Solved Which is faster and why? One 16GB card or two 8GB cards.

[Mike Lynch]

Can anyone tell / explain which would be faster in an older PC?

Taking an educated guess, about how much faster?

Mike

 

[Frantheman777]

For an older PC, the situation can be a bit more complicated than that of a modern motherboard.
Older models might have limitations, make sure your old motherboard supports dual-channel memory, this allows the CPU to access both memory modules simultaneously, effectively doubling the memory bandwidth available. Additionally, the performance gains from dual-channel might be less dramatic on a very old system. The processor speed and hard drive access times could be bigger bottlenecks overall.

Hope this helped you understand it better

 

[Mike Lynch]

Suprise, Suprise!

Your reply confirms another question answer, I've had for years but never asked but always suspicioned.

If any PC with two Memory Slots can have a maximum Memory of, let's say 16GB's
By implication, 16GB's is the maximum Memory that can be in "ONE MEMORY SLOT".
Not the total Memory the PC can handle.
For many years, I have always used DOUBLE the Memory the specs. claimed.
Never had a problem and Windows always recognized the ENTIRE amount.
In the case above as an example, if the specs stated 16GB, I'd configure 32GB and it always worked.
So now I'd assume that when specs say 8GB for example, they are really saying PER MEMORY SLOT.
Perhaps this info will allow some PC users to DOUBLE the Memory in their PC's gaining SPEED and STABILITY.
Thanks again for your response!

 

[Frantheman777]

Glad I could help answer your questions, ask away if you have any other questions!

 

[townsbg]

Hypothetically dual channel (which you probably have) is faster than single channel and that can only be utilized by using 2 or 4 sticks. In reality I'm not sure if you'd even notice it (as stated). Pertaining your statement on quantity that is debatable. 32 gb isn't any faster than 16 by itself if the sticks are the same speed. What's important is having enough for anything that you need. If you only consistently use 4-5 gb and peak at 7 or so 32 gb will be mostly wasted. Now if you are usually running 8-9 gb then you might want to invest in 16 but 32? Most don't need that. If you don't have enough your system will slow to a crawl under a heavy load but maxing your memory out isn't advantageous if you don't need it. Maybe think about maxing out your memory speed first.

 

[Mike Lynch]

Thank you for the time you invested in thinking through and answering my Question(s).

Your response will / has helped me.

I'm still convinced that while my PC is only rated at 32GB's, it will likely take and utilize 64GB's.

Based on past experiences, doubling the rated max memory, was always recognized by Windows.

I'm planning to Order two 16GB sticks and two 32GB Sticks.

I have two HP EliteDesk 800's and will install two 32GB sticks in one and see what Window-7 reports.

If Windows does not recognize all 64GB's, I'll remove one 32GB stick and insert a 16GB Stick.

I believe, because one Stick has 16GB's, the other Stick will be restricted to only utilizing 16 of the 32 available.

It's an experiment for me and I enjoy discovering addition capabilities of my PC's.

When I've completed my "tests" I'll report back my findings.

Thanks again for your "investment" in my education.

Best regards,

Mike Lynch

 

[Malneb]

its a flawed way to think by guessing, The reason why often you can go over the stated amount is because the memory controller on most CPU is well over the motherboards rated spec. You always look at how much the cpu can handle not the motherboard because the motherboard manufacture is usually only a rough guide.

Since 1st gen the memory controller which is what dictates the max ram is on the CPU not the motherboard. for rough example It means that often there is major discrepancy, there is memory controllers out there that can take up to like 200gb+ of ram but the mobo only states a very trivial small amount.

This logic means they have tested when it says for example 16gb but you can go well over that depending on CPU.