Help with Expanding my RAM

[thedxer]

I am gaming on a:

Mobo: Z77 Mpower
Graphics: 2x4gb MSI Twin Frozr GTX 760s in SLI
Processor: Intel i7-3770K
RAM: Patriot DDR3 16GB 1600MHz DUAL (2X8GB MODULES) VIPER 3 Model: PV316G160C9KBL
PSU: Antec 850W Modular

I know my Mother board is expandable up to 32GB of RAM. I hear terms thrown around like Dual Channel and I get super confused.

My initial question is, If I buy another set of 2x8gb (Same model number as above) of RAM I want it work. So I need to make sure I can install it and make it work properly in my current system. Is that possible?

I would like to avoid getting rid of the RAM I am currently using. That way I don't have to spend as much. I just want to buy the same exact kind of RAM the other questions are just curiosity. Please provide a deeper answer than "Yes" or "No". If possible, can you explain it to me? I am new to the computer building community! Thanks.

 

[Paul NZ]

Dual channel is usually the same ram same speed same everything. So if you add 2 more exact sticks it should still be dual channel

 

[Rookie_MIB]

Deeper answer:

Single channel mode vs dual channel mode. Mostly, the difference is that you have either 2 or 4 slots for ram on your motherboard, and the Intel cpu has the capability to utilize both channels at the same time which would be the fastest mode. It can also run in single channel mode, if you only had one 8gb stick, the computer would still run fine, just a bit slower for memory access.

If you look at your motherboard, assuming the IO ports are at the 'top', the processor is below that, and then the memory slots below that, in between there's a little diagram I can see in photos which has a block of text labelled DIMM1, DIMM2, DIMM3, DIMM4, with pointers pointing to DIMM2 and DIMM4, with the word 'first'. That means, according to MSI, the optimal placement of a pair of dimms should be in DIMM2 and DIMM4, and this would enable dual channel mode.

So - if you followed those instructions, you are already running in dual channel mode. If you didn't, put the two in those slots. Now, if you want to expand your ram, you only need to add another pair of the same size (you could add 2Gb (2x1Gb), 4Gb (2x2Gb), 8Gb (2x4Gb) or 16Gb (2x8Gb) for 18,20,24, or 32Gb total), the only stipulation is that you -must- add in pairs (2 equal sticks so each channel is accessing the same size pool of half the RAM), and for optimal performance they need to be the same speed (1600mhz in your case) and the same timings (probably CAS 9 (or CL 9)).

For the simple answer (TL;DR lol), buying a simple pair of the exact same kind will automatically put it in dual channel mode (since all slots will be filled) and just verify that the BIOS is auto detecting the correct speed (sometimes to enable optimal speed - 1600mhz in your case) you need to manually tell the computer to use the XMP profile or set the clock to the 1600mhz max your sticks are capable of.

 

[Tradesman1]

The simplest answer is Maybe. DRAM is not guaranteed to work unless it's sticks from a single package. Mixing packages of DRAM is a crapshoot, even if they are the same exact model. DRAM is sold in a wide variety of sets, each package is composed of sticks tested to work together. The forums are full of people who have tried mixing sets and found it problematic.