2x2gb vs 4x1gb

[nano0305]

Hey guys, so I've searhcing for the best ram I could find for my rig and the decision has come down to this two options.
G Skill DDR2 2x2Gb 1066 Mhz CAS 5-6-6-18 PQ (U$S 96)
or
G Skill DDR2 4x1Gb 1066 Mhz CAS 5-5-5-15 PK (U$S 122)

I know that they might seem a bit expensive but everything here in my country is more expensive than in the US and there is not much variety to choose from.

I want them for gaming mostly, even thougn I'm not a hardcore game but I like to be able to play my games smoothly.
I have an Asus Rampage Formula with an Intel Q9450 Core 2 Quad.
I also don't mean to overclock since I've never done it and I don't want to be messing around with thins I don't fully understand.

Ok, any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Regards
Juan

 

[OvrClkr]

Get the 2x2Gb sticks........

 

[nano0305]

Ok, but would you mind telling me a little bit about pros and cons of both options? I just want to know why one would be better than the other. Thanks OvrClkr!

 

[beehew]

Two sticks will give you dual channel capability. This may give you a performance gain over a single channel set-up (depends on your system).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-channel_architecture

A single stick will consume less power, if that's important to you.

 

[OvrClkr]

Your mobo supports dual channel Ram so in all the performance gain over using 1Gb stciks is substantially higher....

Another benefit of using 2Gb sticks is that you can actually install more Ram later on if you decide to go with a 64bit OS, as opposed to not being able to upgrade the memory at all if all 4 slots are full.....

 

[nano0305]

Ok. So I understand that 2x2 would be better over 4x1 if the sticks are identical because it is less stress on the memory controller. And letting alone the fact that leaving 2 slots unused would allow me to install more ram in the future, what difference does it make that the 2x2 sticks have higher and worse (5-6-6-18) latency than the 4x1 sticks that have 5-5-5-18? Is this difference in the latency noticeable or is it too little to matter?
I won't be doing much overclocking

 

[OvrClkr]

Dont worry about that cause even though the timings on the 1Gb stcks are lower you will not really see any difference in speed at all... If both kits were 2x2Gb kits then that would be another story....

 

[OvrClkr]

Try getting this model....

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

 

[nano0305]

Thanks OvrClkr, but I couldn't find that model here in Uruguay. That would be the equivalent of the 1gb 5-5-5-15 but on 2gb sticks. Thats what I wanted! but they only bring the 1gb 5-5-5-15 or the 2gb 5-6-6-18. I hate this country when it comes to IT stuff. We are soooo behind!

 

[megamanx00]

The 2x2GB sticks would be better if you want to overclock and allows you to simply add another 4GB latter for a total of 8GB. If you're going to leave everything at stock speeds and don't plan on adding RAM latter then it would make sense to go for the 4x1GB for the lower latency.

 

[OvrClkr]

Do you guys have OCZ?

 

[nano0305]

Do you guys have OCZ?

No, we don't. The best I could find here were those G Skill I posted earlier.
I had a friend of mine bring me most of my pc parts from the US, but the Ram he brought me didn't work. I asked him to bring me a 2x2gb pair of Corsair Dominator but my system won't boot with them. I also tried them on another friends pc and they wouldn't boot either. It will be too much trouble for me to RMA them back to the US than to buy new ones, and I don't even have the receipt of the purchase.
That is why I wanted to buy them here in my country to avoid a bad experience with non working modules again.

 

[OvrClkr]

Then get the G.Skill 2x2Gb 5-6-6-18 modules.. you will be fine.....

 

[nano0305]

Ok, thanks for helping me! You have been a huge help for me.
Best regards

 

[jsc]

Two sticks will give you dual channel capability.

So will four 1 GB sticks.

2X2 is preferable for a couple of reasons:
It leaves you room for memory expansion down the road.
In some motherboards, the memory subsystem is more stable if you are running just 2 sticks.

Power consumption is not a big deal. Two 1 GB sticks pulls about 3 amps @ 3.3 volts or about 10 watts.

 

[OvrClkr]

Remember you can always try lowering the timings once you have installed the ram, just cause it is 5-6-6-18 by default does not mean you will not be able to achieve 5-5-5-15.

 

[nano0305]

So will four 1 GB sticks.

2X2 is preferable for a couple of reasons:
It leaves you room for memory expansion down the road.
In some motherboards, the memory subsystem is more stable if you are running just 2 sticks.

Power consumption is not a big deal. Two 1 GB sticks pulls about 3 amps @ 3.3 volts or about 10 watts.

Thanks for sharing that!

 

[nano0305]

Remember you can always try lowering the timings once you have installed the ram, just cause it is 5-6-6-18 by default does not mean you will not be able to achieve 5-5-5-15.

I know but I've never done that before. Maybe when I have the sticks with me I'll post again asking for help haha.
Thanks for everything

 

[OvrClkr]

Yep, no problem....

Let us know if you have any issues once you install your new ram.....

 

[grieve]

2*2 is better then 1*4, less heat and usualy when overclocking you can keep the voltage lower.

 

[beehew]

So will four 1 GB sticks.

2X2 is preferable for a couple of reasons:
It leaves you room for memory expansion down the road.
In some motherboards, the memory subsystem is more stable if you are running just 2 sticks.

Power consumption is not a big deal. Two 1 GB sticks pulls about 3 amps @ 3.3 volts or about 10 watts.

Yeah, I mis-read it as 1 4gb stick.

 

[nano0305]

Hey guys, I just found out a friend of mine is travelling to the US next week so I could ask him to bring me one of these memory packs. Following your advices, my decission has come down to these three options.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147%2050008476%201052108080%201052420643%201052315794&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=N82E16820231184%2CN82E16820231246%2CN82E16820231166

All G Skill, all 1066 with 5-5-5-15 latency but I can't really tell the difference between them. I will greatly appreciate your help on this one since I don't have much time to make the purchase. Thanks a lot!

 

[OvrClkr]

Black or blue... flip a coin... they both perform the same......

 

[nano0305]

I was thinking black or white since they seem to have better heatspreaders than the blue one. so, the only difference between the black and the white modules is the color?

 

[OvrClkr]

IMO the white ones operate a tad hotter..... I have used the blue sticks and they work fine under stress....

Don't worry about heat being an issue regardless of the heatspreaders..... As long as your case has good ventilation and you do not overvolt them you will be fine.....