Question are 16 gb of ram necessary?

May 30, 2019
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I have a laptop with a gtx950m, i5 6300hq and 8GB ram ddr3 1600 mhz. I want to upgrade my ram so my games run faster, but i dont know if it would be enough to update to 2x4 or to 2x8.
My problem is that i have micro stutters in my games. I am comfortable with the fps that my pc can give, but i hate that stuttering; so I have read that dual channel can reduce stuttering, so my question is... My lap is not so powerful to move all the games in 1080p and all with ultra settings, so I don´t know how much it would benefit having 16gb of ram. Do you think that with 2x4 is enough, or should I buy 2x8? I only use this pc for gaming.
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
Make and model laptop?

How much RAM is now installed: 1x4, 1 x8, 2x2?

What OS are you running?

In Windows you can use Task Manager and Resource Monitor to observe system performance.

Do so first while not gaming and then while gaming.

Look for some bottleneck: could be CPU, GPU, memory, network...

RAM may help but only if too little RAM is the cause of the stutters.

And check the RAM requirements of the games you play. Match the laptop RAM configuration to either the recommended or best configuration. Not minimal.
 
May 30, 2019
10
0
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Make and model laptop?

How much RAM is now installed: 1x4, 1 x8, 2x2?

What OS are you running?

In Windows you can use Task Manager and Resource Monitor to observe system performance.

Do so first while not gaming and then while gaming.

Look for some bottleneck: could be CPU, GPU, memory, network...

RAM may help but only if too little RAM is the cause of the stutters.

And check the RAM requirements of the games you play. Match the laptop RAM configuration to either the recommended or best configuration. Not minimal.
Mi actual ram is 1x8, I´m using W10. While gaming I dont have anything running background, neither an antivirus nor any other program. My laptop is an HP Pavilion 15-ak001la. The problem is that the stuttering happens in every game, even in League of Legends, and i have all the necessary power for playing it. I barely use 3 GB of ram before gaming, and in the most extreme cases in more demanding games, I use 6 GB of RAM, that´s why i dont know if i should buy 16 gb or only update to dual channel 2x4. I have an HDD 5400 rpm, i dont know if it can be a problem. And while I´m playing, my laptop temperatures are like 75-78 °C.
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
That HDD 5400 rpm drive could be suspect.

Watch disk activity via Task Manager or Resource Monitor. First watch while not gaming and then while gaming.

Do so several times to avoid reacting to some anomaly that may crop up.

Key is to eliminate other potential reasons for the micro-stutters.

Also, consider that we move your post to PC Gaming. Likely that someone will be able to comment on any possible performance improvements by changing to a Dual Channel 2x4 RAM configuration.
 
May 30, 2019
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That HDD 5400 rpm drive could be suspect.

Watch disk activity via Task Manager or Resource Monitor. First watch while not gaming and then while gaming.

Do so several times to avoid reacting to some anomaly that may crop up.

Key is to eliminate other potential reasons for the micro-stutters.

Also, consider that we move your post to PC Gaming. Likely that someone will be able to comment on any possible performance improvements by changing to a Dual Channel 2x4 RAM configuration.
I tested my HDD with HDtune and it says that the minimum transfer rate is 47.7 MB/sec, the maximum is 114.3 MB/sec and the average is 80.8 MB/sec. The access time is 18.3 ms... those are good numbers for an HDD 5400 rpm? Or are they bad in some way? CrystalDisk says it has 5479 hours.
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
No problem with nor disagreement with "good numbers".

However, SSD's have quite an advantage over HDDs.

Easy to find applicable discussions and comparisons. E.g.:

https://www.windowscentral.com/ssd-vs-hdd-which-should-i-have-my-pc

I started replacing HDD's with SSD's as soon as the latter became affordable (with respect to my budget criteria).

In all cases system performance improved. Notably.

Again: observe your system and look for possible bottlenecks.

Could indeed be RAM.

Just try to ensure that you cannot do anything else to make your system run measurably faster.
 

QwerkyPengwen

Splendid
Ambassador
It's possible that having dual channel could reduce the stuttering, but only if what the game is demanding of the RAM is too much for a single stick to handle properly.
More specifically if the stutter is being caused by the RAM not being able to deliver the data to the GPU fast enough also assuming that the GPU is crunching the info faster than the RAM can deliver, which in the case of the 950m, I doubt that.

