What is the difference in having 2x4GB sticks of ram vs 1x8GB vs 4x2GBS will there be any performance benefit or penalties?

[Bryan Rodriguez]

Same amount of RAM different configs

 

[Agera One]

Yes, 2 X 4 GB sticks will have approx 10-15% better performance than 1 x 8 GB sticks. The motherboard spec will say what channel it supports. There are four types of channels - Single, Dual, Tri & Quad channels.

1 X 8 GB stick will run in Single channel being it is installed in any slot of the motherboard and it is the basic level.
2 X 4 GB sticks are tested to run at "Dual Channel" when they're installed in slot#1 & #3 (or) slot #2 & #4.
4 x 2 GB sticks are tested to run at "Quad channel" when they're installed in alternative slots (as I said above).

Buying two times 1 x 8 GB stick, may or may not work in dual channel (always a hit and miss) & buying two times 2 x 4 GB to make it a quad channel will not work either.

Ever noticed why the alternative RAM slots are different in color? This is what it is for.

Tri/Quad channel supporting motherboards are expensive as they require motherboard with more than 4 RAM slots.
Dual channel is the most common one used around the world. Performance difference between dual and quad channel can be seen only when highly memory-intensive programs are used.

The motherboard should support the specific channel to use it. Almost all new/good motherboards out there in the market will support dual channel. Tri-channel configs are rare to find. Almost all mobos with 8 RAM slots supports quad channel.

Filling all the memory slots will put some stress on the CPU memory controller, hence it is recommended to fill all the 4 slots only when you have a very good CPU.