Worth spending $100 on older DDR3 upgrade?

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cpmackenzi

cpmackenzi

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I'm happy with my system, and everything seems to run well right now. I play games like DOOM at 1440p that demand a decent amount of my system, with no stuttering or issues. However, I'm noticing more games recommending 16GB of RAM. I'm really interested in Star Wars Battlefront II, and it does recommend 16GB.

I read from some forum commenters that you should generally never need more than 8GB, but I realize if I'm going to upgrade one final thing on my current PC, it'd be going to 16GB. The issue is the best RAM I can put in my mobo is just DDR3 1600, and that's nearly as expensive as DDR4 due to lack of demand.

Given I don't really want to rebuild my PC from the ground up (new mobo) anytime soon, is it worth the $100 to get good DDR3 RAM? I'm looking at this set of low latency: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ntzv6h/gskill-memory-f31600c7d16gtx

My current PC specs, for reference: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8k6Z3F
 
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hdmark
if you currently have 8gb, i would sell the 8, and pick up a set of 16gb 1600.
i have a very similiar set up to yours (same monitor too). i upgraded from a mixed set of 12gb 1333 dell ram to 16gb of hyperx fury 1600mhz. there was a minor difference. small little stutters here and there seemed to disapear (could be placebo)

our setups will be good for quite a few years im thinking (my setup in my sig) so i dont think 100 now to upgrade the ram would hurt. i can tell you im not planning to change my mobo/cpu till it breaks or mabye the 9700k or even 10700k (who knows the naming) comes out and i can get more than just a few % performance increase.

i'm just going to keep bumping up the gpu and monitor for awhile when i need to
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cpmackenzi

cpmackenzi

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Fair enough. I figured because I was limited in the DDR 1600 field, I may as well go for the better latency. I believe I could pick slower latency RAM and shave off $10-15, but that doesn't break my budget, so if I upgrade, I may as well for the best.
 
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hdmark

hdmark

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if you currently have 8gb, i would sell the 8, and pick up a set of 16gb 1600.
i have a very similiar set up to yours (same monitor too). i upgraded from a mixed set of 12gb 1333 dell ram to 16gb of hyperx fury 1600mhz. there was a minor difference. small little stutters here and there seemed to disapear (could be placebo)

our setups will be good for quite a few years im thinking (my setup in my sig) so i dont think 100 now to upgrade the ram would hurt. i can tell you im not planning to change my mobo/cpu till it breaks or mabye the 9700k or even 10700k (who knows the naming) comes out and i can get more than just a few % performance increase.

i'm just going to keep bumping up the gpu and monitor for awhile when i need to
 
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cpmackenzi

cpmackenzi

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Thanks. Think there's really a lot of resale on older DDR3 RAM? Suppose I can put it up on eBay, or if you have suggestions for another place.
 
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hdmark

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people buy everything from ebay. even if you only get 20-30 bucks for your current ram, that still helps to cut the cost of the new ram.

and i agree with superninja, id look on ebay for ram deals. used would probably be fine. could very well be a seller like you whos just going faster or upgrading his system. or buy new if it makes you feel a bit better about it.

 
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velocityg4

velocityg4

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Perhaps I'm missing something.

If your ultimate goal is 16GB. Why sell or replace anything? Just add another 2x4GB and have 16GB in total (4x4GB). The motherboard you listed has four RAM slots. Just run 4x4GB and save the hassle of buying then selling to get some money back. You already know what RAM you have. Just buy another set of the same RAM. Even if you buy something different. They should ultimately settle on their fastest common speed. Although it is best to use the same make/model to ensure compatibility.

The only reason I can see for buying 2x8GB is to end up with 24GB or selling the 2x4GB with the ultimate goal of 4x8GB.
 
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Ditt44

Ditt44

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I would say you can do two things to speed things up, which is what I did last fall prior to my new Ryzen build this past May...

1. upgrade from 8GB of RAM to 16. I got a set of 2c8GB G. Skill on Amazon for $56 and immediately saw improvements.

2. If you don't have an SSD hosting your OS and games, add one. Clone your HDD to it and you'll see even more snappy-ness-ity. And the SSD will port to a new build down the road.

If you decide to add two more sticks in the open slots, make sure you look at your board's specs for how fast it will run four slots of RAM. You may actually get more RAM but at slower speeds overall vs. two larger sticks in two slots. I went with the upgraded 2x8GB because one of my RAM slots was never quite right from the factory. I think, in general, you'll be 'faster' with 2x8GB, but it's your money/budget.
 
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cpmackenzi

cpmackenzi

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I'm used to everyone saying buy kits. I suppose I could simply buy the same 2x4GB set I already have, but I thought the ideal is to get kits, which would mean buying 4x4GB.

If most people can get by with mixed RAM, then maybe I'll consider it. It'd save me $30 if simply another 2x4GB set works. But if it doesn't? Then I'm out that money.

Also, as a technicality, my current RAM is officially DDR3 2400. Given my mobo only runs up to 1600 anyway, I thought I'd get one that properly fits the board, and that has better latency (even if it doesn't matter a ton).
 
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cpmackenzi

cpmackenzi

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Thanks for reply. I do have an SSD running my OS, and I put one or two of my favorite games on it. But the rest run from the HDD. As SSDs get cheaper, I could perhaps upgrade my second hard drive from HDD to SSD. Glad to see that the RAM upgrade should help, from your experience.
 
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cpmackenzi

cpmackenzi

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Right, that's what I've read. I could buy the exact same type of RAM I currently have, get another 2x4GB kit. But if it doesn't actually work, it's going to be more frustration than it's worth. Now I have RAM I can't return for full refund, and I'm left trying to sell two sets of them.
 
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velocityg4

velocityg4

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I've never had problems buying two of the same for myself. That is the same make and model from the same manufacturer. I suppose there is always the possibility of a problem. But I haven't seen it happen in 20+ years. The biggest risk is loss of dual channel. Which is unlikely with another pair of the same make and model. I buy them at the same time. As I go overkill on RAM when building. By the time it needs an upgrade it is old and I have random RAM lying around.

Although I only buy RAM from actual DRAM manufacturers. I suppose there is a higher risk with Geil. As you won't know if the same make/model was manufactured by the same manufacturer or one from say Crucial and another by Hynix. While I mix Samsung, Hynix, Toshiba and Crucial frequently in older computers. They are generally using JEDEC standard timings.

I frequently mix RAM from different vendors. In those cases it is a customers OEM computer which uses spec RAM. In which case I get the spec RAM from Crucial for that specific make and model. As some OEM are finicky about RAM which does not comply with JEDEC standards.

The only times I come into any problems is just mixing random RAM I have lying around in an old computer. Even then the problems are rare. Although I have piles of old RAM, pulled from old computers clients give me, and just grab another one. Usually the problem is just a dead module as I don't bother storing them in anti-static bags.
 
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