8gb, 8+2gb or 4+4gb for mid 2012?

[LeeM]

currently got 2x2gb in my 13" and about to pull the trigger on a crucial ram upgrade.
not sure whether to get an 8gb and put in with one of my 2's, run an 8gb on its own or get 2 4's. just because of heard of matched ram, will 2x4's out perform 1x8? will running an 8 and a 2 somehow make it even slower? only reason im thinking of a single 8 is so i can add another at some point to make it up to 16gb, i just dont know if i'll need it yet

 

[hallux]

Best performance with 2 sticks will be achieved with a matched pair.

 

[isephmusic]

do these take 16gb ? im not sure. im going to do an upgrade soon as well and im going for 4x2 gb to be on the safe side. no one needs 16gb on a laptop i herd it causes CRD errors as well

 

[LeeM]

Best performance with 2 sticks will be achieved with a matched pair.

so will 2 matched 4's perform better than a single 8?

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do these take 16gb ? im not sure. im going to do an upgrade soon as well and im going for 4x2 gb to be on the safe side. no one needs 16gb on a laptop i herd it causes CRD errors as well

i use solidworks a lot in windows, cheaped out on the 2.5 processor so looking to maximise performance in cad

 

[chrisperro]

i have 16gb in my 2010 pro, 13 inches no problems at all
mid 2012 will take 16gb too.

 

[LeeM]

i may just run a single 8 for now. im just concerned that i find 8gb to be plenty and 2x4's would have been better than 1x8, or i buy 2x4s and end up upgrading to 2x8's which costs me even more again

 

[MikesGravity]

so will 2 matched 4's perform better than a single 8?

Yes

 

[LeeM]

and 2 matched 4's making 8, will that perform better than 2+8?

 

[hallux]

and 2 matched 4's making 8, will that perform better than 2+8?

The Mac uses dual-channel memory when equipped with like-size and speed modules in both slots. SOME logic board (using the Mac term here) manufacturers will allow 2 pairs of modules (requiring 4 slots) with different sizes for each pair (but MUST MATCH within the pair), that is the only case where mixing module sizes will keep dual-channel mode as each "bank" has matched pairs still.

Dual-channel memory effectively doubles the width of the memory bus. If you can only afford 8 GB right now, grab one module and run it solo. When you can buy another pick up the same exact module (or one that is VERY similar, best to use the same manufacturer) and you've doubled your memory. For what it's worth, the 16 GB kit (2x 8GB) I have in my mid-2012 15" is $84.00 on Newegg, the equivalent 8 GB kit (2x 4GB) is $50.