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Question about RAM

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July 27, 2014 8:27:17 PM

No matter how many times I watch videos on YouTube, I still don't get it. I want to get 16GB of RAM, but I want to fill all my DIMM slots. The only problem is my motherboard only supports dual-channel memory. Should I get two kits of 8GB or one kit for 16GB?

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July 27, 2014 8:35:47 PM

What is your specific motherboard?
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July 27, 2014 8:36:37 PM

NBSN said:
What is your specific motherboard?


It's Gigabyte's GA-H97M-D3H
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July 27, 2014 8:41:16 PM

1-4 Installing the Memory
Read the following guidelines before you begin to install the memory:
• Make sure that the motherboard supports the memory. It is recommended that memory of the
same capacity, brand, speed, and chips be used.
(Go to GIGABYTE's website for the latest supported memory speeds and memory modules.)
• Always turn off the computer and unplug the power cord from the power outlet before installing the
memory to prevent hardware damage.
• Memory modules have a foolproof design. A memory module can be installed in only one direction.
If you are unable to insert the memory, switch the direction.

Dual Channel Memory Configuration
This motherboard provides four DDR3 memory sockets and supports Dual Channel Technology. After the
memory is installed, the BIOS will automatically detect the specifications and capacity of the memory. Enabling
Dual Channel memory mode will double the original memory bandwidth.
The four DDR3 memory sockets are divided into two channels and each channel has two memory sockets as
following:
Channel A: DDR3_2, DDR3_4
Channel B: DDR3_1, DDR3_3
Due to CPU limitations, read the following guidelines before installing the memory in Dual Channel mode.
1. Dual Channel mode cannot be enabled if only one DDR3 memory module is installed.
2. When enabling Dual Channel mode with two or four memory modules, it is recommended that memory
of the same capacity, brand, speed, and chips be used and installed in the same colored DDR3
sockets. For optimum performance, when enabling Dual Channel mode with two memory modules,
we recommend that you install them in the DDR3_1 and DDR3_2 sockets.
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July 27, 2014 8:42:19 PM

That is information straight from your motherboard manual. As you see, dual channel memory configuration does get a nice little boost, but you can disable the dual channel and run four modules instead if you want to.
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July 27, 2014 8:53:41 PM

1 kit of 4x4Gb. It's never a good idea to mix RAM from different kits, even the very next package on a ro. Its entirely possible they are from different batches of silicon, so its a real possibility they may not play well with each other. Sticks in the same kit come from the same batch. Also, chances are very good that the larger kit will actually turn out cheaper for the 4 sticks than 2x sets of the 2 sticks, since there are packaging costs involved. So, matched ram + cheaper vrs mismatched ram + more expensive. A no brainer.

Most DDR3 nowadays is dual channel. This means in slot 1 a single stick runs single channel, 1 + 3, 2 + 4, 2 sticks run dual channel at greater ability than individually, 3 sticks runs back into single channel and 1+3 and 2+4 runs 2 sets of dual channel. Tri-channel ram runs better when 3 sticks are used, same with quad channel, 4 sticks.
So, you'll have 2x dual channel RAM, which is just fine for 16Gb.
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July 27, 2014 9:09:25 PM

Karadjgne said:
1 kit of 4x4Gb. It's never a good idea to mix RAM from different kits, even the very next package on a ro. Its entirely possible they are from different batches of silicon, so its a real possibility they may not play well with each other. Sticks in the same kit come from the same batch. Also, chances are very good that the larger kit will actually turn out cheaper for the 4 sticks than 2x sets of the 2 sticks, since there are packaging costs involved. So, matched ram + cheaper vrs mismatched ram + more expensive. A no brainer.

Most DDR3 nowadays is dual channel. This means in slot 1 a single stick runs single channel, 1 + 3, 2 + 4, 2 sticks run dual channel at greater ability than individually, 3 sticks runs back into single channel and 1+3 and 2+4 runs 2 sets of dual channel. Tri-channel ram runs better when 3 sticks are used, same with quad channel, 4 sticks.
So, you'll have 2x dual channel RAM, which is just fine for 16Gb.


Thank you for your answer. I was thinking of getting 2x4 of Corsairs memory. But since you replied with this, I'll definitely get 4x4. Thanks a lot.
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