So at this point, it could instead be the fact that you are running on a 5400 RPM HDD and that the HDD just isn't able to deliver things fast enough to the RAM for the RAM to then deliver to the GPU which would cause stutters as well.

Either a 7200RPM HDD or an SSD "could" and I say that again.... "COULD" possibly fix the issue. But also could possibly not.
 
May 30, 2019
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It's possible that having dual channel could reduce the stuttering, but only if what the game is demanding of the RAM is too much for a single stick to handle properly.
More specifically if the stutter is being caused by the RAM not being able to deliver the data to the GPU fast enough also assuming that the GPU is crunching the info faster than the RAM can deliver, which in the case of the 950m, I doubt that.

So at this point, it could instead be the fact that you are running on a 5400 RPM HDD and that the HDD just isn't able to deliver things fast enough to the RAM for the RAM to then deliver to the GPU which would cause stutters as well.

Either a 7200RPM HDD or an SSD "could" and I say that again.... "COULD" possibly fix the issue. But also could possibly not.

While i´m playing the ram is used like 50-60%. I mean it happens in games that just need 4 GB of ram recommended. I saw something, if I play a level of the game, and it stutters and everything, and then I play again the same level, it doesn´t stutter, even if I close the game and i open and play it again, it doesn´t happen. I don´t know if that is a signal of the HDD or the RAM; because if I restart the pc, it happens again. I have made a lot of tests changing a lot of things and nothing fixes it, just that.
 

QwerkyPengwen

Splendid
Ambassador
I would say the reason it doesn't stutter again in the same area is because when you went back to it, all the data for that area was still loaded into the memory and the VRAM most likely.

This is starting to see like an issue resulting from a slow 5400 RPM drive.

A 7200rpm drive or SSD would most likely fix this, however, I don't want to jump to such conclusions because I don't want you to go out and spend money on such a thing when it turned out it was something else.

But like I said, if you can use windows resource and task manager to see what happens with the HDD when this happens to see if it's getting pegged hard or not, that might help us to narrow down what could be the cause.
 

delaro

Judicious
Ambassador
I have a laptop with a gtx950m, i5 6300hq and 8GB ram ddr3 1600 mhz. I want to upgrade my ram so my games run faster, but i dont know if it would be enough to update to 2x4 or to 2x8.
My problem is that i have micro stutters in my games. I am comfortable with the fps that my pc can give, but i hate that stuttering; so I have read that dual channel can reduce stuttering, so my question is... My lap is not so powerful to move all the games in 1080p and all with ultra settings, so I don´t know how much it would benefit having 16gb of ram. Do you think that with 2x4 is enough, or should I buy 2x8? I only use this pc for gaming.

The only way upgrading your RAM would make your games run faster is if your running out of RAM. 8GB is still playable on most titles but it requires you to really keep an eye on memory management.

5400 rpm drives have a transfer speed of around 100 MB/s an SSD is over 500 MB/s. That is 5X faster and makes a huge difference in every aspect of using that computer. Avoid mechanical drives and just get an SSD. ;) 7200 rpm drives are only 200 MB/s and you will have issues with it too. In games, LOL, for instance, will cache often which is part of the stuttering you see other issues could be related to your power plan.
 
May 30, 2019
10
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I would say the reason it doesn't stutter again in the same area is because when you went back to it, all the data for that area was still loaded into the memory and the VRAM most likely.

This is starting to see like an issue resulting from a slow 5400 RPM drive.

A 7200rpm drive or SSD would most likely fix this, however, I don't want to jump to such conclusions because I don't want you to go out and spend money on such a thing when it turned out it was something else.

But like I said, if you can use windows resource and task manager to see what happens with the HDD when this happens to see if it's getting pegged hard or not, that might help us to narrow down what could be the cause.
Well, i can´t think in anything more than the HDD. If this is useful, i´ve recorded what happens in the game Ori and the blind forest.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT6-f3tr_xs
This is the first time i open the game.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx2YnADIh44
And this is after i close and open again the game.
 
May 30, 2019
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The only way upgrading your RAM would make your games run faster is if your running out of RAM. 8GB is still playable on most titles but it requires you to really keep an eye on memory management.

