Question Adding ram.

[PapawShane]

I know I am asking newbie questions, but I am old and just recently built my first PC since around 2000. I have a Ryzen 7 2700, a GTX 1080, B450m Pro4 board, a 1 TB Crucial SSD and 16GB (2x8) G-Skill Ripjaw V-Series DDR 3200mhz ram. I gave more info on the ram since it is the basis of my question haha. Would adding another 16gb give me enough gains to justify the purchase? Or is 16GB good enough for the time being. They run around $72 without tax on Amazon. Would I gain enough to justify the $72? Thanks for helping an old man, who is out of his league

 

[anotthatgreatdane]

Depends on your workload. Whats it for?

 

[PapawShane]

I do a lot of video editing and some gaming.

 

[anotthatgreatdane]

Video editing yes. Gaming no

 

[PapawShane]

Thank you very much for your reply

 

[sizzling]

It’s generally advised not to ‘add’ RAM and rather sell what you have and buy a matched kit for what you need. You can try adding RAM and if you get the same make and model or similar specifications it usually works ok but there is a chance of issues. Only RAM bought as a matched kit is guaranteed to work with each other.

 

[PapawShane]

Ah, thanks for the info, I really had no clue. So, if I did order more and it was the same make/model, I probably wouldn't have any issues, but that would be the only way to attempt to add ram?

 

[Calvin7]

Ryzen 7 2700 - AMD - WikiChip
Notice the Memory Configurations table in the above link. Populating 4 of 4 memory slots reduces the officially supported memory clock speed over just using two slots.

You can make any combinations you want, however memory manufacturers only guarantee memory in the form sold. Use of multiple kits have no guarantee to be compatible together.

 

[anotthatgreatdane]

Most likely it will work. Speed will be affected (by a margin). Just never use OEM Ram from Dell or HP. And populate the slots correctly 1-3 and 2-4 with matching sets.

 

[geofelt]

Added ram is good for your application.
But adding ram is a questionable endeavor.

A perennial question.
Here is my stock answer:

Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
A motherboard must manage all the ram using the same specs of voltage, cas and speed.
The internal workings are designed for the capacity of the kit.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards, can be very sensitive to this.
This is more difficult when more sticks are involved.

If you do buy more disparate sticks, they should be the same speed, voltage and cas numbers.
Even then your chances of working are less than 100%
I might guess 90% success for intel and less for amd.

What is your plan "B" if the new stick/s do not work?

If you want 32gb, my suggestion if you have an intel motherboard is to buy a 2 x 16gb kit that matches your current specs.
Then, try adding in your old 16 gb,
If it works, good; you now have extra ram.
If not, sell the old ram or keep it as a spare.

 

[PapawShane]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the info. From what I have gathered here, I will stick to what I have. My rig works great, I was just unsure if adding more would help all around and honestly, didn't know about all the other issues that could arise from adding more ram. I have done it in the past (late 90s early 00s) when I am guessing it didn't matter as much. Again, I really appreciate all the help