dumb ? - one stick of RAM or two?

[Tinytacohead]

I'm sure it's a dumb question, but now that 8Gb sticks of DDR3 are affordable I was wondering if there'd be any noticeable performance advantage/point in selling my two 4Gb sticks in favor of a single 8Gb module? Don't really see my needing/utilizing more than that, (before some other major hardware change that is), but I guess it's hard to tell.. As always, thanks in advance!

 

[wagex]

i believe two 4gb sticks would be faster if only by a small margin due to the dual channel

 

[mmcx125]

Agreed, it is generally a good idea to fill up all of your RAM slots with the capacity you need. Save selling your chips until you need 16gb and then get 2x8Gb.

 

[Tinytacohead]

Ok, thanks.. I was under the impression that more sticks ran slower for some reason. (as in somebody specifically misinformed me awhile back )

 

[mmcx125]

Nope, with a Dual- Triple or Quad-Channel system the CPU accesses the RAM in that channel simultaneously. Its like having a hose. It is better to have two small ones with a big spout than it is to have one large one with a small spout.

 

[Tinytacohead]

Good to know, thanks again.

EDIT - In that case, would I be better off to go to 4 sticks of 4Gb later, if I feel the need for 16Gb?

 

[Knufire]

You want the least amount of RAM sticks while still taking adantage of multi channel features.

Dual channel, two sticks is optimal. Triple, three, and quad, four. You always want to stay in a multiple of the number of channels regardless.

2x4GB is better than 1x8GB, but 2x8GB is better than 4x4GB. The difference is very minimal though.