Advice on picking the best DDR3 combination between a single 8gb and faster 2x4Gb

carmik

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I've got a single 8Gb G.Skill DDR PC12800 module (11 cycles IIRC) and was presented with the option of trading it for a couple of 4Gb Crucial Ballistix Elite PC12800 sticks instead. The latter ones have XMP profiles and lower latencies (8 cycles IIRC). They are not part of a dual channel kit, but were bought independently from the same shop with a time difference of 2 months. And they do have the same product code though.

My question is: should I go for the 2x4 or use the slower single 8Gb stick?

The motherboard holds up to 4 DIMMs. OS is Windows 10 64bit.
 
Solution
I would go single because you have 4 slots and in future you could upgrade it to dual 16GB, there isnt diffirence in games but in multitasking it could do it.

carmik

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Asrock B85M Pro4, with a i5 4690k (non-OC'ed)



I understand the reasoning behind your response, but I'm out of cash. So, would you prefer the single stick or the 2x4?