can I run just 1-8GB of memory instead of 2-4GB in a gamming computer?

bwilldoit2 · Mar 21, 2014

Memory question for gamming computer.

daswilhelm · Mar 21, 2014

you can. but you'll get better performance out of 2 4g chips.

Spectre694 · Mar 21, 2014

Yes it will work just fine. it will be slightly slower but unless you have an APU it you are only talking a few FPS. Rendering and encoding are a different story.

Junit151 · Mar 21, 2014

Running 1-8 gives you a negligible performance dip, plus, then you can upgrade to 2-8 later if you want more, (I know I personally actually use 11 out of my 12 gigs fairly often)

Outlander_04 · Mar 21, 2014

there are no good reasons to run 1 x8 instead of 2 x4

but sure it works

jay2tall · Mar 21, 2014

You will see a slight performance dip. You can always throw in another matching stick later.

I see a lot of Newegg deals that come with a single 8GB stick free or part of a combo. So if that is the case, that could make a deal good. I've see people just toss in a 2nd stick.

Guest · Mar 21, 2014

Depends on the motherboard. Most motherboards nowadays run on either dual or triple channels. Unless the motherboard specifically mentioned single channel on its specs then you might need to have 2 or more RAM modules to be able to run it.

Spectre694 · Mar 21, 2014

Dual, Triple, and quad channels will all run with less sticks than 2,3, and 4 respectively. They just preform optimally with the correct number.

Junit151 · Mar 21, 2014

Not true, sorry. One stick will run in any mainstream system. In fact, they tell you to run single-dimm to troubleshoot RAM/mobo issues, so obviously it works.

Guest · Mar 21, 2014

Unless performance doesn't matters & you'll building a ghetto rig then go ahead buy a bigger single RAM module. You need at least a pair of RAM modules for a dual channel motherboard. Getting a single but bigger RAM module than a pair smaller RAM modules is not a good idea.

Spectre694 · Mar 21, 2014

http://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/1147-msi-hands-on-california Check this out it is very brief but points out for gaming there is not much of a difference.

Outlander_04 · Mar 22, 2014

Spectre694 :

Not all games will behave like that . Some seem to work better with higher memory bandwidth .

Spectre694 · Mar 22, 2014

Outlander_04 :

Fair point. I'll agree that a single stick is not ideal but still workable if necessary.

@ OP why are you planning on running one stick instead of two?

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