Should We Still Install Matched Pairs of RAM?
When I say "still", I'm not actually talking about current generation Macs. I'm specifically talking about 2012's. Is there still benefit to installing matched pairs or are those days long gone?
I have two 2012 Macs with 4 GB each. I just got my hands on 8 GB from a 2012 iMac. So the question is, which Mac do I upgrade to 8 GB?
...but I could also do 2 GB + 4 GB in each Mac, bringing each Mac to 6 GB.
Way back when, it was always said to install in matched pairs, otherwise the RAM run's "slow". But is this still the case by 2012? Even if it is true, just how much slower is it? It still may be worthwhile to run unmatched pairs to get an extra 2 GB in each machine.
macbook memory mac-mini
asked 2 hours ago
l008coml008com
1,745515
add a comment |
When I say "still", I'm not actually talking about current generation Macs. I'm specifically talking about 2012's. Is there still benefit to installing matched pairs or are those days long gone?
I have two 2012 Macs with 4 GB each. I just got my hands on 8 GB from a 2012 iMac. So the question is, which Mac do I upgrade to 8 GB?
...but I could also do 2 GB + 4 GB in each Mac, bringing each Mac to 6 GB.
Way back when, it was always said to install in matched pairs, otherwise the RAM run's "slow". But is this still the case by 2012? Even if it is true, just how much slower is it? It still may be worthwhile to run unmatched pairs to get an extra 2 GB in each machine.
macbook memory mac-mini
asked 2 hours ago
l008coml008com
1,745515
Matched pairs are ideal, but the difference is super minimal. The extra 2 GB of memory afforded by a 2G + 4G config will outdo any advantages offered by a 2G + 2G config. (A more important thing to know is that if you install two sticks of RAM which are rated for different speeds, your computer will operate all RAM at the speed of the slowest stick.)
– Wowfunhappy
2 hours ago
add a comment |
When I say "still", I'm not actually talking about current generation Macs. I'm specifically talking about 2012's. Is there still benefit to installing matched pairs or are those days long gone?
I have two 2012 Macs with 4 GB each. I just got my hands on 8 GB from a 2012 iMac. So the question is, which Mac do I upgrade to 8 GB?
...but I could also do 2 GB + 4 GB in each Mac, bringing each Mac to 6 GB.
Way back when, it was always said to install in matched pairs, otherwise the RAM run's "slow". But is this still the case by 2012? Even if it is true, just how much slower is it? It still may be worthwhile to run unmatched pairs to get an extra 2 GB in each machine.
macbook memory mac-mini
asked 2 hours ago
l008coml008com
1,745515
When I say "still", I'm not actually talking about current generation Macs. I'm specifically talking about 2012's. Is there still benefit to installing matched pairs or are those days long gone?
I have two 2012 Macs with 4 GB each. I just got my hands on 8 GB from a 2012 iMac. So the question is, which Mac do I upgrade to 8 GB?
...but I could also do 2 GB + 4 GB in each Mac, bringing each Mac to 6 GB.
Way back when, it was always said to install in matched pairs, otherwise the RAM run's "slow". But is this still the case by 2012? Even if it is true, just how much slower is it? It still may be worthwhile to run unmatched pairs to get an extra 2 GB in each machine.
macbook memory mac-mini
macbook memory mac-mini
asked 2 hours ago
l008coml008com
1,745515
asked 2 hours ago
l008coml008com
1,745515
asked 2 hours ago
l008coml008com
1,745515
asked 2 hours ago
l008coml008com
1,745515
asked 2 hours ago
l008coml008com
1,745515
1,745515
Matched pairs are ideal, but the difference is super minimal. The extra 2 GB of memory afforded by a 2G + 4G config will outdo any advantages offered by a 2G + 2G config. (A more important thing to know is that if you install two sticks of RAM which are rated for different speeds, your computer will operate all RAM at the speed of the slowest stick.)
– Wowfunhappy
2 hours ago
add a comment |
Matched pairs are ideal, but the difference is super minimal. The extra 2 GB of memory afforded by a 2G + 4G config will outdo any advantages offered by a 2G + 2G config. (A more important thing to know is that if you install two sticks of RAM which are rated for different speeds, your computer will operate all RAM at the speed of the slowest stick.)
