
Re: Please explain why to a newbie: 32GB (4GBx8) or 32GB (8G
(to start with,
link to the board he's talking about) A lot of what you do with things like CPU and memory depends on the board you end up with. The memory is specially true in this regard. You're stuck into a particular thing by the mainboard you select (I'd look for something cheaper than that one that is good quality, it is really a server board like Made in China talks about).
As far as that board is concerned, it supports 4 pairs of memory with a varying number of specs. You always want to buy the highest spec that the board supports that is available. With that particular board it's DDR4 3110. Whether I went 4GBx8 or 8GBx4 depends on what the board specifically supports, and how much they cost. Speaking of which I might go 16GBx2 if it's a good option. Looking at Newegg, 8GBx4 is going to be preferable which is about $300 for this board.
But as Made In China, a lot of it is preference and what someone wants to do with the machine. A lot of that is due to the fact that 8GB sticks didn't exist once upon a time and if you wanted 32GB you needed 8 sticks.
But the general answer to the question at hand is that most of your other options depends on the board you select. Select the board, and the rest of the options just follow. Of course, selection of the board depends on what you want and what you want to do and the budget you're under. Personally, I'd look for a different board to start with, but that's just my mind in building a non-server gaming computer.