8gb, 12gb, or 16gb ddr3 ram?

[chachee99]

I purchased a Levono y50p70 laptop recently with an i5 4210H, 960m 2gb video card, and 500gb ssd. However, the laptop only had 4gb DDR3 of ram installed. I want to upgrade the ram but the laptop only has 2 slots.
I am wondering if I should get

8gb (4gb x 2 sticks of ram)
12gb (4gb+8gb sticks of ram)
16gb (8gb X 2 sticks of ram)

I would like to play current titles such as BF1, Civ 6, RE 7, etc smoothly 1080p or even 720p.

What is the best option for the money?

 

[Hardware Brad]

It really depends on your budget. BF1 has a minimum of 8GB, so i'd say go to 12GB to be safe, but if your budget fits it, go all the way to 16GB to future proof the system.

I'd say you're deciding between purchasing 1x8GB or 2x8GB. Forget about getting a 4gb stick.

 

[chachee99]

The 8gb stick is my preference, but i am wondering if mixing 4gb and 8gb would cause conflicts. I read that ram works best in pairs. Preferably identical.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I am wondering if I should get

Go for 2x8GB.
While 12GB might be enough, 2x8GB will allow you to run your ram in dual channel mode.
It gives slight performance advantage.

8GB definitely is not enough for latest triple-A titles.

 

[Hardware Brad]

The 8gb stick is my preference, but i am wondering if mixing 4gb and 8gb would cause conflicts. I read that ram works best in pairs. Preferably identical.

Some motherboards are picky, but in my experience, I mix sizes and brands, densities, and speeds all the time. Some people here would have a stroke if they saw someone do that, but the motherboard will clock all of the RAM the same speed so that they will work. Though it's not something recommended, it will not kill your machine if you don't buy your RAM in pairs.

If you see a brand new laptop that has 6GB of RAM or 12GB of RAM, they mixed a 2+4 or 4+8, so if the manufacturer can do it, so can you. If you do plan to get an 8GB stick to add next to that 4GB, try and get matching speed, but like I mentioned, if you mixed speeds, the motherboard will run them both at the same default speed anyway.