Is 2 x 8 GB RAM faster than 1 x 16 GB RAM ?

Haydon · Nov 20, 2021

Read something about parallel operation, not that it made a lot of sense.

Also appreciate comments about the pros and cons of former vs latter, thanks!

Slavic · Nov 20, 2021

Single-thread performance should be nearly the same, but multithread should be higher if the motherboard and CPU support dual channel and as a result, the speed rate of CPU-RAM communication is doubled.

Bree · Nov 20, 2021

Haydon said:
Read something about parallel operation, not that it made a lot of sense.

This may help make sense of it....

Single-channel 2133 MHz DDR4 delivers 17 GB/s of memory bandwidth. If you have a pair of 2133 MHz DDR4 modules in dual-channel, your memory bandwidth doubles to 34 GB/s. The only way to hit that level of performance in single-channel mode is to use memory modules running at 4000 MHz or higher.

Single Channel vs Dual Channel Memory: Which is Better for Gaming?

Single-channel vs dual-channel memory. Which memory configuration is better for gaming and high-performance PCs? Also, what’s the difference between single-channel and dual-channel memory? And is dual-channel worth the extra investment? Impact of Memory Speed on Gaming Performance RAM speed, in...

www.hardwaretimes.com

jvickers · Nov 20, 2021

As @Slavic indicated, the 2x8GB will be dual channel allowing for faster speeds. This would be better than the 1x16GB single channel stick. Here's a reddit discussion on the subject:

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/9suwdw

You can find discussions like this all over the Internet.

Hope this helps.

EDIT: @Bree beat me to it as well. That link is better.

Berton · Nov 20, 2021

Only thing I've seen about dual-channel [disregarding the speed] is that some BIOSes won't automatically set it as dual-channel and some will, just something to check on.

jvickers · Nov 20, 2021

Berton said:
Only thing I've seen about dual-channel [disregarding the speed] is that some BIOSes won't automatically set it as dual-channel and some will, just something to check on.

I believe this depends on the Mhz. If it's 3000 (I believe) or above, you have to enable XMP in your BIOS to take advantage of the speed. Some mother boards might have this automatically enabled.

Dru2 · Nov 21, 2021

Haydon said:
Read something about parallel operation, not that it made a lot of sense.

Also appreciate comments about the pros and cons of former vs latter, thanks!

That basically comes down to how the motherboard is designed (topology) to handle RAM where multiple slots are provided. Some boards are designed with only two RAM slots because sharing lanes between them is a lot more efficient that sharing 4 lanes. It's really a board design thing.

My Gigabyte Z390 board runs better overclock wise with 4 RAM modules than two, but that's the design of the board. It's all rather voodoo hoodoo though. Anyway, this is a bit above my heard, but there was an article I read somewhere about that but no idea where I saw it now.

spapakons · Nov 24, 2021

If we are talking about same size (in GB) and same speed RAMs, then in most motherboards dual-channel is possible when placed on the appropriate slots (usually 1 & 3 or 2 & 4) designated by the same color. Dual-channel means the RAMs are combined and work in parallel so you should see an improvement in speed compared to install a single 16GB RAM. This advantage is lost if you install the RAMs at the wrong slots (eg 1 & 2 instead of 1 & 3) and performance would be slightly less as there is some time for the data to go from one module to the other, while in a single module you don't have this delay. An advantage of using a single module is to leave some slots available for future upgrade if you cannot currently afford buying more RAM. In my motherboard for example, I have only 2 slots. So I would rather buy a single module and be able to upgrade later, than buy two modules which I will have to replace eventually. If you have 4 slots you can achieve dual-channel with different sizes, provided all 4 modules are of the same speed and each pair is of the same size. For example you can dual-channel with two 8GB and two 16GB modules, it is not mandatory that all 4 modules are either 8GB or 16GB.

FreeBooter · Nov 24, 2021

Some memory controllers have multiple channels for communication with the memory module. This allows faster data exchange, as the data can be sent on more than one channel. Dual-channel memory uses two memory channels to increase the rate of transfer between your computer’s memory and the CPU.

Ghot · Nov 24, 2021

@Haydon

On my previous build, I decided to "test" single channel vs. dual channel.
Dual channel was the clear winner...

This is 16GB set (2x8GB) installed as single channel, and then as dual channel.
Since you can't install one stick of RAM as dual channel... this pretty much shows... dual channel for the win.

I've also seen triple channel and quad channel motherboards.
I have no way to test them, but I would assume they will function similarly.
In short... run the RAM in the motherboard, the way it was designed to run.

Last but not least... when buying RAM always buy "sets", and make sure they are composed of as few sticks as possible.
If you want 32GB of RAM and have a dual channel board... get a "set" of (2 x 16GB).
If you want 16GB get a (2 x 8GB), set.

