Which is more important (in my case) - Better CPU or Dual Channel RAM

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Zaughtilo

Commendable
May 7, 2016
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Right now I got an Intel i3-8100 processor with 1x16 of G-Skill RAM and a 1070ti GPU. I use a 1920x1080 144hz monitor. I originally wanted to upgrade my CPU to remove the bottleneck I have. CPU I'd replace it with is the i5-8600k. Then I heard that getting Dual Channeled RAM boosts performance. If I go this route I would buy another one of the exact same model and whatever of the 16gb stick I have, to (hopefully) combine into dual-channeled 32gb.
Well, I might do both, but I'd like to know which is more important here. The RAM stick is $200 (when will the drought end, ugh), and the CPU is $250. I had been planning to get a second monitor which is also $250 (same rez and hz as current), and a air blower for computer cleaning that is $60. I was expecting to spend around $600 total but now this whole RAM revelation is messing with that.

So which is more important to boost performance, better CPU to match with 1070ti, or the second stick of RAM. Don't get me wrong the PC is great but there is clearly some kinks I want to work out.
 
Solution
Hellfire13
Running dual channel on a dual channel platform is optimal theoretically. It also gives you the redundancy factor, that is if one stick fails you can still run the pc. But in reality you will hardly ever notice the difference in performance unless you are specifically looking out for it.
It would be wiser for you to continue with the 16gb stick and go for the processor upgrade. It will remain a foctor in your mind if you continue thinking about it, but in reality its not such a big deal. So, just do the needful and forget the rest.
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Zaughtilo

Commendable
May 7, 2016
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That is what I thought. I realize 32gb of RAM is completely unneeded. The only other way to get dual channeling would be to get rid of my current 1x16 stick and get a 2x8 set, but my current stick was $200 (of course, it's the same one as the one I would get to pair it), so I really don't want to like throw it in a drawer and never use it again. Anyways those 2x8 sets are about the same price. I'll just go with the CPU, I've done some research and it seems that the dual channel ram boost is much more on ryzen cpus and doesn't do too much on intel chips just wanted another's opinion
 
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Hellfire13

Hellfire13

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Apr 20, 2016
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Running dual channel on a dual channel platform is optimal theoretically. It also gives you the redundancy factor, that is if one stick fails you can still run the pc. But in reality you will hardly ever notice the difference in performance unless you are specifically looking out for it.
It would be wiser for you to continue with the 16gb stick and go for the processor upgrade. It will remain a foctor in your mind if you continue thinking about it, but in reality its not such a big deal. So, just do the needful and forget the rest.
 
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Solution
cryoburner

cryoburner

Judicious
Oct 8, 2011
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I agree. You could sell the stick of RAM while prices are still high. However, dual-channel memory isn't likely to make much of a performance difference, at least in games and most applications. You might get a few more frames per second in some games, but in general it's not going to be a noticeable difference. I would just stick with the RAM you have.

A faster CPU might potentially make a bit more of a difference with a 144Hz screen, though again, I wouldn't expect a huge difference in most games. You might get an extra 10 fps in some titles, and you might not see any difference in others that are limited more by the graphics card's performance. Most existing games were built with quad-core processors in mind, so the extra cores won't be doing much in most titles, and while the 8100 doesn't boost and has locked clocks, it's not clocked all that far behind the higher-end parts, and should provide reasonable performance at the very least. There are some games where the extra cores can make a difference, but it might be a couple years or more before a significant number of developers really start optimizing games to fully utilize 6+ cores. So, I would not expect any massive performance jumps. If you're only managing around 100 fps in a particular game, don't expect a processor upgrade to get you anywhere close to 144 fps. Still, an upgrade to an 8600K would be better than upgrading to dual-channel RAM, and would likely provide a bit of future-proofing for the games coming out in the next few years, as well as potentially smoothing things out while multitasking.
 
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