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12 GB of memory for Sandy Bridge: performance issues with 8GB kit + 4GB kit?

A

antef

Senior member
I was interested in putting 12 GB of memory into a Sandy Bridge system. While triple channel 3x4GB kits are relatively inexpensive (~$150), there doesn't seem to be an equally affordable way to do this with dual channel which is what would be required for Sandy Bridge early next year. Should I search for a 2x6GB kit or use two 2x3GB kits? Both seem much more pricey than the triple channel kits. Or give up and just do 8 GB? I'd like more for running VMs more easily. Thanks.

Update: It seems you can't really find 3 or 6 GB sticks. Would there be any performance issue with running a 2x4GB kit and 2x2GB kit together? This would be four sticks, would preserve dual channel per pair, and would achieve 12 GB relatively affordably. But I wouldn't want to do it if I would see decreased performance vs. a single 8 GB kit.
 
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Sandy bridge uses dual-channel memory, so those 3x kits won't be that great. Memory modules come in sizes which are powers of 2. So 2x6GB and 2x3GB kits do not exist. Your realistic options are 4, 8, or 16GB. I would buy a 4x4GB kit. Around $220 on newegg.
 
The current shell shocker on newegg is 4gb kit's... could get 3 of them for $150 shipped before rebates.

When the i7's first came out, I was looking for ram and I found 12gb ocz kits on amazon for $135. Yes, $135 for 12gb ddr3 ram... bought all the kits they had (3-4)
 
Thanks, hmm I though I saw 2x3GB or 2x6GB kits, but I guess the 3GB/6GB were actually kits themselves. So my only options are 4, 8, or 16 for dual channel? Would two 2x4GB kits perform just as well as a 4x4GB kit? That could be a little cheaper maybe.
 
I'd like more memory to help with running virtual machines.

Would there be any performance issue with running a 2x4GB kit and a 2x2GB kit across 4 slots? That would give me 12 GB and would be cheaper than a 4x4GB kit or something like that. Dual channel per pair would be preserved.
 
antef said:
I'd like more memory to help with running virtual machines.

Would there be any performance issue with running a 2x4GB kit and a 2x2GB kit across 4 slots? That would give me 12 GB and would be cheaper than a 4x4GB kit or something like that. Dual channel per pair would be preserved.
Click to expand...

I'm curious. Do they make a 6GB module per chance? that would be the ideal.
 
Yeah I dunno, I keep thinking I've found them in searches only for them to turn out to be kits. If they do exist they're pretty rare. But I'm curious if there is a performance issue with running two dual channel kits of different capacities. If not, that would suit me just fine.
 
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