RAM upgrade, should i?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
T

teh camper

Honorable
Nov 29, 2013
94
0
10,640
hey guys. i have a P8Z77-M asus motherboard, it supports up to two dual channel ram. right now i have 2x 4gb ddr3-1600 pc3 12800 CL 11 ram in dual channel.

im thinking of adding another 4gb ram. should i get corsair vengeance(im not sure about the timing) or kingston hyper x ( CL10 , i think). or just buy another cheap 1600 Mhz kingston ram?
 
Solution
barto
Honestly, I haven't a clue. lol. All I've been able to find is when someone inputs the third module that the motherboard runs in Flex Mode. Here's one: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1852546/sticks-dual-channel-lga-1155.html

I'm going to assume it's an Intel standard for chipsets. It would just seem foolish not to be.

So to sum it all up, if you want to get more RAM, I suggest you buy the exact same pair of modules. If you don't want to spend the money, get a pair of modules that have the same timings and speeds as your current RAM.

Sort by date Sort by votes
E

enemy1g

Honorable
Oct 3, 2013
2,224
1
12,460
Adding RAM that isn't paired (usually come together as a set) is usually never a good idea. It could cause system instability, the inability to boot, and just an overall performance decrease. However, if the timings and everything else is completely alike, then you could have just as you want, 12GB of RAM.

But my 2c, 8GB is all you need currently, adding 4GB of RAM would likely do nothing for you. The only thing you might benefit from is new, faster CL9 RAM. Or upgrading another component such as the CPU or GPU
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
barto

barto

Expert
Ambassador
Apr 20, 2009
5,465
0
27,960
I don't think you need to upgrade. 8GB is pretty much the standard and unless you are getting close to using all of it, there's no reason to do that.

However, in my experience, you should buy the exact same RAM modules or at least RAM with the same timings. I had issues with overclocking and different timings.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T

teh camper

Honorable
Nov 29, 2013
94
0
10,640
i think i wont overclock my ram. i read about overclocking ram and didnt understand those guides.
the thing is my pc is getting kinda slow lately. and my memory usage us kinda high, 5-7 GB when browsing, transferring data, etc. no problems for gaming.

so if im buying more ram,
1)would a faster 4GB ram benefit me, or the faster ram is gonna get underclocked so im better off buying similar 4 GB ram,
or
2) buy a single 8GB hyper x ( or corsair) ram and replace my current ram with it.

is there a noticeable difference after i upgrade my ram?

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
1N07

1N07

Distinguished
Feb 26, 2014
554
0
19,160


It's better to buy 8Gb RAM with better speeds. Just make sure your MB supports the RAM you choose. But if money is not a problem go ahead and buy more than 8Gb RAM if you feel like it. I just personaly don't think you'll need it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
barto

barto

Expert
Ambassador
Apr 20, 2009
5,465
0
27,960
RAM speed will have little affect on daily activities or gaming. The only time that RAM speed matters is for bench marking. If your motherboard doesn't have the ability to overclock, the RAM will default to motherboard speeds. If you have a motherboard where you can overclock, you don't necessarily have to overclock memory. I don't overclock mine. I was referring to overclocking CPU in my previous post. Memory timing, in my opinion, is more important. You should buy the same timings memory as different timings impact stability.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
EthanPark

EthanPark

Reputable
Feb 16, 2014
52
0
4,660
Agree with barto. 8GB is more than enough unless you are doing some serious multitasking with heavy programs or running VMs. Also, the only thing that can even possibly make a noticeable difference is if you get RAM with lower timing but you'd end up seating those in with your current ones which will give you issues at difference timing (and possibly even clockrate) anyway.

If you really do feel the need to get more RAM, just go with the same ones to avoid any inconsistencies in your machine.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
barto

barto

Expert
Ambassador
Apr 20, 2009
5,465
0
27,960
Additionally, there are reasons why people suggest you pair RAM in pairs or groups (for 1366 socket three sticks; for 2011 socket 4 sticks). That is because the sticks are tested for stability and to make sure they work together. I will never suggest buying a single stick of memory. Yes it will work fine. But the moment you add another stick, there's no guarantee it will work with the existing system. Buy in pair/groups with the same timings.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T

teh camper

Honorable
Nov 29, 2013
94
0
10,640


wait, if there is two dual channel, i thought you can use different type of ram. there's 4 slot btw. so if i already have two ram sticks in dual channel, i can use different(better timing) ram for the empty slot. or the mobo will auto tune (downclock?) the ram to my current ram timing?

will i lose my current dual channel advantage as long as i add another single ram to the empty slot?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
barto

barto

Expert
Ambassador
Apr 20, 2009
5,465
0
27,960
There's Dual Channel (uses 2 slots), Tri Channel (uses 3 slots) and Quad Channel (uses 4 slots). Most motherboards with 4 slots only support Dual Channel (two Dual Channel lanes). The X58 chipset (1366 socket) has 6 slots (two Tri Channel lanes). The x79 chipset (2011 socket) has 8 slots (two Quad Channel lanes).

By default, the motherboard will set the memory timings on all of the modules to the same timing and same speed (usually set to "Auto"). So if you buy a pair with 8-8-8-24 timing and another pair with 9-9-9-25 timing, the motherboard will by default change the 8-8-8-24 to 9-9-9-25.

If you add a single module, depending on the motherboard, you can lose Dual Channel. If your motherboard supports Flex mode, it can run two modules in Dual Channel and the lone module in Single Channel.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T

teh camper

Honorable
Nov 29, 2013
94
0
10,640


thanks for replying :)
how do i check if my motherboard supports flex mode? no result from google and asus website.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
barto

barto

Expert
Ambassador
Apr 20, 2009
5,465
0
27,960
Honestly, I haven't a clue. lol. All I've been able to find is when someone inputs the third module that the motherboard runs in Flex Mode. Here's one: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1852546/sticks-dual-channel-lga-1155.html

I'm going to assume it's an Intel standard for chipsets. It would just seem foolish not to be.

So to sum it all up, if you want to get more RAM, I suggest you buy the exact same pair of modules. If you don't want to spend the money, get a pair of modules that have the same timings and speeds as your current RAM.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom