Two 8 gig ram kits or one 16 gig ram kit? Much difference?

[garyhope]

I've read that some manufacturers recommend one 16 gig ram kit versus two 8 gig kits. Does it make much difference? Are you taking a chance? Part of the reason would be price or cost, starting with one 8 gig kit and waiting for the price to go down on the second 8 gig kit versus paying a premium for a 16 gig kit.

What have been your experiences with 2 different kits. Have you ever had many compatibility problems with two different kits (from the same manufacturer and specs?

Thanks.

 

[compulsivebuilder]

It makes very little difference. You want the two DIMMs in a dual channel pair to match, but it's less important for the two pairs to be the same.

I like your plan of buying 8GB now and waiting for the second 8GB.

 

[geofelt]

Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards can very sensitive to this.
It is better to get what you need in one kit.

 

[RetiredChief]

geofelt is correct in his post.

My Experience (I was lucky)

started wit 2 x 2, six months later bought 2nd 2 x 2, about 6 monthes later 2 x 4 and about a month later a 2nd 2 x 4 These were all ripjaw DDr3 - 1600 CL 7 @ 1.60 V. Slight timing change from 2 x 2 (7,7,7) -> 2 x 4 (7,8,7)
Here is how my instalation went 2 x 2 (4 gigs)->4 x 2 (8gigs)-> 2 x 4 + 2 x 2 (12 gigs) -> 4 x 4 (16 Gigs) All on a Gigabyte P55-UD4P MB. Had no problem.
Note at one point I had the 2 x 4 w/7,8,7) coupled with the 2 x 2 (7,7,7) - the 2 x 4's set the timing - might not have worked if I revearse so that the 7,7,7 set up the timing.

Currently the 4 x 2's are in my new I5-2400k and the 4 x 4's are in my I5-750.
Haven't decided yet, swap, or just make both 12 gig's

 

[garyhope]

Best answer selected by garyhope.

 

[Paul Raver]

Always buy kits, and it you want to extend your current kit make sure there the same part.
Best not to fill all the RAM slots on your mobo if you wanna use XMP.
2 x 4Gb for 8GB or 2 x 8GB for 16GB in term of kits would be the best option.