Question should I buy an 8GB Ram stick or a new kit now that one of my 8x2 sticks is faulty?

[lilarnon]

As the title says, one of my Vengeance LPX 8x2 RAM sticks just kicked the bucket, and I was wondering if I should buy one singular 8GB RAM stick or buy a new 8x2 kit. From my research online it seems 8x2 RAM sticks run of a "dual channel mode" and I was wondering a) how important is the dual channel mode and b) does dual channel mode only function with 8x2 kits or with any combination of RAM sticks of the same size?

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

On the topic of adding ram to your build, Corsair is the only brand out there that sources IC's from multiple vendors. It's for this reason they have PCB revision numbers for their ram kits. You will need to drop in the exact same stick of ram and I don't mean something that's visually similar(with their heatsinks and PCB color) but the PCB revision number as well, so you're working with the same IC's.

If you can't, you're best off dropping in a new ram kit.

You should add more info to your thread by including the following:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model. BIOS version for your motherboard at this moment of time.

Perhaps you can drop in something better than what you already have while you're at it.

 

[lilarnon]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

On the topic of adding ram to your build, Corsair is the only brand out there that sources IC's from multiple vendors. It's for this reason they have PCB revision numbers for their ram kits. You will need to drop in the exact same stick of ram and I don't mean something that's visually similar(with their heatsinks and PCB color) but the PCB revision number as well, so you're working with the same IC's.

If you can't, you're best off dropping in a new ram kit.

You should add more info to your thread by including the following:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model. BIOS version for your motherboard at this moment of time.

Perhaps you can drop in something better than what you already have while you're at it.

Thanks for the help! I think I'll just end up upgrading to a 16x2, finding a RAM stick with the same PCB number seems like more trouble than it's worth

 

[geofelt]

Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
A motherboard must manage all the ram using the same specs of voltage, cas and speed.
The internal workings are designed for the capacity of the kit.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards, can be very sensitive to this.
This is more difficult when more sticks are involved.
Ram must be matched for proper operation.

Buy your 2 x 16gb ram kit.
keep the old 8gb as a spare.