Is ram different when bought in a 2 pack or more?

[RussianGiraffe13]

im planning a gaming pc and because i dont have an unlimited budget i plan to use 4gb of ram until i can upgrade to 8gb and maybe even 12gb or 16gb

What i thought dual channel meant was 2 identical sticks or ram working "together" sharing memory to make processing a bit faster (10%-15%?)

for instance if i bought this 4gb stick of ram


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231718&cm_re=g_skill_ram-_-20-231-718-_-Product

could i just buy another stick of this exact ram and make it dual channel or not?

apposed to this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428&cm_re=g_skill_ram-_-20-231-428-_-Product


all the specs are the same but i have noticed a different model number.

also if i wanted to upgrade it to 16gb and i bought the 2x4gb pack. could i buy the same pack or do i have to replace the whole thing with a 4x4gb kit to get 16gb in quad chanel?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Ram compatibility issues can arise when they aren't bought at the same time in matching pairs.

The single stick should work with your current one since it's identical ,but it can't be guaranteed.

 

[Sandstorm3000]

You can just buy one stick now, and add another one later to utilize the dual channel (if your MOBO supports it which it probably does).

 

[RussianGiraffe13]

If i buy the single 4gb stick of ram, and later buy another it will still work but may not work i dual channel, correct? and will it still be recognized as 8gb or ram

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Compatibility is better when bought in the same package at the same time.

Should work most of the time if they are identical and bought separately.

 

[Sandstorm3000]

If i buy the single 4gb stick of ram, and later buy another it will still work but may not work i dual channel, correct? and will it still be recognized as 8gb or ram

Since those are identical sticks they will work as dual channel and yes it will show up as 8GB of RAM.

 

[Tradesman1]

ANY TIME you mix DRAM - even identical model sticks it can be and often is problematic....the forums are full of people 'adding' more DRAM (often the same exact kind and model #) and having problems. When you buy DRAM in a set, all the sticks in the package have been tested to work together....

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Thanks Tradesman.

 

[Tradesman1]

No worries, have basically spent the last couple of days working to help folks who have mixed sets (happens every holiday season) and just problem after problem...People don't understand there is high density DDR3, low density, dual rank, single rank, XMp, PnP, voltage variables, different memory chips from different manufacturers, etc, etc, etc