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#11
You can Google for details and get some benchmarks and some so-called percentage differences in speed of single channel versus dual channel, but that won't give you a lot of insight into the real world.
If I thought I was breaking the 4 GB RAM barrier frequently (many times per hour in a task I did frequently, particularly if I was being paid for what I was producing), I would probably go for 6 GB even if single channel.
If I only occasionally broke the 4 GB RAM barrier, I'd probably go with 4 GB. If you are under 4 GB 90% or more of the time, I'd go with dual channel. It's clearly a trade-off.
It's up to you to decide how often you will be needing the 5th and 6th GB and I don't know how you could determine that without a direct test or finding a Google link to a direct test of near identical hardware and a near identical usage pattern.
I use Photoshop myself and rarely even get to 3 GB, but your personal requirements might be different.
In reality---you might never be able to tell the difference, regardless of which choice you make.
The rule of thumb is that more RAM is better than faster RAM, but more RAM is of course completely wasted if it is never used.
I certainly wouldn't agonize over it. Do you have a good use for the possible saved $25--like maybe apply it to a solid state hard drive?
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