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I'm building a FreeNAS file server and have been searching for ram. What's available is either:

2x 8 GB DDR3 1600 single channel (CL11)

or

2x 8 GB DDR3 1333 dual channel (CL9)

Price difference doesn't matter. I just want to know which would be better.

Hennes
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gavsiu
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2 Answers2

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Dual Channel RAM

Depending on the application, Dual Channel ram can be anywhere from 1% to 10% faster than single channel.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/PARALLEL-PROCESSING,1705-15.html
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/133

RAM Speed

Ram speeds are determined by your northbridge chipset. The speed on the ram only indicates what it is 'rated' for.

Putting DDR 1600 in a computer that maxes out at 1333 will give you 0 benefit. The advantage to faster ram comes if you are over clocking your bus.

That said, you should always buy RAM that is rated for at least what the northbridge will support. My Mac book pro clocked down from 1600 to 1333 when I upgraded one of my RAM sticks.

Other thoughts

The differences in RAM is so slight, that you will see much bigger return on investment if you splurge and get an SSD.

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/1200108-Basic-Ram-Question-DDR3-1333-vs-DDR3-1600
http://www.pcauthority.com.au/Feature/128551,does-faster-ram-really-make-a-difference.aspx

Hennes
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spuder
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The amount of RAM is important for a NAS, not the Speed or Single/Dual Channel. The more data can be cached in RAM, the faster your NAS will be.

The best way to get the most out of your FreeNAS® system is to install as much RAM as possible.

http://doc.freenas.org/index.php/Hardware_Recommendations#RAM

magicandre1981
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