2X4gb or 1X 8gb?

[madmax15]

they are for the exact same price and btw does the "thermal compound" really differ?

 

[enemy1g]

Thermal compound generally applies to CPUs. There's only a few Celsius difference between good ones and great ones.

You want 2x4GB because most motherboards suppor dual channel. If you only buy one module, you're gimping yourself.

 

[Supahos]

Thermal compound shouldn't really be on a memory stick, it can be but there isn't much of a point. 2x4gb will perform better as long as you place it in the correct spots on the board it will run in dual channel mode which gives a 10~20% performance boost depending on the system and program used.

 

[molletts]

Assuming you're talking about RAM, definitely 2x4GB unless it's an upgrade for an existing 1x8GB configuration in which case you should match the module that's already fitted as closely as possible.

All modern CPUs have at least a dual-channel memory controller so you should put one module on each channel for best performance. (A quick-and-dirty test on a Core i3 system I have to hand for repair shows a nice memorable 8,888 MB/s memory throughput with 1x4GB fitted and 17,522 MB/s with 2x4GB.)

Hope this helps,
Stephen

 

[bjaminnyc]

Like everyone above said, 2x4 will allow for the dual channel performance benefit. Nevertheless, I'd go with the single 8GB module. The performance difference between single and dual channel ram is minimal at best for most applications.

Down the line if you need more ram, buying another 8GB stick will certainly be less expensive that 2x8GB especially if your MB only has 2 slots.

Here's an article about the performance differences between single, dual, triple, and quad ram. Take note that the synthetics show the biggest differences but real world apps show marginal gains with each additionla channel.

http://www.behardware.com/articles/814-3/ddr3-impact-of-channels-timings.html

 

[Supahos]

5 and 6 seconds faster on some 90 second tasks isn't "minimal"

 

[madmax15]

im getting the Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3 Socket 1150 Motherboard and no its not an upgrade its new
so if im getting 2X4gb where exactly should i place them bec the mobo has 4 slots

 

[madmax15]

Thermal compound shouldn't really be on a memory stick, it can be but there isn't much of a point. 2x4gb will perform better as long as you place it in the correct spots on the board it will run in dual channel mode which gives a 10~20% performance boost depending on the system and program used.

wat do u mean the correct spots?

 

[Supahos]

depends on the board but usually it would be in the same colored slots, not next to eachother.

 

[Tradesman1]

2x4 provides for dual channel, an increase in performance over single channel - and there's a lot of different thermal compounds out, I've been using Aric Silver 5 for a long time and love it