Ram upgrade question

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Kevin_75

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Dec 27, 2015
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Just a quick one, would I see much performance gain in my system if i were to buy 2x more 4GB ram modules.

Currently I have 2x Teamgroup elite 4GB in the first dual channel slots but the other two are empty. My mobo is a z97 PC Mate, it supports up to 32gb.

I know there are other posts out there but there are mixed answers as to if it's worth it. If not, would it be worth selling my 2x 4GB and buying 2x8GB? I would rather not and just put in another pair of 4's as its far cheaper but if i have no option then that is what I'll do.
 
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10tacle
Well the short answer is that it depends on what you are doing. If you are mostly gaming, some games take advantage of 16GB. For productivity apps like video rendering, you will definitely see a drop in rendering times with more memory.

With that said, if you do want to go the 16GB route, always buy matched pairs. So sell your 2x4GB kit. The chance of adding a second 2x4GB kit for the second set of DIMM slots and it not giving you problems is a craps shoot. It may or may not work even if the same model.

The reason is that memory vendors like Corsair, G.SKILL, Kingston, etc. often use different manufacturer NAND chip modules between different production cycles. So for example one month they may use Samsung modules, the next month...
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10tacle

10tacle

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Dec 6, 2008
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Well the short answer is that it depends on what you are doing. If you are mostly gaming, some games take advantage of 16GB. For productivity apps like video rendering, you will definitely see a drop in rendering times with more memory.

With that said, if you do want to go the 16GB route, always buy matched pairs. So sell your 2x4GB kit. The chance of adding a second 2x4GB kit for the second set of DIMM slots and it not giving you problems is a craps shoot. It may or may not work even if the same model.

The reason is that memory vendors like Corsair, G.SKILL, Kingston, etc. often use different manufacturer NAND chip modules between different production cycles. So for example one month they may use Samsung modules, the next month they may use Micron. That's where the hit or miss is. Also FYI you are better off using 2x sticks of larger ram in two DIMM slots vs. all four slots being used with 4x smaller ram.

Hope this helps!
 
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STRIKER_RU

STRIKER_RU

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Apr 17, 2015
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I would suggest you to buy another 4X2 modules of RAM (KIT) and put them in your mobo free slots. It would be cheaper than to resell. I agree with the previous post that to get a kit of 8X2 will be a good idea but in your case just add 4X2 compatible RAM and you will be fine. In theory, 4x4 GB will work faster than 8x2 GB RAM. So I think 16 GB is a must in 2018 whatever you do use your PC.
 
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10tacle

10tacle

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Dec 6, 2008
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^^Again that second 2x4GB kit may or may not work with the original pair. It's a roll of the dice. If I were in his shoes, I'd buy from a store that has a generous return policy in the event they do cause his PC to blue screen (or worst case not even POST).

That's irrespective of course of Intel's notorious issues with using all DIMM slots on non-X based motherboards.
 
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STRIKER_RU

STRIKER_RU

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Apr 17, 2015
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For more secure choice agreed. But I would try to install 4X2 compatible RAM kit (as I did on my P67 MSI mobo). If something goes wrong - return RAM to store.
 
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