[SOLVED] Can I use the spare RAM as Ram disk if my mobo is maxed out on RAM?

Troman777

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Dec 7, 2021
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Hi, my mainbord is Gigabyte b250-hd3p-cf (LGA1151, B250 Chipset), it supports up to 64GM RAM and has 4 ram slots. I'm running Windows 10 64bit.

If I buy more than 64GB (for example 16+16+16+32gb), I would have 16GB over the maximum amount (over 64gb). Can I leave 64gb for my system and use the spare 16GB as a RAM drive or is it impossible for the mobo/windows to address more than 64GB of ram, since the mobo is limited to 64gb?
 
Solution
What do you mean with "you can't make RAM drive with memory"? A Ram Drive is created with Ram.
Just to clarify, I need as much Ram as I can get, I don't need to install any programs on Ram disk, I know it's volatile, I need it as an additional temporary storage.
The motherboard stops counting at 64GB. There's no way to get around this short of an UEFI update that makes it count higher. So as far as the system is concerned, the amount of RAM it'll actually see is up to 64GB.

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
You can't make a RAM drive with memory you can't address, no.

Not much point to RAM drives these days, but nothing stopping you from having 32GB for the system and 32GB for a ram drive if you wanted to have something load very quickly.
 

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Ram upgrades should be seen as though you're buying a pair of shoes. If you loose one shoe out of a pair, you're going to have to buy a pair regardless of how you explain the predicament to the salesman at the shoe shop. That being said, in order to maintain stability and optimal performance from your platform, you're suggested to populate the slots on the motherboard with kits, with all slots populated with the same capacity, not mismatched not half and half for a cumulative capacity.

I wouldn't bother with ram disk, not with the advent of fast storage options and that your motherboard supports a maximum of DDR4-2400MHz. If we were in 2005, ram disk would've been something worth buying...lol.
 

Troman777

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Dec 7, 2021
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@Lutfij That doesn't answer my question in any way. I have 4+16gb and 8+8+16gb working perfectly fine in my system. Also I'm not asking if I need Ram Disk, you don't know what I'm up to with it, so how can you suggest me not to use it?

I have a technical question if my system can address more than 64gb of ram and if I can use it as ram disk.
 
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Troman777

Prominent
Dec 7, 2021
7
0
510
You can't make a RAM drive with memory you can't address, no.
What do you mean with "you can't make RAM drive with memory"? A Ram Drive is created with Ram.
Just to clarify, I need as much Ram as I can get, I don't need to install any programs on Ram disk, I know it's volatile, I need it as an additional temporary storage.
 

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
What do you mean with "you can't make RAM drive with memory"? A Ram Drive is created with Ram.
Just to clarify, I need as much Ram as I can get, I don't need to install any programs on Ram disk, I know it's volatile, I need it as an additional temporary storage.
You have the full quote right there. You can't use memory you can't address. So if you want 64GB of memory, then you have 64GB of memory. Installing more memory than that maximum won't be addressable (or functional), so it can't be used to make a RAM drive.

If you need more temporary storage, consider adding a small flash drive or getting a small SSD. They are really cheap now. $21 for 120 GB is certainly more cost effective then buying lots of RAM.
 
What do you mean with "you can't make RAM drive with memory"? A Ram Drive is created with Ram.
Just to clarify, I need as much Ram as I can get, I don't need to install any programs on Ram disk, I know it's volatile, I need it as an additional temporary storage.
The motherboard stops counting at 64GB. There's no way to get around this short of an UEFI update that makes it count higher. So as far as the system is concerned, the amount of RAM it'll actually see is up to 64GB.
 
Solution