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    4 sticks of ram vs 2 sticks of ram for laptop

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by afterdark, Apr 17, 2012.

  1. afterdark

    afterdark Notebook Geek

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    If overall output is 16gb and mhz speed is the same. Would 4x4gb be better than 2x8gb in terms of speed, performance, heat, etc? Thanks.
     
    afterdark, Apr 17, 2012
    #1
  2. HeavenCry

    HeavenCry Notebook Virtuoso

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    No. It will still run in dual channel. It will just consume more power and put out more heat so 2x8 is actually a better option if youre choosing between the two.
     
    HeavenCry, Apr 17, 2012
    #2
  3. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    4x4 could be cheaper though.
     
    moral hazard, Apr 17, 2012
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  4. manlai

    manlai Notebook Enthusiast

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    4x4 is much cheaper, but 2x8 gives lower heat, less power consumption, and you still have 2 slots free. The cost gap is still pretty substantial at the point though.
     
    manlai, Apr 17, 2012
    #4
  5. StormJumper

    StormJumper Notebook Virtuoso

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    Just out of curiosity what kinda laptop are you running I only seen 2 Ram slots laptop but haven't seen a 4 slot Ram laptop??? I don't own a high end gaming or server laptop so I don't know if those come with 4 slots or just 2 FYI...
     
    StormJumper, Apr 17, 2012
    #5
  6. philideng

    philideng Notebook Enthusiast

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    Some models in the ASUS N53S series have 4 slots.
     
    philideng, Apr 17, 2012
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  7. GalaxySII

    GalaxySII Notebook Deity

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    2x8 = marketing trick crap! money ripping!
     
    GalaxySII, Apr 17, 2012
    #7
  8. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    It's not marketing. Memory speed is marketing. 2x8GB and 4x4GB will be identical in real life performance and speed. The heat and power consumption will be marginally higher, but IMO negligible in most notebooks (since notebooks with 4 DIMM slots usually have other high powered components such as the screen, CPU, GPU, etc.)
     
    sgogeta4, Apr 17, 2012
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  9. misterhobbs

    misterhobbs Notebook Evangelist

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    A lot of the Sager/Clevo lines have four slots as well.
     
    misterhobbs, Apr 17, 2012
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  10. Charles P. Jefferies

    Charles P. Jefferies Lead Moderator Super Moderator

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    I'd go for two sticks out of reliability reasons. It's fairly easy to troubleshoot two sticks.

    If you buy four sticks, I would be highly surprised if at least one of the sticks didn't require RMA.
     
    Charles P. Jefferies, Apr 17, 2012
    #10
  11. GalaxySII

    GalaxySII Notebook Deity

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    They askin 200 pounds per module ..1x8gb so it must be
     
    GalaxySII, Apr 17, 2012
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  12. afterdark

    afterdark Notebook Geek

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    Too bad there aren't (1) 8gb sticks of ram at 1866mhz. So I have to decide between 4 sticks at 1866mhz or 2 sticks at 1600mhz. OCing the 1600mhz is a possibility but I'd prefer not to to.
     
    afterdark, Apr 17, 2012
    #12
  13. Shemmy

    Shemmy Notebook Evangelist

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    Wouldn't the 4x4GB provide better interleaving?
     
    Shemmy, Apr 17, 2012
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  14. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    As stated in your other thread, memory speed is a marketing gimmick if you have a discrete GPU. It will not give you any real life performance benefit.
     
    sgogeta4, Apr 18, 2012
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  15. StormJumper

    StormJumper Notebook Virtuoso

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    That is to rich for me, I have a laptop for gaming but not one that has 4 slots...I like to spend a decent amount for a gaming laptop but that is over the top and at that point I would spent it on a desktop for hard core gaming....
     
    StormJumper, Apr 19, 2012
    #15
  16. DashTheHand

    DashTheHand Notebook Geek

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    What do you consider a "decent amount" and yet still want a gaming laptop? I bought a G51Jx-A1 for a little over 1200 (2 years ago, new) that has 4 DIMM slots, albeit it cannibalized its second HD bay (to which I said 'adios' to the DVD-ROM and put in a HD caddy).

    You get what you pay for. You want a portable gaming rig that will last for years to come, an already years old model that is much cheaper but probably will only play some upcoming games on low res, or an office desk anchor?
     
    DashTheHand, Apr 19, 2012
    #16