What RAM Should I Get?

[Jonwest717]

Hey Tom's Hardware



Quick question regarding what type of RAM I should be purchasing for my PC. Currently I am struggling to decide between G.SKILL Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) (link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231611) and the Patriot Gamer 2 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) (link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220619)

Here I my PC's specs

Intel Core i3-3220
Gigabyte GA-H61M-DS2 Motherboard
Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 Graphics Card
Corsair Vengeance Blue 8 GB (2X4 GB)
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB Hard Drive
Adata XPG SX900 SSD
Corsair Builder Series CX 500 Watt ATX/EPS 80 PLUS (CX500)

 

[EzioAs]

What are you primary usage? You don't need 16GB if it's just for gaming. Get 8GB (2x4GB) instead. I prefer G.Skill over patriot but both are good brands

 

[Chairman Ray]

What are you using your computer for that 8gb RAM is not enough? Depending on your activities, I may suggest saving the money to upgrade your CPU instead. 8gb ram will be enough for most tasks, and having a stronger CPU will reduce memory usage for some software.

 

[Jonwest717]

Gaming is my primary purpose, but my Dad insists that 16GB of RAM will make my computer better

 

[i8myhippo]

It will be next to impossible to notice any difference as far as usage goes. Both of those links seem to be dead, by the way.

 

[jasont78]

your dad doesnt have a clue i dont own a game that can use more than 6 of my 8 gb, get some gskill ripjaws 1600 rock solid reliable, cheap and no point going any higher with your cpu

 

[jasont78]

you dont need a 500w psu either 400 is plenty save money from that and not getting 16gb ram put it into your gpu where you will see a big difference. you should be able to upgrade to a 7850 with your savings

 

[smorizio]

john look for newer low profile ram. if you put a after market heat sink in your system some tall heat sinks on ram will hit the top of heat sinks. any standard 1.5v or less ram with 9-9-9- at 1600 speed will be fine. myself i get a kit with two 8g ram dimms so that you still have two dimm slots if you need more ram. there are two things that i would swap out on your build. the first is the ssd. look at the vendor web page make sure they have firmware updates. a lot of ssd that use the sandforce controllers have had firmware drop to fix bugs. spend a few extra dollars pick up an intel or samsung or better rebranded ssd. the mb you have be care full if it does not have the newest bios on it.it wont boot with an ib cpu till the firmware updated with and older sb chips.
the x7x mb will have newer bios and boot fine with the ib cpu.

 

[EzioAs]

you dont need a 500w psu either 400 is plenty save money from that and not getting 16gb ram put it into your gpu where you will see a big difference. you should be able to upgrade to a 7850 with your savings

Going 500W isn't so bad especially since it's a corsair CX where the 12V rail can only supply around 400W

 

[Jonwest717]

Thanks for all the helpful replies. So instead of getting the 16GB RAM should I grab a AMD FX-6300 FX-Series (http://goo.gl/k9KVo) and G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) (http://goo.gl/vVi1e)

 

[EzioAs]

If you go with an AMD CPU you'll need to replace the motherboard as well. If not, your previous CPU is fine

Good RAM choice

 

[Jonwest717]

If you go with an AMD CPU you'll need to replace the motherboard as well. If not, your previous CPU is fine

Good RAM choice

Is it better to just stick with the i3 and upgrade my motherboard?

 

[EzioAs]

I don't know your budget but if you can get an i5-3470, get that and keep the H61 motherboard. If you only need an i3, that board is fine as well but maybe have a look at some H77 boards as well if you want more sata ports and USB 3.0. Otherwise, your first part list is actually good already

 

[camohanna]

You are wasting your money purchasing more ram. 8GB is plenty. Use the money to get a i5-3470 or 3570. This will give you more performance increase.

 

[Jonwest717]

Best answer selected by Jonwest717.