[SOLVED] Help me understand RAM installation intricacies

[s_quintanar]

I have an article that tells me to buy 8 sticks of CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB, for an ASUS WS X299 SAGE LGA 2066 Intel X299 .
For the CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000(PC4 24000) Desktop Memory Model CMK16GX4M1B3000C15 , each stick would cost $109.99.

Fine, but there are CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000) Desktop Memory Model CMK32GX4M2D3000C16. at $199.99
so if I were to buy 4 packs it would be cheaper than the 8 sticks at $109.99.

Would I have problems if I used 4 packs of dual 16GB sticks as oppoed to 8 individual 16GB sticks?

 

[Writeous One]

does your mobo have 16 dimm?

 

[Writeous One]

does your mobo have 16 dimm?

sorry i didn't read your post fully, your mobo has 12 dimm. if it's the same ram but for cheaper, i don't see how it can be an issue? both options equal 8 sticks of 16gb ram.

 

[Writeous One]

the difference in price is the c15 and c16. the c15 have better latency.

 

[Karadjgne]

No. Absolutely not.

Ram is made from silicon. Silicon itself has different impurities in it, slightly different density, slightly different properties with every batch. Those properties and impurities don't really affect primary timings (that's the 15-15-15-36 you see) but will affect the secondary and tertiary timings, of which there's over 40. Just one irregularity and a) you are messing with voltages in ram or memory controller or b) they don't work at all. And all it takes is one stick out of whack and all the ram is bunk as you'll never tell which is the oddball. It's bad enough with 3 or 4 sticks, but 8 sticks of ram is a nightmare. And it does not matter if it's 4 consecutive blister packs off the same rack in the same store of the exact same ram. It's almost guaranteed different batches.

If you want 128Gb of ram, you can buy 128Gb of ram in a single kit, that's tested as compatible and fully functional, at the factory. It's as close to a guarantee as you get, since mixing ram kits the only guarantee is that there are no guarantees.

Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 128 GB (8 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($899.99 @ Newegg)

If you think that's expensive, try this. You get 4 packs, ram doesn't work. Spend a day figuring 3 of the sticks are incompatible with the other 5. Send 2 packs back. Wait a few days, get new. 2 of the original ate now incompatible with the new from different packs, so send 2 more packs back. Rinse and repeat. 2 weeks later you are still swapping ram out, everyone is irritated except the mailman and your pc is no closer to working. And yes, that actually has happened. 8 individual sticks only exasperates the probable issues, memory controllers get very touchy with ram differences when you have 4 or 8 sticks.