2x8GB or 1x16GB RAM, what's better and why?

Good day Jeff_106, thanks for your question. I am glad to be able to provide assistance to you today. Having 2 RAM sticks installed will help a lot with multi-tasking and higher performance because of dual-channel, it also provides as a backup just in case one of the RAM sticks fails and there are also bundle deals in which you will be able to save more in purchasing two RAM sticks instead of one.

Regards,

Paul R.

There is a difference, but it's not huge.

RAM works fastest when it's installed in pairs, so 2 x 8GB rather than 1 x 16GB. Installing in pairs means you can take advantage of a dual channel configuration, where the memory controller on your motherboard can communicate with more RAM faster. As an analogy: More vehicles can travel on a four-lane highway instead of a two-lane highway.

Nevertheless, you would never detect the difference between single channel and dual-channel RAM unless you routinely use RAM-intensive applications. The advantage of 1 x 16GB is that if you want to upgrade your computer to 32GB of RAM, all you have to do is buy another 16GB module. But in a 2 x 8GB configuration, you might have to toss the 2 8GB modules, depending on how many memory slots you have.