What is the difference between plugging in two 16G memory and plugging in four 8G memory? The game test is out

Mr. Jong Hee

2024-07-01 12:29

I. Preface

For most ordinary digital hardware enthusiasts, the choice of memory mainly focuses on two parameters, that is, capacity and operating frequency. Usually, as long as it reaches the mainstream level, it can be plugged into the internal memory slot and can be used, and basically there will be no problems.

However, this is not the case for those old birds who like to toss, the playability of memory is very high, and there are many places that can be "tossed", such as opening XMP or EXPO, adjusting the timing and playing dual-channel, etc.

Over the years, there have been a variety of claims circulating in the digital circle: for example, plugging in two 8GB of memory is more performant than inserting a single 16GB memory, plugging in four memory has higher bandwidth, but the latency will also be higher, etc., and some rumors are contradictory.

In this article, we will compare the difference in gaming performance between two 16GB DDR5 6000MHz memory platforms and four 8GB DDR5 6000MHz memory platforms to verify these rumors for the reference of interested friends.

Second, the test platform configuration

The main configurations are as follows:

The processor is Ryzen 7 7800X3D, and the motherboard is MSI MPG X670E CARBON. The rest of the accessories are the same except for the memory, the graphics card is a GeForce RTX 4090, the hard drive is two Samsung 970 EVO 1TB, and the operating system is Windows 11.

3. Game measurement

The following will test seven games separately, all of which use the 1080P highest image quality mode, in the following series of pictures, the left represents two plugged in 16GB DDR5 memory platforms, hereinafter referred to as "A platform", and the right represents four plugged in 8GB DDR5 memory platforms, hereinafter referred to as "B platform".

The first game was The Witcher 3.

Platform A has an average frame rate of 89 FPS, a minimum instantaneous frame rate of 65 FPS, a frame time of 11.0ms, CPU usage of 48%, power consumption of 65W, temperature of 61 degrees, memory usage of 13.1GB, GPU usage of 79%, video memory usage of 7.3GB, power consumption of 247W, and temperature of 49 degrees.

Platform B has an average frame rate of 93 FPS, a minimum instantaneous frame rate of 70 FPS, a frame time of 10.4ms, CPU usage of 48%, power consumption of 66W, temperature of 60 degrees, memory usage of 13.0GB, GPU usage of 82%, video memory usage of 7.3GB, power consumption of 244W, and temperature of 47 degrees.

In this game, the CPU usage of the two platforms is exactly equal, and the memory usage of platform B is 0.1GB lower than that of the opponent, which is very small and basically negligible, but the GPU usage is 3% higher than that of the opponent, and the video memory usage is also completely equal.

In terms of average frame rate, platform B is 3 FPS higher than platform A, with a minimum instantaneous frame rate of 5 FPS and a frame time of 0.6ms.

The second game is Assassin's Creed: Mirage.

Platform A has an average frame rate of 199 FPS, the lowest instantaneous frame rate of 113 FPS, a frame time of 4.9ms, CPU usage of 51%, power consumption of 69W, temperature of 63 degrees, memory usage of 11.3GB, GPU usage of 93%, video memory usage of 8.8GB, power consumption of 235W, and temperature of 48 degrees.

Platform B has an average frame rate of 194 FPS, a minimum instantaneous frame rate of 110 FPS, a frame time of 5.5ms, CPU usage of 52%, power consumption of 69W, temperature of 63 degrees, memory usage of 11.2GB, GPU usage of 90%, video memory usage of 8.7GB, power consumption of 230W, and temperature of 49 degrees.

In this game, platform B has 1% higher CPU usage than the opponent, which is basically the same, and the memory usage is 0.1GB lower than the opponent, the difference in both aspects is small and close to equal, the GPU usage is 3% lower than the opponent, and the video memory usage is 0.1GB lower than the opponent.

In terms of average frame rate, platform B is 5 FPS lower than platform A, the lowest instantaneous frame rate is 3 FPS lower, and the frame time is 0.6ms higher.

The third game is Ghostwire Tokyo.

Platform A has an average frame rate of 194 FPS, a minimum instantaneous frame rate of 141 FPS, a frame time of 4.9ms, CPU usage of 26%, power consumption of 56W, temperature of 57 degrees, memory usage of 11.2GB, GPU usage of 88%, video memory usage of 5.8GB, power consumption of 242W, and temperature of 51 degrees.

Platform B has an average frame rate of 203 FPS, a minimum instantaneous frame rate of 150 FPS, a frame time of 5.2ms, CPU usage of 26%, power consumption of 56W, temperature of 56 degrees, memory usage of 11.1GB, GPU usage of 90%, video memory usage of 5.6GB, power consumption of 248W, and temperature of 51 degrees.

In this game, the CPU usage of both platforms is exactly equal, the memory usage of platform B is 0.1GB lower than that of the opponent, the difference is very small, close to equal, the GPU usage is 2% higher than the opponent, and the video memory usage is 0.2GB lower than the opponent.

In terms of average frame rate, platform B is 9 FPS higher than platform A, and the lowest instantaneous frame rate is also 9 FPS higher, with a frame time of 0.3ms higher, and the overall situation is very similar to the first game, with platform B having a slight advantage.

The fourth game is Red Dead Redemption 2.

