[SOLVED] 2013 gaming PC RAM upgrade

[Fog226]

Hi!

I'm using a quite old PC (second half 2013) for gaming and general browsing.
I play light games like League of Legends or Stardew Valley, plus strategic/management games with generally low/medium HW requirements.
Not playing the most recent titles and having compromises with graphics settings, I used to find the build still fine and playable for my needs.
But lately, I'm incurring instability and crashes and standing to Windows Stop Code MEMORY MANAGEMENT and memory diagnostic it's HW error.
I would like to save the build, and I guess that if the auto diagnostic is correct the solution is to change the RAM.

So my question is if there is room for performance improvement just with a RAM upgrade, without any other change, and therefore if it is worth investing a bit, or if I should just get a minimum viable replacement.
In both cases, I would like to have your suggestion about which specific RAMs to buy.

Regarding the budget, it really depends on how much is it worth the investment in terms of performance improvement, but here I rely on you guys. As max, I have 200$ to spend, if necessary and useful.

Moreover, with HW of 8 years ago, still make sense to think about other possible upgrades with a sensible perforance improvement, or at this point is necessary a complete rebuild due to compatibility and/or bottle-neck issues?

Below the build details.

Thank you very much for your help!

Approximate Purchase Date: 2013 second half
Budget Range: max 200$
System Usage: gaming, browsing, office
Parts:
OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU: Intel Core i5 4670 @ 3.40GHz
RAM: 8,00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 799MHz
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 (CPUSocket)
Monitor: DELL U2515H (2560x1440@59Hz)
GPU: 2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 (EVGA)
HDD: 931GB Western Digital WDC WD10EZEX-75ZF5A0 (SATA )
SSD: 111GB Samsung SSD 840 EVO 120GB (SATA (SSD))

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

i would definitely go with a full system upgrade;
new modern chipset (motherboard \ CPU \ DDR4 RAM)
& a GPU from the last 4-5 years at least.

considering that you'd be keeping your drives, display, OS, and peripherals;
figuring in that you probably need a new PSU as well. this will probably land you at a minimum of ~$600 for lower tiered components.
shopping around for deals and possibly used components may cut ~$150 off of that at the most.

 

[alceryes]

Agreed. You really should look at a full system replacement.

$200 just won't cut it, though. At best you could upgrade everything EXCEPT the GPU and carry that over into your new system until you can afford a decent one and GPU prices come back down from crazytown.
But, I wouldn't spend less than $500 on a good MB, CPU, RAM, and PSU. You want this system to last ANOTHER 7-8 years, right? Don't go for components that are just 'okay' by today's standards.

 

[Why_Me]

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813157978
ASRock B560M PRO4 $99.99

https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i5-11400f-core-i5-11th-gen/p/N82E16819118264?Item=N82E16819118264
Intel Core i5-11400F $159.99

https://www.amazon.com/Antec-0-761345-10923-9-A40PRO/dp/B01HLAB80C/
Antec A40 Pro CPU Cooler $27.99

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-16gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820232884
G.SKILL Aegis 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3200 CL16 Intel XMP 2.0 Memory Kit $79.99

Total: $368

 

[Fog226]

i would definitely go with a full system upgrade;
new modern chipset (motherboard \ CPU \ DDR4 RAM)
& a GPU from the last 4-5 years at least.

considering that you'd be keeping your drives, display, OS, and peripherals;
figuring in that you probably need a new PSU as well. this will probably land you at a minimum of ~$600 for lower tiered components.
shopping around for deals and possibly used components may cut ~$150 off of that at the most.

Agreed. You really should look at a full system replacement.

$200 just won't cut it, though. At best you could upgrade everything EXCEPT the GPU and carry that over into your new system until you can afford a decent one and GPU prices come back down from crazytown.
But, I wouldn't spend less than $500 on a good MB, CPU, RAM, and PSU. You want this system to last ANOTHER 7-8 years, right? Don't go for components that are just 'okay' by today's standards.

Got it, thank you!
But in the case I just want to resolve the instability issue, assuming that is caused by my faulty RAM, can you suggest a suitable RAM substitute, without caring for any improvement and any other component?

Thank you!

 

[Quanticriver]

Got it, thank you!
But in the case I just want to resolve the instability issue, assuming that is caused by my faulty RAM, can you suggest a suitable RAM substitute, without caring for any improvement and any other component?

Thank you!

Hi basically any 1600 mhz ram kit should do the trick, assuming it's your ram stick(s) that are borked

Try not to mix and match ram

 

[Krotow]

Alas for 200$ budget you can do only RAM upgrade to 16 GB, DDR3-1600. Use the same RAM modules, 2 x 8 GB or 4 x 4 GB.

Proper upgrade here is completely new gaming PC. AMD or Intel based, does not matter, but certainly with decent components. And move GPU to new PC (because at today you can't get proper GPU without paying amount worth of used car).

 

[alexbirdie]

In 2019 I bought following for upgrading my son's PC:

Corsair CMY16GX3M2A1600C9R Vengeance Pro Series 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600Mhz CL9 XMP Performance Desktop Memory Rot

Runs flawlessly until today.

Is still available:

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00D5XAN06/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It is better to buy such a new set instead of mixing different ram-sticks.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

if you are really that short on cash, you should first verify that the RAM is actually faulty before investing anything into a new set.
or go with a retailer with very lax return\refund policies so you can easily return if it turns out to not be the issue.

you should try to find someone(friend, family, co-worker, etc) also with a dinosaur system that will let you try their DDR3 in your own or vice versa.