Question Adding 8GB to existing 16GB (2 x 8GB) RAM ?

[samsearching]

Hello guys,

My current ram is 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4.

I use this system only for 3D work and no gaming at all.
I want to upgrade to 24GB or 32GB. However I am not sure if I should add just one or two 8GB sticks from the same manufacture.

Will adding one or two 8GB sticks work ?


My current setup:
CPU: -Intel Core i7 5820K @ 3.30GHz
MOTHERBOARD: -MSI X99A SLI PLUS(MS-7885)
GPU: -NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
RAM: -Corsair VENGEANCE® LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 - CMK8GX4M1A2400C16
PSU: -Thermaltake Smart Pro RGB 750W Bronze
SSD: -Samsung 850 EVO = 250GB
HDD: -1+1= 2TB
COOLER: -NH-D15S

 

[CountMike]

Hello guys,

My current ram is 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4.

I use this system only for 3D work and no gaming at all.
I want to upgrade to 24GB or 32GB. However I am not sure if I should add just one or two 8GB sticks from the same manufacture.

Will adding one or two 8GB sticks work ?


My current setup:
CPU: -Intel Core i7 5820K @ 3.30GHz
MOTHERBOARD: -MSI X99A SLI PLUS(MS-7885)
GPU: -NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
RAM: -Corsair VENGEANCE® LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 - CMK8GX4M1A2400C16
PSU: -Thermaltake Smart Pro RGB 750W Bronze
SSD: -Samsung 850 EVO = 250GB
HDD: -1+1= 2TB
COOLER: -NH-D15S

Apart from buying all new memory, gett a pair of same RAM as you already have, would be best choice.

 

[avg9956]

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/X99A-SLI-PLUS/Specification

This board actually has up to 8 DIMM slots
I have a similar board albeit older by a tad bit, the X79A-GD65 (8D) which also has 8 DIMM slots.

However I am not sure if I should add just one or two 8GB sticks from the same manufacture.

It is highly recommended to make sure you run the same sticks from the manufacturer, and in particular, the same model - CMK8GX4M1A2400C16 .

Currently you have 2x of CMK8GX4M1A2400C16 which is working.
You can go for another 2x CMK8GX4M1A2400C16

However you have to install the Memory sticks into these respective slots, otherwise it will not boot.

*Had a similar experience with my X79A board, the board will only boot if you follow the correct DIMM mounting configuration. In your case since you will then have 4 sticks, follow this configuration above.

• Support eight DDR4 DIMMs 2133/2200(OC)/2400(OC)/2600(OC)/2666(OC)/2750(OC)/3000(OC)/3110(OC)/3333(OC) MHz, up to 128GB Max.

Also, the maximum memory for this is up to 128GB of DDR4 Memory
You can get 16 GB Memory sticks instead if you have the budget, but I have trouble loading the memory QVL list for this particular board. It seems MSI removed it from their website...

 

[samsearching]

Thank you for your response.

You can get 16 GB Memory sticks instead if you have the budget

Well, i can get 16GB single stick but would that be compatible with my current 8GBx2 setup? I read that all modules need to have same size.
I also would like to know if adding single 8GB stick to the current setup work efficiently (Triple channel mode)? Dual channel kit (same to my current ram) is not availble right now online. But i can get single channel either one or two 8GB sticks separately.

 

[samsearching]

Thank you for responding.

Apart from buying all new memory, gett a pair of same RAM as you already have, would be best choice.

I want to use my existing ram. Just wanted to know if is it safe to add one or two additional 8GB sticks to current setup? I am unable to find same dual channel kit, but there are single channel sticks available online.

 

[CountMike]

Thank you for responding.

I want to use my existing ram. Just wanted to know if is it safe to add one or two additional 8GB sticks to current setup? I am unable to find same dual channel kit, but there are single channel sticks available online.

Yes it's safe if it works as expected. As I said same sticks as you have now (even if not matched pair) gives you best chance.

 

[avg9956]

Well, i can get 16GB single stick but would that be compatible with my current 8GBx2 setup? I read that all modules need to have same size.

Yes, all modules will have to be the same size to prevent any issues.

So if you were to go with only 8GB and fill all 8 slots with it, you can have up to a max of 64 GB
However if you go with 16GB each and fill all 8 slots, it will land you to the 128GB maximum memory that your motherboard can support.

I also would like to know if adding single 8GB stick to the current setup work efficiently (Triple channel mode)?

See the manual: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/X99a-SLI-PLUS#down-manual
Go to English > Memory section, Follow how many channels does the motherboard allow you to run

Usually RAM works best in the power of 2. Running in an odd number amount of sticks isn't optimized for performance.

 

[samsearching]

Yes it's safe if it works as expected. As I said same sticks as you have now (even if not matched pair) gives you best chance.

Good to know that it doesn't need to be a paired kit. In that case I might just wait for now and buy two 8GB sticks later when my budget allows that.

 

[samsearching]

So if you were to go with only 8GB and fill all 8 slots with it, you can have up to a max of 64 GB
However if you go with 16GB each and fill all 8 slots, it will land you to the 128GB maximum memory that your motherboard can support.

Yes, i had checked the manual earlier. Right now my budget doesn't allow , otherwise i can get 64GB completely new kit. By the way, is it fine if i use 2x16GB sticks in future and lateron add two more 16GB if required? Beacuse i dont think I need more than 64GB right now considering my work scene.

Note: Also my current CPU allows maximum 64GB only.

 

[avg9956]

By the way, is it fine if i use 2x16GB sticks in future and later on add two more 16GB if required

Definitely

Note: Also my current CPU allows maximum 64GB only.

Oh then you can just stick to 8GB, not unless you're looking to upgrade to a CPU that supports up to 128GB of RAM.
Both the motherboard and CPU must support the max RAM limit for it to work. Good thing you checked on that detail.

 

[timbot343]

Both Corsair RAM modules you've mentioned are single rank modules, so that means on-top of an increase in memory capacity you'll also have a slight speed increase with 4 modules in your motherboard, as opposed to 2.