5400 rpm drives have a transfer speed of around 100 MB/s an SSD is over 500 MB/s. That is 5X faster and makes a huge difference in every aspect of using that computer. Avoid mechanical drives and just get an SSD. ;) 7200 rpm drives are only 200 MB/s and you will have issues with it too. In games, LOL, for instance, will cache often which is part of the stuttering you see other issues could be related to your power plan.
I´ve tested my hdd and it shows me this: https://ibb.co/stK3dGh
is that good?
 
May 30, 2019
10
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I would say the reason it doesn't stutter again in the same area is because when you went back to it, all the data for that area was still loaded into the memory and the VRAM most likely.

This is starting to see like an issue resulting from a slow 5400 RPM drive.

A 7200rpm drive or SSD would most likely fix this, however, I don't want to jump to such conclusions because I don't want you to go out and spend money on such a thing when it turned out it was something else.

But like I said, if you can use windows resource and task manager to see what happens with the HDD when this happens to see if it's getting pegged hard or not, that might help us to narrow down what could be the cause.
When the fps drop happens, the hdd is like 50%-70% of use just a second and then it returns to 0. I don´t now if that´s normal.
 

QwerkyPengwen

Splendid
Ambassador
Well that's not 90-100% so based on the graph or doesn't necessarily look like a hard drive speed issue, but then again, you are using a 5400rpm drive and there could be something else happening that resource monitor isn't reporting on.

What about CPU usage when the spikes happen?
 

QwerkyPengwen

Splendid
Ambassador
Actually, you know what, it's possible that this issue is being caused by the fact that you have a single stick of ram which means you're running in single channel.

This could be causing lag due to the slower speed of using single channel.

It could also just be both an issue of the 5400rpm drive with its tiny cache along with the single channel RAM that is causing an issue.

But do get back to me on CPU usage spikes
 

boju

Titan
Ambassador
Well stuff loads from the hdd randomly during games, more so in open world which can cause hitching.

Also Windows can already consume a good chunk of ram for itself. Out of 8GB ram would probably see roughly 5GB ~ 6GB of physical memory available and doesn't take much for Windows to start increasing pagefile virtual memory size on the HDD.

As said more ram will help. More capacity + dual channel giving more bandwidth between CPU and ram.

I do recommend as well changing the hdd. 5400 drives aren't really suitable for games nowadays with how memory hungry they can be. An SSD with Windows, pagefile and games + another 8GB ram, you'll be very impressed.
 
May 30, 2019
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Actually, you know what, it's possible that this issue is being caused by the fact that you have a single stick of ram which means you're running in single channel.

This could be causing lag due to the slower speed of using single channel.

It could also just be both an issue of the 5400rpm drive with its tiny cache along with the single channel RAM that is causing an issue.

But do get back to me on CPU usage spikes
I don´t see any spike of the cpu, it never hits 100% of something like that. I mean the only thing that can go slower than the rest of things it´s the HDD i suppose, because the ram is ddr3 the vram is ddr3 the cpu is good, i don´t know. Tomorrow i will clean the laptop maybe than can help, but i still feel like it´s that HDD.
One thing, https://www.amazon.com.mx/Hynix-HMT41GS6BFR8A-PB-DDR3L-1600MHz-módulo/dp/B00ILWIAEW this is the same module of ram I have right now, for dual channel can i buy this exact module? Or should i buy the two sticks of ram 2x8.
 
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Is your hard drive set for always running or does it go to sleep when not in use?
I have to set all my hard drives on always on or the default setting is go to sleep (I believe it is in performance options).
This used to give me a 1-2 second stutter every 15 minutes or so (it was the HDD waking up basically, starting to spin up).

Not sure that is the problem but it would happen on EVERY PC until i started using SSDs (no plate, no spin up time).
 
Try the drive wiper feature I explained, and like cats_paw noted, you may want to create a new power plan as high performance, instead of the basic or balanced power plan that is default.

Another performance increasing feature is the windows performance settings as shown in this pic: https://ibb.co/bd2CwYF
It has helped for many.

If you want to upgrade RAM (I do recommend), you can just add another 8GB stick, instead of getting a pair even though pairs make the better choice. Try this site: https://www.memorystock.com/memory/HewlettPackardPavilionGaming15ak001la.html

The amazon link is also compatible and if you want the exact one as you have researched, then go for it.

Update graphic drivers both inbuilt and dedicated if not done yet. The SSD will make a big difference with disk speeds, which may reduce lag, I would suggest the SSD upgrade as the last option.