What´s faster: 4 x 1 or 2 x 2 ?

[JarHead]

I am going to upgrade my hole system ... one thing I don´t have found is an decent explanation on memory conf.

mobo is a ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe
CPU is a 9950BE

Memory option:
2 x 2 GB Kingston HyperX 1066MHZ
or
4 x 1 GB Kingston HyperX 1066MHz

(I will be running a 64 bit OS - if any should ask about the 4 GB)

Thanks in advance

 

[James1991]

i honestly dont think it will make a difference. i would go for the 2 x 2GB so if you ever need to in the future you can just buy some more the same

 

[ShadowFold]

2x2 is better is better for ocing. Is kingston all you can get tho? I have had some terrible luck with them. Corsair has always been good to me tho.

 

[JarHead]

2x2 is better is better for ocing. Is kingston all you can get tho? I have had some terrible luck with them. Corsair has always been good to me tho.

I have had Corsair Dominator and HyperX (both 800 MHz) before and have not have any kind of probs. with any of these 2 products
(the HyperX is half the price of Corsair with same spec)

 

[James1991]

i just found this in the specs for that board:

*Due to AMD CPU limitation, DDR2 1066 is supported by AM2+ CPU for one DIMM per channel only.

i am guessing that means you wont be able to run 4 RAM cards at 1066Mhz

 

[Asylum]

Heres some good ram....Been useing G-Skill for a while now....It rocks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

 

[v-zero]

You need 2x2 if you want to run dual-channel memory, but you'll need 1x4 if you want to run 8gb in future...

 

[Tatty_Two]

2x2 is considerably better than 4 x1.....populating all the memory slots places a much greater stress on the Northbrige and it's memory controller, this translates to a higher likelyhood of memory instability resulting in lower clocks.

 

[FilipM]

I have Kingston 4 x 1 1066 and Im more than happy, I had 2 x 1 originally and max I had them was 1173Mhz , but if I loosen up the advanced timings, they could do 1200Mhz. Now I have 4 x 1 and running at 1140Mhz no porblem.

 

[thoughtdisorder]

2X2 gets my vote for stability as well as potential expansion down the road. My 2 cents.

 

[mrw1986]

From my own testing 2x2 does hold an advantage over 4x1, especially for overclocking. In layman's terms, it requires less "work" for the motherboard to run 2 sticks of RAM. You will also notice a performance increase with 2 sticks, mostly when benchmarking.

 

[AsRock]

2 sticks is better than having four as overclocking is better and upgrades are also possible without throwing out other ram.

 

[r9]

I have HyperX x 4 5 5 5 1066. It depends of the motherboard. At x 2 they can go 1200+ at 4x configuration 1030MHz top. For the motherboard it is more difficult to maintain stability when more modules are inserted but other side 1 gb modules have tighter timings but depends of the moterboard if than can achive that at 4x1gb configurations.

 

[mrw1986]

I have HyperX x 4 5 5 5 1066. It depends of the motherboard. At x 2 they can go 1200+ at 4x configuration 1030MHz top. For the motherboard it is more difficult to maintain stability when more modules are inserted but other side 1 gb modules have tighter timings but depends of the moterboard if than can achive that at 4x1gb configurations.

This is typically true, but a lot of new RAM has pretty tight timings. I have G-Skill PI 2x2gb DDR2-800 running overclocked and using 4-4-4-12 timings.

 

[jtleon]

With 2 sticks U can space them apart and get better airflow in between. I have proven this improves stability when OC'ing.

 

[WhiteLotus]

another vote for the 2x2GB, again so that in future you can add more and it is just easier to manage.

 

[Morgoth]

if it was posible 2x3

 

[VulkanBros]

I have HyperX x 4 5 5 5 1066. It depends of the motherboard. At x 2 they can go 1200+ at 4x configuration 1030MHz top. For the motherboard it is more difficult to maintain stability when more modules are inserted but other side 1 gb modules have tighter timings but depends of the moterboard if than can achive that at 4x1gb configurations.

r9 - are you running your sticks at 2.2v ?? Are they not getting fried or have you additional cooling on them ?

 

[Mussels]

putting it at its simplest (as many here already have done with bits and pieces)

4x1GB sticks:

• Often cheaper
• Sticks may have tighter timings
• you can upgrade from existing 2x1GB
• OCing is often reduced
• Some motherboards do not like running 4x sticks of double sided ram.

2x2GB

• Slower timings is possible.
• more compatible than 4x1GB
• OCing may be easier.
• Uses less power/creates less heat

 

[JarHead]

i just found this in the specs for that board:
i am guessing that means you wont be able to run 4 RAM cards at 1066Mhz

Yes .. your right .. I will have to do 2x2 ... ASUS tells me that I have to run 1 stick pr channel in order to run with 1066 MHz .. at least if I want 4 gigs running in dual channel mode ...

They say:
Due to CPU limitation, DDR2 1066 MHz is supported by AM2+ CPU for one DIMM per channel only. For system stability, when four DIMM´s are installed, all DIMM´s run DDR2 800 MHz as the default setting.

It is recommended to install the memory modules from the yellow slots for better overclocking capability.

Always use DIMM´s with same CAS latency and it is recommended to use DIMM´s from the same vendor

Thanks for good support ..I think I will stick around in this forum

 

[smalls21]

2x2GB

• Slower timings is possible.
• more compatible than 4x1GB
• OCing may be easier.
• Uses less power/creates less heat

In addition to that it does not put all you eggs in one basket. If you happen to have a stick go bad, you still have one that can run your machine while getting a replacement.

 

[Fastmix]

2x2 is way better.

Not all sticks oc the same, with that in mind..you have more chances that 2 sticks will reach higher frequency than 4.

 

[PaulieG]

2x2 is considerably better than 4 x1.....populating all the memory slots places a much greater stress on the Northbrige and it's memory controller, this translates to a higher likelyhood of memory instability resulting in lower clocks.

Really? I could never get a 2x2 set of any sticks as high as I got my 4x1GB set of Firestix. Best on a 2x2GB set was on Gskil Pi's, which was just over 1140. My Firestix have reached nearly 1300 with 2.25v and 1.5v on NB.

 

[Mussels]

Really? I could never get a 2x2 set of any sticks as high as I got my 4x1GB set of Firestix. Best on a 2x2GB set was on Gskil Pi's, which was just over 1140. My Firestix have reached nearly 1300 with 2.25v and 1.5v on NB.

ram isnt the key there, its the mobo. some motherboards dont like OCing with 4 sticks of ram. (early 680i for example)

 

[SystemViper]

Really? I could never get a 2x2 set of any sticks as high as I got my 4x1GB set of Firestix. Best on a 2x2GB set was on Gskil Pi's, which was just over 1140. My Firestix have reached nearly 1300 with 2.25v and 1.5v on NB.

Is that on that Max SE.....