I'm considering purchasing a single 16GB DDR5 stick (like the Kingston Fury Beast), which costs about the same as a dual 8GB kit. I'm wondering if it's worth it to save money now and plan to get another stick in the future. Also, how feasible is it to find the same RAM model in a couple of years, say in 1-3 years?
2 Answers
Going with 2x8GB is the way to go. In situations where only one channel is filled, you could see a drop of up to 50% in performance on modern setups. For anything that's memory-heavy, getting two sticks will serve you better. Plan to upgrade to 2x16GB later when prices are right, if you can.
For gaming, I've heard that the difference in performance might be minimal, like 1-5%, with DDR5 setups.
It's better to go for the dual 8GB kit. Running a single channel DDR5 setup can really impact performance, especially in gaming. You might experience a bandwidth drop of around 10-20%, which can make a noticeable difference in frame rates. Plus, trying to find the exact same RAM model in a few years might be tricky since manufacturers often discontinue or change revisions of their products. If the prices are similar, just grab the dual kit now and save yourself any hassle later.
Thanks for the advice, I'm definitely leaning towards the 2x8 now!
Actually, from what I've read, DDR5 can perform decently with a single stick since it sort of mimics dual-channel performance.
Noted! Looks like dual-channel is the safer choice.