Discussion Why do prebuilts (even ones that are $1000+) sometimes only include 1 stick of RAM?

[Order 66]

It's not like adding 1 more stick of RAM is that much more expensive, so I don't understand why some prebuilt manufacturers still do it even on somewhat expensive prebuilts.

 

[Rokinamerica]

Many pull out whatever crap ram they threw in and put their own kit to replace it.

 

[Order 66]

Many pull out whatever crap ram they threw in and put their own kit to replace it.

Yes, I see a lot of tech YouTubers disappointed when they get a prebuilt to review that only has 1 stick of RAM. That doesn't answer my question as to why the companies do it though. The companies can't be saving that much money by going with only one stick, especially with how cheap DDR4 and DDR5 are. (I understand that DDR5 isn't as cheap as DDR4, but prices have come down a lot since the first DDR5 kits were available.)

 

[Eximo]

Most OEMs buy memory in bulk, unmatched. Cheaper to select a single stick from a tray than to have matched kits for each build which can only lead to problems when done incorrectly.

Not the cost of the memory, it is the installation time. A lot less can go wrong with a single stick which means more machines make it through QA. Margins are quite slim on desktop PCs, so any time/cost is significant.

 

[Order 66]

Most OEMs buy memory in bulk, unmatched. Cheaper to select a single stick from a tray than to have matched kits for each build which can only lead to problems when done incorrectly.

Not the cost of the memory, it is the installation time. A lot less can go wrong with a single stick which means more machines make it through QA. Margins are quite slim on desktop PCs, so any time/cost is significant.

That makes sense, but what is annoying is how they try to hide the fact that it only has 1 stick by just listing 16GB for example, and not saying how many sticks it is.

 

[Eximo]

It isn't going to change. The only way to guarantee dual channel in such scenarios is to order a lot of memory. They generally won't have higher density sticks available, as they are more expensive, and will be forced to use two from their tray.

Or as mentioned, just expect to have to get your own memory kit. I feel the same way about storage most of the time. Get a laptop with the minimum memory and storage, upgrade when you get it. Turn the small laptop drive into an external/portable drive.

Now some of the OEMs are catching on to the gamer culture and actually doing dual channel by default.

 

[Order 66]

It isn't going to change. The only way to guarantee dual channel in such scenarios is to order a lot of memory. They generally won't have higher density sticks available, as they are more expensive, and will be forced to use two from their tray.

Or as mentioned, just expect to have to get your own memory kit. I feel the same way about storage most of the time. Get a laptop with the minimum memory and storage, upgrade when you get it. Turn the small laptop drive into an external/portable drive.

Now some of the OEMs are catching on to the gamer culture and actually doing dual channel by default.

It’s about time. Do all prebuilts use standard atx motherboards in an atx chassis or are there some that use proprietary motherboards in standard cases?

 

[Eximo]

It’s about time. Do all prebuilts use standard atx motherboards in an atx chassis or are there some that use proprietary motherboards in standard cases?

Generally ATX is pretty much never used for OEM builds. Always Micro ATX, enough slots for the average person and a little bit cheaper.

Proprietary is proprietary. That can have any combination. It is somewhat common to have a standard form factor, but not adhere to the ATX standard for power and I/O. Both Dell and HP have common 12VO adaptations, but they don't adhere to the actual ATX 12VO standard.

Companies like ASUS and HP's Omen line up are the ones that are moving to more standard components. MSI and Gigabyte and Corsair tend towards their own parts, so you will find fairly standard chassis and power supplies and motherboards.

 

[Colif]

That makes sense, but what is annoying is how they try to hide the fact that it only has 1 stick by just listing 16GB for example, and not saying how many sticks it is.

much of the audience of pre builts wouldn't know difference or what it means. They don't know that having 2 sticks or 4 in some cases is better. Most users don't know difference between ram and storage. Most users don't spend all day on hardware forums... they have lives to live and think about other things instead.

When stats are designed to confuse, what do you expect? Keeping audience in the dark is how you sell stuff that they shouldn't buy. It works for Apple, Dell, HP... list goes on.

And its about cost. 1 stick cheaper than 2.

 

[Order 66]

Most users don't spend all day on hardware forums... they have lives to live and think about other things instead.

Ouch, that describes me perfectly. (I know that you are not referring to me directly, but still)

Most users don't know difference between ram and storage.

Very true, pretty much my entire family doesn't. I am easily the most tech savvy person in the family and it is not even close.

When stats are designed to confuse, what do you expect? Keeping audience in the dark is how you sell stuff that they shouldn't buy. It works for Apple, Dell, HP... list goes on.

I find it funny that people are willing to pay $400 for more RAM on a MacBook. I did buy an old HP workstation with a proprietary PSU for $300, but it had 2 sticks. (I know that it wasn't a good investment, but I was desperate and broke at the time, not to mention it was a huge upgrade going from a Celeron n3350 and integrated graphics to an i5 6500 and RX 550.)

 

[stonecarver]

I did buy an old HP workstation with a proprietary PSU for $300, but it had 2 sticks. (I know that it wasn't a good investment

I agree about memory and the whole one stick pre built thing.

