Can you upgrade your ram by buying the exact model again?

[Frozenpenguin]

Hi people, I just bought a corsair vengeance 8gb ram, but I would like to up grade to 16GB. Should I just buy the exact pack I bought again and put the ram in the two extra slots? Here is my ram: http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-PC3-12800-1600mHz-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B/dp/B004QBUL1C/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1355386566&sr=1-2&keywords=corsair+vengeance

 

[alexoiu]

Hi, Yes you can. Usually it's advisable to use a single kit, but it will work with 2 similar kits also. Sometimes clearing the CMOS is necessary when upgrading the memory.

 

[Frozenpenguin]

I am kind of new to computers, so can anyone explain what a CMOs is?

 

[alexoiu]

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000707.htm,
Usually the CMOS is cleared by unplugging the power cord and removing the CMOS battery for few minutes.

 

[Frozenpenguin]

Ok thanks, and do I need to do this before or after I upgrade my RAM?

 

[sneak_stealth]

I don't think it matters if you add the memory then remove the battery or remove the battery then the memory, either way the CMOS is being cleared

 

[Frozenpenguin]

One more thing, will I be able to upgrade my ram with this motherboard? http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4147#ov

 

[sneak_stealth]

If you have free memory slots and bought/buy the same type as the other memory modules yes, as this motherboard has 4 slots for memory

 

[Frozenpenguin]

Just for the sake of knowing, can you tell me what clearing cmos does. I have had the computer for only a couple months if that makes a difference.

 

[sneak_stealth]

well if you look at your motherboard you will see in the lower left a small silver circle that looks like a watch battery, this is the CMOS battery it powers a circuit that holds the settings for your CMOS settings. Resetting this will set the settings to default, this will also mean you will need to re set your system time. So first try installing the memory without clearing the CMOS if it works without clearing then there will be no need to clear it. (To see if the RAM is discovered when windows starts find system information and there will be a place that says system memory, this is the amount of RAM you have) so in a nutshell the CMOS battery is a battery that keeps settings from resetting to default and clearing it resets these settings.

 

[Frozenpenguin]

Best answer selected by Frozenpenguin.