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Which RAM Should I Buy? 4GB or 8GB?

Tags:
  • Asus
  • G.SKILL
  • RAM
  • AMD
  • Phenom
Last response: in Memory
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September 18, 2014 2:05:37 PM

Okay, so I'm in the need to increase the amount of RAM in my system. Here are my current system specs:

Windows 7 64-Bit Professional
AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2 Ghz
ASUSTeK M4A79XTD EVO
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM
NVidia GeForce GT650Ti Boost 2GB RAM http://

I am not a HUGE gamer but built this system about 4.5 years ago to be serviceable. I originally had an ATI card in it but that died on me earlier this year. I have now sold all my consoles and am planning on doing the remaining of my gaming/future gaming on PC. The PC offers the ability of FPS games along with RTS games and other type games. It's cheaper for me to maintain 1 gaming system then it is for two.

So, I need/want to get more RAM in this thing so that I won't need to worry about handling current games and future games. 4GB just isn't enough =D

Now my question: I am working on getting Planetside 2 to work and I am constantly maxing out my RAM when in battles with frames per second dropping to 2, 6, 8, etc....basically unplayable.

Should I

A) Get the same RAM I have now, 2 x 2GB to bring me up to 8GB total?

OR

B) Get another 1 x 8GB stick to bring my total to 12GB? http://

I checked the timing and voltage on the RAM I currently have. The timing is running at 9-9-9-24-33 1T, despite the "listed" timing being 7-8-7-24-2N. Also, my mobo is running the RAM on "auto" settings and so it has the voltage running at 1.5v rather than the "listed" 1.6v.

Based on the current configuration of my RAM, I am assuming that I should be okay to put the Crucial 1 x 8GB in and have no issues since all the timings would match up along with the voltage, despite the G.Skill's listing different timings on the RAM I initially bought. Am I correct on this? I have had zero issues with my RAM since I bought, so everything is running stable.

Would I even "need" 12GB of RAM for Planetside 2 and other intense games or would 8GB be more than enough? I'd rather not spend the extra $$ if I don't need to.

More about : ram buy 4gb 8gb

a c 985 Ĉ ASUS
a c 299 À AMD
September 18, 2014 2:23:42 PM

I'd go with a 2x4GB set of 1333/9 maybe Ripjaws or Snipers from GSkill, not many 955s can carry 1600 sticks without a fair amount of increased voltage to the CPU/NB and the DRAM itself, the 965 rev 3C was the first AMD CPU that could generally carry 1600 stable without a lot of additional voltages
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September 19, 2014 4:23:15 AM

Well my mobo can handle it and I currently don't OC to the full 1600 anyways so I'm not too concerned about that.
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