is sell single sticks at higher prices, eliminate the testing and reap higher prices. Take note they don't guarantee mixed packages - even the same exact model.

Sure they might play, but they might not - it's pretty much a 50/50 crapshoot - another fun thought, I've had sets that simply won't play at all on different mobos, and will play perfectly fine on others 😉

Have you ever seen enterprise IT department ?
You can find thousands of PCs with mixed RAM. and that's because the "standard" ram is used. because ram is ordered from kingston, elpida, samsung and others by spec for the lowest price 😉

 

[Tradesman1]

And for prebuilt computers using the lowest data rates, from the manufacturer's approved list, so yes if you want low data rates and loose timings (read JEDEC) then it is simpler to mix DRAM - and even they have problems quite often. You'll also find that on the occasion they try adding DRAM if a stick doesn't work, they often just toss it, which for them is generally fine as buying in bulk results in huge discounts. Most corporate and even government entities seldom use enthusiast grade mobos and high data rate DRAM except in particular areas and often tose are 'supported' by a dedicated IT staff. I know a number of folks working in 'enterprise' level IT shops as well as simply large medium and small businesses. For the off the shelf rigs they'll often buy DRAM in trays of 100 sticks, for the higher end and custom rigs - they buy by the set

 

[n0ns3ns3]

And for prebuilt computers using the lowest data rates, from the manufacturer's approved list, so yes if you want low data rates and loose timings (read JEDEC) then it is simpler to mix DRAM - and even they have problems quite often. You'll also find that on the occasion they try adding DRAM if a stick doesn't work, they often just toss it, which for them is generally fine as buying in bulk results in huge discounts. Most corporate and even government entities seldom use enthusiast grade mobos and high data rate DRAM except in particular areas and often tose are 'supported' by a dedicated IT staff. I know a number of folks working in 'enterprise' level IT shops as well as simply large medium and small businesses. For the off the shelf rigs they'll often buy DRAM in trays of 100 sticks, for the higher end and custom rigs - they buy by the set

I have never seen "enthusiast grade" MB used in corporate device.
And you are correct that they use lower clock and lose timings RAM. But that is not really important in general task.
C code compilation with gcc will give you 1-2% difference. And on "enthusiast" or any consumer MB you can play with RAM clocks and timings manually to force both sticks to behave the same.
I've seen once shitty DDR2 kit from OCZ that had only one profile and it was non standard. That one refused to work with other kit until the clock and timings were set manually in bios.