Does the amount of chips on a ram dimm matter?What is better more chips or less?

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Nicon8ter

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In particular these 8 chips (https://www.kingston.com/us/memory/search/discontinuedmodels?partId=KVR24N17S8%2F4) vs 4 chips (https://www.kingston.com/us/memory/search?partId=KVR24N17S6%2F4).
 
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Solandri
Fewer chips will consume less power and run cooler. That's about it. As explained above, they're able to use fewer chips because they're using a small process (etching smaller transistors on the silicon) to fit more memory into a single chip. The smaller process requires less power per GB as a side-benefit.

It's usually not that big a deal in desktops (where a stick of RAM will draw only 3-5 Watts). Although it might be a small concern if this is going to be a HTPC or server left on 24/7. (Will cost you a few bucks more in electricity every year.)

It's a bigger deal on laptops, where a stick of RAM will draw 1-2 Watts. The entire laptop requires only about 5-8 Watts in light use, so even a 0.5 Watt difference translates into a...
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Eximo

Eximo

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Not typically. Just as they keep shrinking process nodes they can fit more memory on a single chip. A single wafer is a fixed price, more chips per wafer means more end profit, or a way to undercut competitors.

There are some single sided/double sided memory restrictions on some motherboards, but usually only when you populate all slots.
 
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Solandri

Solandri

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Fewer chips will consume less power and run cooler. That's about it. As explained above, they're able to use fewer chips because they're using a small process (etching smaller transistors on the silicon) to fit more memory into a single chip. The smaller process requires less power per GB as a side-benefit.

It's usually not that big a deal in desktops (where a stick of RAM will draw only 3-5 Watts). Although it might be a small concern if this is going to be a HTPC or server left on 24/7. (Will cost you a few bucks more in electricity every year.)

It's a bigger deal on laptops, where a stick of RAM will draw 1-2 Watts. The entire laptop requires only about 5-8 Watts in light use, so even a 0.5 Watt difference translates into a 6%-10% difference in battery life.
 
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