Probably get chastised

biffo · 9 Apr 2014 at 10:22

Basic question had a quick look on the memory section :- speed gives the obvious performance / timings I have some knowledge - essential for matching ram / but populating lanes any benefit in 4 x 4GB or will 2 x 8GB perform just as well, have to say pondered this one for some time from a system point of view and economics. System being the more important. Thanks for any input

eddiew · 9 Apr 2014 at 11:37

If you had a quad channel memory controller, then 4x4 would be the way to go, but most systems are just dual, so 2x8 should be exactly the same.

You may actually find 2x8 is more stable and better for overclocking - my old Phenom II rig couldn't overclock as far when all ram slots were populated. Memory controller just wasn't as stable when having to handle 4 sticks. May not be a problem with newer CPUs though, but definitely one to consider if you're upgrading a slightly older rig

djabs786 · 9 Apr 2014 at 12:30

eddiew said:
If you had a quad channel memory controller, then 4x4 would be the way to go, but most systems are just dual, so 2x8 should be exactly the same.

You may actually find 2x8 is more stable and better for overclocking - my old Phenom II rig couldn't overclock as far when all ram slots were populated. Memory controller just wasn't as stable when having to handle 4 sticks. May not be a problem with newer CPUs though, but definitely one to consider if you're upgrading a slightly older rig

You can have 4 DIMMS in a dual-channel system. 4x4 is perfectly fine on a dual channel system a 2x8 configuration would probably be slightly preferable as it puts ever so slightly less strain on the integrated memory controller. However this is irrelevant unless you're overclocking both cpu + memory.

biffo · 9 Apr 2014 at 13:54

Thanks eddiew and djabs786 ~ I must update my sig I still have the 932 rig and contents but moved on from there. ie., a I7 (2011) and a I5 (2011). So you can see this question has more application to my more modern rigs. I like to use sensible components when over-clocking ~ if I don't, then, efficiently utillize my kit. Thanks again will take more note about controllers