– Wowfunhappy
2 hours ago
Matched pairs are ideal, but the difference is super minimal. The extra 2 GB of memory afforded by a 2G + 4G config will outdo any advantages offered by a 2G + 2G config. (A more important thing to know is that if you install two sticks of RAM which are rated for different speeds, your computer will operate all RAM at the speed of the slowest stick.)
– Wowfunhappy
2 hours ago
Matched pairs are ideal, but the difference is super minimal. The extra 2 GB of memory afforded by a 2G + 4G config will outdo any advantages offered by a 2G + 2G config. (A more important thing to know is that if you install two sticks of RAM which are rated for different speeds, your computer will operate all RAM at the speed of the slowest stick.)
– Wowfunhappy
2 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
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oldest
votes
No - even in the core 2 days, it was almost always faster to have more RAM that wasn’t matched compared to less RAM that was matched. I believe the penalty was 3% range - so you could test it in a benchmark, but real world - more RAM wins.
These days, the memory controllers are so good, I don’t think you can even benchmark differences due to a mix of memory sizes or locations.
answered 2 hours ago
bmike♦bmike
158k46284613
How would you benchmark RAM? That's a good idea, I'm curious to see the difference.
– l008com
1 hour ago
add a comment |
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1 Answer
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active
oldest
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1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
No - even in the core 2 days, it was almost always faster to have more RAM that wasn’t matched compared to less RAM that was matched. I believe the penalty was 3% range - so you could test it in a benchmark, but real world - more RAM wins.
These days, the memory controllers are so good, I don’t think you can even benchmark differences due to a mix of memory sizes or locations.
answered 2 hours ago
bmike♦bmike
158k46284613
How would you benchmark RAM? That's a good idea, I'm curious to see the difference.
– l008com
1 hour ago
add a comment |
No - even in the core 2 days, it was almost always faster to have more RAM that wasn’t matched compared to less RAM that was matched. I believe the penalty was 3% range - so you could test it in a benchmark, but real world - more RAM wins.
These days, the memory controllers are so good, I don’t think you can even benchmark differences due to a mix of memory sizes or locations.
answered 2 hours ago
bmike♦bmike
158k46284613
How would you benchmark RAM? That's a good idea, I'm curious to see the difference.
– l008com
1 hour ago
add a comment |
No - even in the core 2 days, it was almost always faster to have more RAM that wasn’t matched compared to less RAM that was matched. I believe the penalty was 3% range - so you could test it in a benchmark, but real world - more RAM wins.
These days, the memory controllers are so good, I don’t think you can even benchmark differences due to a mix of memory sizes or locations.
answered 2 hours ago
bmike♦bmike
158k46284613
No - even in the core 2 days, it was almost always faster to have more RAM that wasn’t matched compared to less RAM that was matched. I believe the penalty was 3% range - so you could test it in a benchmark, but real world - more RAM wins.
These days, the memory controllers are so good, I don’t think you can even benchmark differences due to a mix of memory sizes or locations.
answered 2 hours ago
bmike♦bmike
158k46284613
answered 2 hours ago
bmike♦bmike
158k46284613
answered 2 hours ago
bmike♦bmike
158k46284613
answered 2 hours ago
bmike♦bmike
158k46284613
158k46284613
How would you benchmark RAM? That's a good idea, I'm curious to see the difference.
– l008com
1 hour ago
add a comment |
How would you benchmark RAM? That's a good idea, I'm curious to see the difference.
– l008com
1 hour ago
How would you benchmark RAM? That's a good idea, I'm curious to see the difference.
– l008com
1 hour ago
How would you benchmark RAM? That's a good idea, I'm curious to see the difference.
– l008com
1 hour ago
add a comment |
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Matched pairs are ideal, but the difference is super minimal. The extra 2 GB of memory afforded by a 2G + 4G config will outdo any advantages offered by a 2G + 2G config. (A more important thing to know is that if you install two sticks of RAM which are rated for different speeds, your computer will operate all RAM at the speed of the slowest stick.)
– Wowfunhappy
2 hours ago