Quick question on Ram

[youngy84]

Hi, could someone explain the differences between getting a single 16gig of ram over 2 x 8gig? Any benefits to either? Or is it just something to do with space?

Thanks,

 

[Oussebon]

2 x 8gb is preferable as the RAM runs in dual channel and so there's more bandwidth. It can improve performance in some uses.

As long as the motherboard supports dual channel memory of course - which pretty much all modern consumer motherboards do.

 

[ubuysa]

Dual channel RAM means that the memory controller (on the motherboard) can read and write to two RAM cards at the same time. This gives you a bandwidth of 128 bits rather than the 64 bits you get with single channel RAM. The difference between single and dual channel RAM can be significant in certain applications, whilst in others it makes little difference. In general it's wise to opt for two RAM cards so that dual channel is available for those applications that benefit from it.

The downside of course is that you're using two RAM slots and this might limit your RAM upgrade options in the future. Most motherboards have four RAM slots however, and 16GB is plenty of RAM for all but specialised applications, so the 'best' option at present is to opt for 16GB in 2 x 8GB RAM sticks. That gives you 16GB dual channel and leaves two slots free for an easy upgrade to 32GB in the future (if required).

 

[youngy84]

Dual channel RAM means that the memory controller (on the motherboard) can read and write to two RAM cards at the same time. This gives you a bandwidth of 128 bits rather than the 64 bits you get with single channel RAM. The difference between single and dual channel RAM can be significant in certain applications, whilst in others it makes little difference. In general it's wise to opt for two RAM cards so that dual channel is available for those applications that benefit from it.

The downside of course is that you're using two RAM slots and this might limit your RAM upgrade options in the future. Most motherboards have four RAM slots however, and 16GB is plenty of RAM for all but specialised applications, so the 'best' option at present is to opt for 16GB in 2 x 8GB RAM sticks. That gives you 16GB dual channel and leaves two slots free for an easy upgrade to 32GB in the future (if required).

Thank you both for your replies, just one last thing, sorry to keep pestering... the 2400/2666 is referring to frequency? So games like Age of Empires, Total War, Civilisation would benefit from a higher one? Is that correct?

Thanks.

 

[ubuysa]

Thank you both for your replies, just one last thing, sorry to keep pestering... the 2400/2666 is referring to frequency? So games like Age of Empires, Total War, Civilisation would benefit from a higher one? Is that correct?

Thanks.

Yes, though I don't game so I have no experience of how big a difference the faster RAM makes. If you can afford the faster RAM then it would be wise to go for it.

Bear in mind that DDR stands for double data rate, which means that reads/writes are done on both the rising and falling edge of the clock pulse. The actual clock frequency is thus half the DDR speed.

 

[Oussebon]

Whether it's worth the price depends on the price, but faster RAM can help a lot in some titles and if it doesn't mean compromising on other components then the 2666MHz RAM can be worth getting in the laptop.

Although I'm not sure how much it benefits Total War (not much afaik) or Civ - and who knows with AoE 4.