I admit there are some really cheesy HP's that came out a few years ago that were a desktop by case only. They had a fake cover where a real power supply should have gone. That came with a laptop power brick. and basically had a bastardized Laptop motherboard with a full size PCI-E port ?
I never worked on one but but still scratching my head on how to power a GPU in that configuration.



Memory was for laptop ?

 

[Order 66]

I agree about memory and the whole one stick pre built thing.

I admit there are some really cheesy HP's that came out a few years ago that were a desktop by case only. They had a fake cover where a real power supply should have gone. That came with a laptop power brick. and basically had a bastardized Laptop motherboard with a full size PCI-E port ?
I never worked on one but but still scratching my head on how to power a GPU in that configuration.



Memory was for laptop ?

Those laptop motherboards with full pcie slots in a desktop case are weird, I don’t understand the point of them unless they are extremely cheap and are able to use a standard atx psu.

 

[Order 66]

I understand why the prebuilt companies do this, but then they just pass the cost of putting in another stick of RAM onto the consumer, which I definitely don’t agree with.

 

[hotaru.hino]

I understand why the prebuilt companies do this, but then they just pass the cost of putting in another stick of RAM onto the consumer, which I definitely don’t agree with.

That's if the consumer even cares about adding another stick. If the performance of the computer is good enough for them, they'll probably not notice anything. Most computers sold are to people who watch cat videos and check email. You don't need high performance for that.

I mean, I think even my NAS is running with a single stick and it does its job superbly.

 

[Order 66]

That's if the consumer even cares about adding another stick. If the performance of the computer is good enough for them, they'll probably not notice anything. Most computers sold are to people who watch cat videos and check email. You don't need high performance for that.

I mean, I think even my NAS is running with a single stick and it does its job superbly.

I suppose I should have said gaming prebuilts since that is more what I was referring to, not to mention, people gaming will almost certainly notice the difference in performance even if they don't necessarily know what is causing it.

 

[hotaru.hino]

I suppose I should have said gaming prebuilts since that is more what I was referring to, not to mention, people gaming will almost certainly notice the difference in performance even if they don't necessarily know what is causing it.

Most people who buy pre-built gaming computers wouldn't even know to figure out if their hardware is performing as expected. PC gamers != people who know what they're doing. Most of the people I know who play games on their PC probably have never cracked open their case.

So you could say it's the system builders taking advantage of people's ignorance. But then again a lot of those PC gamers aren't the ones who are demanding 120FPS 1440p ultra max settings anyway.

 

[Colif]

Gamers only come to Toms if the game isn't behaving and complain about performance not matching some Youtube video. The cross over between gamers and people who know what they are doing with computers does exist, but its only small.

Gamers want to play games, not sit on forums talking about the hardware they bought to play games. They might know they need a good GPU but apart from that, everything else is an extra. Its where you find some really bad combinations.

Here is not an accurate picture of the knowledge general users have about their PC. My brother did an IT degree and he wouldn't have ever taken the back off his PC. He buys Apple stuff
I only do as I been hanging around PC forums for 20 years.
I have a gaming PC but I don't really play games. I am balanced on edge of gaming and PC parts. I don't really do much of one... only so much time.

 

[Order 66]

Gamers only come to Toms if the game isn't behaving and complain about performance not matching some Youtube video. The cross over between gamers and people who know what they are doing with computers does exist, but its only small.

Gamers want to play games, not sit on forums talking about the hardware they bought to play games. They might know they need a good GPU but apart from that, everything else is an extra. Its where you find some really bad combinations.

Here is not an accurate picture of the knowledge general users have about their PC. My brother did an IT degree and he wouldn't have ever taken the back off his PC. He buys Apple stuff
I only do as I been hanging around PC forums for 20 years.
I have a gaming PC but I don't really play games. I am balanced on edge of gaming and PC parts. I don't really do much of one... only so much time.

I know, I just wish everyone was knowledgeable about computers, but I guess if they were, then sites like this wouldn't exist and that would be sad. I understand what you are saying about not much time, I was going to install Icue last night as a better fan control software than armory crate (I hate armory crate because I rarely need to use it and when I do, without fail it has to update and it takes forever, not to mention it is just clunky in general), but I got so into playing Jedi survivor that next thing I know I had spent nearly 4 hours playing and it was nearly 10 pm (local time).

 

[Colif]

Everyone understanding computers would be great.

1. Google might not have been able to turn Search into a money making scheme if people understood its purpose.
2. OEM makers wouldn't be able to offload old hardware on people. Dell would need to find new cases, not wrap old ones in plastic and make them "new"
3. Fake SSD/USB would have been identified long before they were half of Ali Expresses stock.
4. old people wouldn't get scammed by people telling them their PC are infected
5. I wouldn't have to answer any questions...

Armoury crate is terrible enough that I avoided buying an Asus keyboard last week as it insists on installing AC for settings.
Icue has its moments. Up until last weekend, I would have said its fine, but almost every day this week it has crashed on me. And often at startup. It doesn't help when the software that controls your AIO fans and pump crash when PC is under stress the most.
Icue so bad I just bought a new AIO to replace current one and uninstall Icue for 3rd time this month... for the last time.

if you want fan control software, use this: https://github.com/Rem0o/FanControl.Releases