1 16 GB vs 2 8 GB RAM Sticks | Are Two Sticks RAM Preferable?

Random-access memory, also known as RAM or simply “memory,” is the most crucial component of any computer. Modern PCs, phones, and tablets contain memory ranging from 2GB to 32GB, with some having much more.

Having extra RAM on your pc won’t necessarily help it run quicker, so make sure you have the right amount for your system and the programs you would like to run. For reference, Windows 10 needs around 2GB RAM on its own, whereas ChromeOS, which is found in the finest Chromebooks, requires significantly less.

1 16 GB vs 2 8 GB RAM Sticks – What’s The Difference?

Here are some basic recommendations that apply for many PCs and Macs:

• 8GB: It’s usually seen in low-cost laptops. At lower resolution, it’s acceptable for windows System gaming, but it quickly runs out.
• 16GB: Great for Mac and Windows systems, as well as gaming, particularly provided the RAM is quick.

The computer system and also the web browser are often the two programs that utilize the most RAM, while some programs and games sometimes take more RAM than all other applications use. It’s not necessary to make Os or Mac need much less ram, but having more RAM on the pc allows you to run more browser windows using Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and other browsers that require more RAM to function properly.

Furthermore, more complicated websites need more RAM than simpler ones. For example, a plain text news report consumes very little memory, yet that kind of Gmail or Netflix consumes a significant amount of memory. 

Professional apps, as opposed to games and regular browsing, are the ones that tend to consume the most RAM. Video editing tools such as in particular, are notorious memory intensive.

For Tablets

Nonetheless, as multi-tab browsing and more complex apps keep making the transfer to tablets, tablet requirements are becoming increasingly similar to notebook requirements. Current configurations commonly include 2GB to 16GB of RAM, with other factors such as battery life and CPU speed taking precedence over memory capacity in most cases.

Ultimately, this provides us with a guideline for selecting RAM for tablets: 

• In most laptop cases, 8GB is a great match than 4GB. 
• If you intend to use an iPad for your main computer, 16GB is recommended.

For laptops

For the most part, laptops are equipped with 8Gb ram, while upper systems feature 16GB — and sometimes even approximately 32GB for its most high-end gaming laptops — of Memory. As already said, tablet and laptop requirements are becoming increasingly similar; nonetheless, most people are much more comfortable playing greater software applications on laptops, which implies that RAM plays a more significant role in this situation.

It is not necessary to have much RAM either for a Chromebook, which also primarily depends on cloud-based applications and offers very little data storage. 8Gb ram is sufficient when purchasing a Chromebook, particularly now that you are using the Google Play Store to install Android applications directly to your device.

For Mac and Windows, you should consider 8GB as a beginning point and consider increasing that figure to 16GB. For good reason, the majority of the best computers offer 16GB of storage. Since before you run a program on Windows 10, the operating system utilizes approximately 2GB of RAM. When doing a range of visual design work or intending to do some high-end gaming, you may need to consider upgrading the amount of RAM on your computer to 16 GB.

You would only have to go beyond that if you were performing certain tasks, such as editing large video or image files, which would generally be performed on a computer. The majority of individuals do not use a notebook for such duties, but when you do, making sure you have enough RAM is essential. When compared to a desktop computer, it’s much more difficult (and in some cases, impossible) to increase the RAM in a notebook, thus purchasing the amount of RAM you require at the outset is critical.

For Desktops

Price hikes for all elements, including RAM, are expected to continue into 2021. In comparison, a quality 16GB kit is probably costing $80 now, and prices growing as clock rate and latency durations are tightened.

People prefer to maintain their computers for a longer period than they do their tablets or laptops, making it worthwhile to think about the future. Starting with 16GB is an excellent starting point. It may be easier to get away with much less, but if you’re just saving $30 or more and it’s worth it to invest in 16GB of storage for the foreseeable future.

Windows users need to pay heed to the DIMM (Dual In-Line Memory Module) ports on the motherboard, as well. All modern motherboards employ dual-channel or 4×4 memory, and they all have specific specifications for where memory sticks should be placed on the motherboard. It is normally the 2nd and 4th slots on a filled motherboard that is used for dual-channel, although it is advisable to examine your manual motherboard for specifics.

How Much Ram Do You Need for Gaming?

When building a gaming Laptop, 16Gb ram is the recommended starting point. Though 8GB of RAM is sufficient contemporary AAA PC games such as Cyberpunk 2077 need at 8Gb ram, with a maximum of 16Gb ram being recommended. Just several games, these most recent ones, will be able to fully utilize the full 16Gb ram available. Instead, the increased capacity allows you to run other programs in the background if the games are still running on the computer.

For the vast majority of gamers, 16GB is enough. However, if you plan on streaming or running multiple applications while your games are running OBS Studio, a web browser.  32GB will give you a little more room. You won’t notice any performance benefits between 16GB and 32GB solely in games, however, so prioritize buying fast RAM if you’re only interested in gaming.

For a large number of gamers, 16GB is sufficient storage space. Nevertheless, if you want to playback or run numerous applications simultaneously when your videogames are running — such as OBS Studio, a web browser, and so on – 32GB will provide you with some more space. Only within games will you see any speed differences between 16GB & 32GB of RAM, but if you’re only interested in gaming, consider getting fast RAM over the rest of your system.

Conclusion

When adding additional RAM to the computer system will not result in any improvements in performance if you have all the amount of RAM you require, the same is also true in the case of RAM speed, DDR4 is currently the industry standard for desktop computers, laptop computers, and tablet computers. Each DDR version offers a wide speeds range, with DDR4 having the fastest speed being DDR4-1600 and the slowest being DDR4-3200. The speed of the ram is defined by the digit at the end. The advantage of having speedier memory is straightforward: A higher number of cycles per second indicates that the function will read data much faster.