XMP or Dual Channel

[Damascus]

Hi guys, so I'm using two different 8gb ram sticks (16 gb total both being 1600 MHz) in my desktop. This obviously implies I can't use XMP Profile. However, because I have a 4 slot motherboard with dual channels, each stick can still run on its own channel. I have the opportunity to swap my 2 sticks for 4 corsair 4gb sticks (also 1600MHz) for free. This means I will be able to use the XMP Profile but I will no longer be able to utilize the dual channels. So what I'm basically asking is which option will give me better performance when gaming. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Oussebon]

I'm not sure this is based on accurate assumptions

1 If you have 2 existing sticks and put them into separate channels that's not dual channel. That's running them both in single channel.

2) If you have 4 sticks in 4 slots on a dual channel motherboard, the RAM will be in dual channel.

3) I'm also not sure that you can't run XMP on different kits - compatibility will be affected by timings and frequency though - if they have different timings you'd need to adjust those manually I guess.

If your existing RAM sticks have different timings, the 4 x 4 option (assuming those sticks are from a matched kit - not just the same kind of RAM but an actual matched kit) might be the easiest.