Individual Sticks or Memory Kit

[Dorito Bandit]

Hello everyone,

Looking around at components for a near-future Haswell build and have a RAM question for you guys.

Here is the RAM I am looking at:

2 individual sticks @ 8GB each

The 16GB kit

Looking at that RAM, I found it is cheaper to buy the 2 individual 8GB sticks ($133.98) than to buy the exact same 16GB kit ($145.99). Any advantage/disadvantage over the other other than one being cheaper? The 16GB kit is currently out of stock is why I ask.

I do not plan to overclock the RAM. Of course I know the motherboard must be able to support the 1.35v.

Thanks in advance!

 

[MunkyTOS]

From what I've seen in google searches it looks like the performance gain is generally negligible.

There have been varying reports as to the performance increase of dual-channel configurations, with some tests citing significant performance gains while others suggest almost no gain.

Tom's Hardware found little significant difference between single-channel and dual-channel configurations in synthetic and gaming benchmarks (using a "modern (2007)" system setup). In its tests, dual channel gave at best a 5% speed increase in memory-intensive tasks.

 

[Knufire]

It'll still run in dual channel, buying individual sticks doesn't change that.

When you buy sticks as a kit, that means they were tested together. Single sticks are only tested individually. Shouldn't be that big of a deal.

I'm sure you can find cheaper RAM elsewhere with the same specs (except 1.5V) though. I payed $100 flat for that exact same kit at the beginning of the summer.

 

[Dorito Bandit]

Thanks, guys!

 

[Woomack]

There are probably only 2 Micron IC used in these kits and both have about the same specification so no matter if you get single sticks or kit of 2 , it should run exactly the same.
It's actually pretty nice memory. Expensive but nice ... I even made a review of them some time ago -> http://www.overclockers.com/crucial-ballistix-tactical-lp-16-gb-ddr3-1600-review

 

[ATMINSIDE]

The point of buying a set is to make sure you get the same IC's on all the sticks.

It should run if they are different, though.

 

[Dorito Bandit]

There are probably only 2 Micron IC used in these kits and both have about the same specification so no matter if you get single sticks or kit of 2 , it should run exactly the same.
It's actually pretty nice memory. Expensive but nice ... I even made a review of them some time ago -> http://www.overclockers.com/crucial-ballistix-tactical-lp-16-gb-ddr3-1600-review

Woomack, I read your review a few days ago and you're the reason I want to get this memory. Thanks for writing such a great review!

I chatted with John on Crucial's website today, and asked him the same question I asked here. Below is his answer to my question:

John : Yes, you get a performance gain out of a kitted pair.

John : Not sure how else to answer that. Kitted pair works better than non kitted pair.

Honestly, I've always thought this was all just a bunch of marketing hype. IF there is a performance gain using a kit over a non-kit, it would be interesting to see how much so. Maybe something to consider in future RAM reviews?

Anyway, thanks again for your review!