DDR3 upgrade to 16GB

[Woods0]

Hello,

I wanted to ask what would you suggest for a ram upgrade to my PC. I'll need that for virtual machines.

PC specs:

CPU: i5 4670k 3.4Ghz OC'ed to 4.2 Ghz
GPU: GTX 1060 6GB Gigabyte Gaming G1
RAM: 2x4GB DDR3 800Mhz each(in dual channel 1600) Kingston HyperX
MOBO: MSI z87-g43
120 SSD + 1TB
OS: Win 10 64 Pro

Will my mobo handle more than 1600mhz? Do I need 2x8gb or 4x4 will be fine for this purpose?

 

[powerUserCa5h]

Your board will support up to DDR3-3000(OC) Memory (From the MSI website) Thanks for asking this question so it can support above 1600mhz RAM but nothing over 3000mhz. Cheers!

 

[The Paladin]

stick to 1600 MHZ...

 

[Woods0]

How about 4x4? It would be much cheaper for me to buy additional 2 sticks. What would be the difference?

 

[powerUserCa5h]

Your Bottleneck in any system is it's slowest component! Your M/B supports; 2400 MHz, 2200 MHz, 2000 MHz, 1600 MHz, 1333 MHz, 1066 MHz, 1866 MHz, 2133 MHz, 2800 MHz, 3000 MHz, 2600 MHz, 2666 MHz
Registered or Buffered Unbuffered
Features Dual channel memory architecture, Intel Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP)
Technology DDR3
Max Size 32 GB
Supported RAM Integrity Check Non-ECC

I would go for the best RAM you can afford. It does not matter if it is 8GB + 8GB or an 8GB and two 4GB stick, so long as you keep it within the MSI specs above listed. I would also try my best to keep the RAM running at the same speed (as a rule of thumb measure). ie. don't have a couple of sticks running at 1600mhz and a extra stick 2666mhz. Some programs might not like this. So your system will recognize up to 32GB and you have 4 x DIMM slots to play with. Good Luck!