First, I always buy a dual-channel kit for my systems that I build myself, because I'm just a little bit spoiled.
Second, I've known a long time that some system builders -- and these include your local computer-repair shop that built mainstream systems at low prices for local customers -- use a single-channel and single-module approach if they're using budget modules that don't come with heatspreaders and they can get one in a size that fits a customer's need for RAM.
My car-mechanic has two PCs in his office which he purchased from a local outfit who build them using AMD processors. He had certain complaints about graphics performance of a built-in or onboard graphics of his AMD motherboard. The onboard graphics would grab regular RAM, because it had limited RAM or none of its own. But the problem was the graphics processor: we discovered that he indeed only had a single stick of RAM, but it was an 8GB stick -- so he had plenty.
This has been discussed many times here and over the years. You don't lose much in performance for having a single module versus a pair running in dual-channel mode.
If you simply want MORE RAM than 16GB, then first look for a single module of the same speed, timings, voltage, make and model that you have -- that will minimize your outlay.
If you can't find such a module, then buy a 2x16 kit. But if 16GB is more than enough, it wouldn't make sense to just replace a single 16GB with a 2x8 kit. The dual-channel performance enhancement really isn't worth the extra expense unless you are OCD like us enthusiasts. If you want faster RAM, then you could consider it, but again -- that's an OCD enthusiast compulsion.
I've been toying with the idea of a 2x16 kit myself, and even considered a 4x8 possibility by buying a second kit of 2x8. But watching the task manager and other means of looking at memory usage, 16GB total gives me plenty to spare. Further, depending on how you set up your system, and you choose to make your system hibernate, more memory means more writes to your SSD. But even that is not a lot to fret about. Of course, if you use your RAM as I do -- with special caching software that caches hard disk read-data into much faster RAM -- you will see much bigger delays in shutdown and boot-up times. In that case, I choose to accept those delays, because I've enhanced performance of a relatively very slow HDD to effectively seem much faster and benchmark as much faster.
But that's another topic and a different ball-game. And another enthusiast OCD compulsion . . .
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