So, what's the deal with RAM kits?

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Evan Tanguma

Evan Tanguma

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My system has 2x4gb Viper Elite 2400 MHZ DDR4 series 1 RAM. Lately, I noticed that my multi-tasking habits have really pushed that 8GB limit. I would like to add another 4gb 2400 mhz stick to save the pain of switching out kits and re-selling the old.

The problem is, forums seem to light up at this prospect - with half of the answered threads terrified that adding a RAM stick outside of a kit is a recipe for disaster, and the other half of answered threads waving off those folks as people caught up in an outdated view of computer memory.

So, which is it? Have there been any good case studies or stability benchmarks on this topic as of late that you can point me towards? As long as I buy from a retailer with a good return policy, is there really anything to worry about?

Thanks!
 
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MeanMachine41
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krzyimprt

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It's not really a recipe for disaster. When you mismatch ram they more than likely won't run in dual channel mode. If your board has 4 slots, why not buy another matching kit for a total of 4x4GB. Also I agree 8GB, I have a 16GB kit and I can easily use 7GB just playing GTAV.
 
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JoeMomma

JoeMomma

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The unbreakable rule is whatever RAM you add has to be exactly precisely the same serial number as what you have.
Most of the time it has worked no problem for me, but it all comes down to luck. Good or Bad.

It may work perfectly.
It may work with no overclock or at reduced speed because the timings are slightly off.
It may not work at all if the timings are off too much.

The only time I had a problem, TigerDirect (that's how long ago it was) exchanged the RAM and the 2nd set worked.
I'm using 2 different sets of Crucial 2x4GB RAM right now for 16GB. And it's overclocked.
 
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Evan Tanguma

Evan Tanguma

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Oh, right, I probably should have mentioned. The exact kit I bought a year ago is only available at an inflated price on Amazon, hence why I'm trying to get just 1x for now (unless I went with a different brand under the same specs?). I also have a few different parts I want to upgrade (HDD, CPU), so I'm really trying to get away with a marginal RAM upgrade since I think it's both a bottleneck on my current system while also the point of lowest returns... :)

 
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krzyimprt

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You won't find a way around the prices. My 16GB kit cost $67, it now sells for $180. CPU-Z will show your ram's part number under the SPD tab. Throw that into google and buy a matching stick. However if you only add one stick you'll be running in single channel. It will hinder your fps a bit in bandwidth hungry games.
 
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MeanMachine41

MeanMachine41

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It can appear an attractive proposition to add RAM to an existing kit when your budget constrained however, you take a chance on them working together. It is not a recipe for disaster but can be a frustrating excersize if you have no Bios experience.
During manufacture there are small Latency differences and that's why manufacturers Bin their modules into kits to conform.
They may even work to some degree without Bios intervention but very often let you down when the extra RAM comes into play.
If you have Bios confidence then go into Dram Timing and voltage control to manually adjust Primary Timings and Voltage but there is no guarantee.
My advice is to get a single kit the size you need and frequency that are listed on the MB QVL and that way you're almost guaranteed they will work.
Go here for an Authoritative overview on the subject:
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?57038-Don%92t-combine-memory-kits!-The-meat-and-potatoes-overview
 
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Evan Tanguma

Evan Tanguma

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Good point. By chance, are RAM protocols smart enough to run the high intensive applications in the dual channel memory and save the single channel for background tasks?

 
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Evan Tanguma

Evan Tanguma

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Thanks for that. Your link was more to the point of what I was looking for. I'm okay with BIOS but I'm currently working on some driver stability issues so I'm not sure adding memory to the mix is wise for my own sanity at the moment... :)
 
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