Dual-rank soldered usually wins on bandwidth.

Yes, a soldered dual-rank configuration typically beats a socketed single-rank setup for total memory bandwidth.

The short version: memory controllers like more ranks. Dual-rank allows rank interleaving, where the controller can access one rank while another is refreshing or precharging. That parallel behavior gives a 5-15% bandwidth boost in practice, sometimes more with heavy multi-threaded workloads. Single-rank doesn’t get that parallelism — it’s simpler but less efficient.

The socketed vs soldered part matters for upgradeability, not just bandwidth. Socketed lets you swap in dual-rank sticks later. Soldered is stuck — if it’s dual-rank, great, but you’re locked in. So the bandwidth advantage is real, but it comes with a tradeoff.

If you’re comparing two identical machines where one has soldered dual-rank and the other has socketed single-rank, the soldered one will feel snappier in memory-sensitive tasks. But socketed wins if you can upgrade to dual-rank later.

Don’t forget that memory bandwidth also depends on speed and timings.