It's a lot easier to make a "matched" set with only two sticks, than it would be with four sticks.
And the more "matched" the RAM sticks are... the more stable they will be.

spapakons · Nov 24, 2021

Triple-channel was an old Intel configuration which was abandoned on newer Intel sockets as it wasn't cost-effective to buy three modules. Quad-channel must be dual-channel with all four slots occupied. Yes, parallel processing (dual-channel) is always faster than single of the same speed. The same goes for CPU or GPU cores, provided these cores are actually used and not idle. So AMD owners don't be too fast to celebrate, as not every game or application uses too many cores. The rest cores usually remain idle unless you run many resource-hungry applications at the same time.

ThrashZone · Nov 24, 2021

Hi,
Dual channel will always be better than single channel in work or gaming depending on frequency.

World records oc'ing is made in single channel.

spapakons · Nov 24, 2021

Normally in Windows 10 and 11 the best performance is by using the High Performance plan in Power settings. There is one higher performance plan called Ultimate Performance plan hidden by default and only shown on Windows 10/11 Pro for Workstations version. There is a command prompt code to reveal the Ultimate Performance plan in Windows 10/11 Home and Pro versions. When selected it makes the turbo boost of the CPU to be always enabled, so the computer works always at maximum speed. The only drawback is that it consumes more power, so it is not recommended for notebooks or the battery will drain sooner. I am posting this from my mobile, so I cannot copy-paste the code right now. I'll do it tomorrow.

jvickers · Nov 24, 2021

spapakons said:
Normally in Windows 10 and 11 the best performance is by using the High Performance plan in Power settings. There is one higher performance plan called Ultimate Performance plan hidden by default and only shown on Windows 10/11 Pro for Workstations version. There is a command prompt code to reveal the Ultimate Performance plan in Windows 10/11 Home and Pro versions. When selected it makes the turbo boost of the CPU to be always enabled, so the computer works always at maximum speed. The only drawback is that it consumes more power, so it is not recommended for notebooks or the battery will drain sooner. I am posting this from my mobile, so I cannot copy-paste the code right now. I'll do it tomorrow.

Thanks for this information. I was curious about this, so I ran a search on it in Bing. This is the page, which is pretty informative, is what I found:

https://allthings.how/how-to-enable-ultimate-performance-plan-in-windows-11/

It provides some explanation for the Ultimate Performance Plan. It does have code for enabling the plan if you can't see it. However, I didn't need to enable it on my system. I only had to expand "Show additional plans". I am only running Windows 11 Pro on the Beta Channel. Is this the code you were going to post?

FreeBooter · Nov 24, 2021

I have a batch script that allows you to enable Ultimate Performance power plan in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Berton · Nov 24, 2021

I had an HP Notebook from several years ago with 6GB RAM, 1 x 4GB and 1 x 2GB, from the factory it was set for dual-channel, worked good, granddaughter has it now.

jvickers · Nov 24, 2021

Ghot said:
Last but not least... when buying RAM always buy "sets", and make sure they are composed of as few sticks as possible.
If you want 32GB of RAM and have a dual channel board... get a "set" of (2 x 16GB).
If you want 16GB get a (2 x 8GB), set.

It's a lot easier to make a "matched" set with only two sticks, than it would be with four sticks.
And the more "matched" the RAM sticks are... the more stable they will be.

Quick question, Ghot. Assuming that you have 2x16 3200MHz in your system and want to add 2x8 more or 2x16 more, aside from ensuring that they're the same MHz, should you get pairs that match, or can you use any matched pair in the other two slots? Often, they'll discontinue a certain RAM chip, so you're left with purchasing a different pair. I've never really given this much thought until seeing your post here.

ShamrockRig · Nov 24, 2021

spapakons said:
Normally in Windows 10 and 11 the best performance is by using the High Performance plan in Power settings. There is one higher performance plan called Ultimate Performance plan hidden by default and only shown on Windows 10/11 Pro for Workstations version. There is a command prompt code to reveal the Ultimate Performance plan in Windows 10/11 Home and Pro versions. When selected it makes the turbo boost of the CPU to be always enabled, so the computer works always at maximum speed. The only drawback is that it consumes more power, so it is not recommended for notebooks or the battery will drain sooner. I am posting this from my mobile, so I cannot copy-paste the code right now. I'll do it tomorrow.

Do you happen to have the code? Im curious to see if theres a difference, Im on the high performance plan and my turbo speed is always enabled too.

jvickers · Nov 24, 2021

Devlin1888 said:
Do you happen to have the code? Im curious to see if theres a difference, Im on the high performance plan and my turbo speed is always enabled too.

The site I link to in Post #14 has code that will enable it. Alternatively, you can use @FreeBooter's batch script file in Post #15 to enable it.

ShamrockRig · Nov 24, 2021

jvickers said:
The site I link to in Post #14 has code that will enable it. Alternatively, you can use @FreeBooter's batch script file in Post #15 to enable it.

Ahh my bad missed that, I added it anyways and its identical to my high performance plan anyway so no need for me, I must have changed some of the settings at one point or another to match ultimate when it wasn't there lol.

Is 2 x 8 GB RAM faster than 1 x 16 GB RAM ?

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