Platform A has an average frame rate of 219 FPS, a minimum instantaneous frame rate of 92 FPS, a frame time of 6.7ms, a CPU usage of 64%, a power consumption of 77W, a temperature of 67 degrees, a memory usage of 11.6GB, a GPU usage of 88%, a video memory usage of 5.2GB, a power consumption of 293W, and a temperature of 53 degrees.

Platform B has an average frame rate of 216 FPS, the lowest instantaneous frame rate is 91 FPS, a frame time of 4.4ms, CPU usage is 61%, power consumption is 76W, temperature is 66 degrees, memory usage is 11.3GB, GPU usage is 85%, video memory usage is 5.3GB, power consumption is 281W, and temperature is 54 degrees.

In this game, platform B has 3% lower CPU usage, 0.3GB lower memory usage, 3% lower GPU usage, and 0.1GB higher video memory usage, which is basically the same.

In terms of average frame rate, platform B is 3 FPS lower than platform A, the lowest instantaneous frame rate is 1 FPS lower, and the frame time is 2.3ms lower.

The fifth game is Horizon West.

Platform A has an average frame rate of 200 FPS, a minimum instantaneous frame rate of 106 FPS, a frame time of 5.1ms, CPU usage of 62%, power consumption of 78W, temperature of 71 degrees, memory usage of 12.2GB, GPU usage of 91%, video memory usage of 9.5GB, power consumption of 257W, and temperature of 49 degrees.

Platform B has an average frame rate of 199 FPS, a minimum instantaneous frame rate of 107 FPS, a frame time of 4.8ms, CPU usage of 59%, power consumption of 77W, temperature of 70 degrees, memory usage of 11.9GB, GPU usage of 91%, video memory usage of 8.4GB, power consumption of 256W, and temperature of 46 degrees.

In this game, Platform B has 3% lower CPU usage, 0.3GB lower memory usage, exactly the same GPU usage, and 1.1GB lower memory usage.

In terms of average frame rate, platform B is 1 FPS lower than platform A, the lowest instantaneous frame rate is 1 FPS higher, and the frame time is 0.3ms lower, and the results of the two platforms are basically equal, which is still a tie.

The sixth game is Hogwarts Legacy.

Platform A has an average frame rate of 76 FPS, a minimum instantaneous frame rate of 63 FPS, a frame time of 13.4ms, CPU usage of 29%, power consumption of 56W, temperature of 63 degrees, memory usage of 21.3GB, GPU usage of 49%, video memory usage of 10.5GB, power consumption of 183W, and temperature of 46 degrees.

Platform B has an average frame rate of 74 FPS, a minimum instantaneous frame rate of 58 FPS, a frame time of 13.6ms, CPU usage of 29%, power consumption of 56W, temperature of 63 degrees, memory usage of 20.8GB, GPU usage of 52%, video memory usage of 10.6GB, power consumption of 190W, and temperature of 48 degrees.

In this game, the CPU usage of the two platforms is exactly equal, and the memory usage of platform B is 0.3GB lower than that of the opponent, the GPU usage is 3% higher than the opponent, and the video memory usage is 0.1GB higher than the opponent, the difference is very small and basically equal.

In terms of average frame rate, platform B is 2 FPS lower than platform A, the lowest instantaneous frame rate is 5 FPS lower, and the frame time is 0.2ms higher.

The seventh game is Starfield.

Platform A has an average frame rate of 121 FPS, a minimum instantaneous frame rate of 93 FPS, a frame time of 7.3ms, CPU usage of 81%, power consumption of 82W, temperature of 71 degrees, memory usage of 12.8GB, GPU usage of 74%, video memory usage of 6.2GB, power consumption of 252W, and temperature of 51 degrees.

Platform B has an average frame rate of 123 FPS, a minimum instantaneous frame rate of 89 FPS, a frame time of 6.3ms, CPU usage of 85%, power consumption of 83W, temperature of 73 degrees, memory usage of 13.1GB, GPU usage of 81%, video memory usage of 6.4GB, power consumption of 258W, and temperature of 51 degrees.

In this game, Platform B has 4% higher CPU usage, 0.3GB higher memory usage, 7% higher GPU usage, and 0.2GB higher video memory usage than its opponent.

In terms of average frame rate, platform B is 2 FPS higher than platform A, the lowest instantaneous frame rate is 4 FPS lower, and the frame time is 1.0ms lower, which is also a tie overall, but platform B has a very slight advantage.

Fourth, comparative conclusions

Based on the above game test results, the difference in gaming performance between plugging in two 16GB RAM and plugging in four 8GB RAM is extremely weak, and the overall game is a draw.

Still, there are some noticeable nuances, and during testing, GPU usage is dynamically and in real-time, but power consumption is relatively stable. The GeForce RTX 4090 consumes more power than two 16GB of RAM on a platform with four 8GB of RAM, which means that it performs more computation and delivers more performance, which is proportional to the fact that the two are proportional.

On the other hand, the minimum frame rate of 1‰ for four 8GB memory platforms is generally higher than that for two 16GB memory platforms, and the game stability is better. Of course, for the vast majority of ordinary game enthusiasts, this subtle gap is imperceptible, but it does exist.

The final conclusion is that plugging in two 16GB RAM and plugging in four 8GB RAM will have the same actual final game performance, and various subtle differences can be ignored, but despite this, plugging in four 8GB RAM still has a slight advantage.

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