Buying 8GB ram, questions about mixing.

Starkblast

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Jul 12, 2014
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Hello, I'm going to buy 8gb of RAM. Now, the options are: 1x8GB@1600MHz or 2x4GB@1600MHz (prices are almost the same). I currently have 1x4GB@1333MHz in my system (MOBO: Asrock P67 Pro3, CPU: Intel i5 2500K). Which option would be the best:
Current 4GB+new 1x8GB;
Current 4GB+new 2x4GB;
New 1x8GB;
New 2x4GB?
I know that matched 2x4GB is better than 1x8GB because of dual-channeling, but I kind of want to futureproof by having one 8GB stick. I'm curious about the first two options - might one of them work? If so, what would be the performance differences between options 1-3 and 2-4?
 
Always best to get the full amount of DRAM you want in a single package. Also mixing DRAM - even if you get the same exact model offers no guarantees that the sticks will play nice together. Wrote an article on FAQs and Fiction of DRAM, mixing is discussed in the Fiction part, item 2,

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2741495/ddr3-faqs-fiction.html

Also if say 8GB and in 2x4GB you can see performance gains of 10-15%, depending on the rig with Intel, slight less with AMD rigs due to their weaker MCs (memory controllers) which are more oriented to less sticks in use