Upgrading RAM - More Memory vs Matching Cards

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Joe Campbell

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Apr 27, 2014
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I am purchasing a HP ProBook 430 which comes with 4gb of RAM and a spare slot.

I am wanting to upgrade (as I know 4gb will not suffice), but I am unsure whether it would be better to get 2 x 4gb (and replace current card) to have 8gb, or to get a 8gb card for the spare slot to get 12gb of ram total?

The 8gb card would be cheaper and would provide more memory, but is this the only consideration? Would matching cards provide better performance?

Thanks for your help!
 
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mathullan1905

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Apr 21, 2014
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I ain't much of a pro, but different frequencies make a difference in performance. When they are all the same, they work together more easily, as all the timings and frequency is equal to each other. When its different, I think either the slowest one will be taken into account or something like that. Someone ought to correct me if i'm wrong.
 
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Joe Campbell

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Apr 27, 2014
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Thanks mathullan1905 for the speedy response!

The current ram has a speed of 1600 MHz - so if I get ram with the same speed will that be ok? What would you go for in this situation?
 
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Joe Yahchouchi

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Apr 29, 2014
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I have known some people that are very strict about these things, keeping balanced memory sizes etc... And maybe it matters, but I doubt it is that big of a deal(I have used imbalanced ram before, did not notice odd behavior. I'm an advocate of more is better. If it were me I would get 12 GB, and in a year or whatever I can extend my computer's life further by replacing my 4 GB stick with a 8 GB. If you buy 2x4 GB ram now, when it is time to upgrade, you'll have to throw 2 sticks of ram in the garbage... That would be a shame.
 
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mathullan1905

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Apr 21, 2014
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Like I said im not a pro, but having rams operate at different frequencies may give problems. You may not be making use of the extra speeds on the higher rams. It's best to get one with the same frequencies. There is also the 'timings' that you need to take into consideration. 8gb of ram should be plenty, but depends on your workload. You will get better stability and performance by using the same ram. Im not sure if you will notice much of a difference by using a different ram with different frequencies and timings, but 8gb should be enough. Matching cards will most likely provide a more stable and better performance.
 
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Joe Yahchouchi

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Apr 29, 2014
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I am talking strictly about capacity and not frequency, yes get same frequencies(1300 MHZ or 1600 whatever the case may be) and yes 8 GB is plenty... for now. I currently have 8 GB on my computer, it runs very fast and nothing fills it, but I have one spare slot for when in a couple of years the next best operating system/tools will be needing even more ram.

There was a time I used to think nothing would ever fill 2 GB ram...
 
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