[SOLVED] How to install RAM

[lukemurtagh1995]

Hello all,

I am thinking of upgrading my RAM in the near future and have a question regarding it. I know how to physically install the sticks into my motherboard RAM slots, but I'm not sure what to do after that. Do I need to play with any settings in my BIOS? Or should everything be up and running as soon as I slot both sticks into place?

Thanks!

 

[Barty1884]

In order to be functional, no. It should just be plug and play. Don't be alarmed if your system reboots a couple of times before posting - it's likely memory training.

If you want to enable XMP/DOCP (to run >2133/2400MHz in the case of DDR4), you'll need to enter the BIOS and enable "XMP" (Intel) or "DOCP" (sometimes A-XMP or just XMP for AMD) to do so.

What are your full system specs? And what memory are you considering upgrading to?

 

[lukemurtagh1995]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I was thinking of upgrading my two current Corsair Vengeance 3200Mhz 8GB sticks to two Corsair Dominator Platinum 3200Mhz 16GB sticks. I don't quite know if this is a particularly wise idea. I bought the Vengeance sticks because they were around £100 cheaper than the Dominator sticks a couple of years ago but now I have a bit more money I was thinking of going for the Dominator sticks. I am also aware of the possible release of DDR5 memory soon. Would I be better off waiting for those to release?

My full system specs are:
CPU: i7-9700K.
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X73.
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus XI (WiFi).
GPU: EVGA RTX 2080TI FTW3
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 3200 Mhz (2x8GB).
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 500GB SSD and Samsung 860 Evo 1TB SSD.
PSU: Corsair RM1000i.
Case: NZXT H710i.

 

[drivinfast247]

Not worth it to go from 16gb 3200mhz to 32gb 3200mhz RAM. Unless this PC is used for video editing?

When DDR5 makes it's appearance it'll require a completely new CPU and motherboard.

 

[lukemurtagh1995]

No, no editing, only gaming.

I hadn't considered that about DDR5. Good point. Is there any RAM that would say is significantly better than mine, or would it be better to stick with what I have?

 

[Barty1884]

I was thinking of upgrading my two current Corsair Vengeance 3200Mhz 8GB sticks to two Corsair Dominator Platinum 3200Mhz 16GB sticks. I don't quite know if this is a particularly wise idea. I bought the Vengeance sticks because they were around £100 cheaper than the Dominator sticks a couple of years ago but now I have a bit more money I was thinking of going for the Dominator sticks. I am also aware of the possible release of DDR5 memory soon. Would I be better off waiting for those to release?

No, no editing, only gaming.

For strictly gaming, this would be a completely pointless 'upgrade' IMO.
Monitor RAM usage in-game. If you're not coming close to maxing out 16GB (I'd be surprised if you're using >10GB), then bumping to 32GB will have absolutely no impact to your gaming performance.... and a noticeable hit to your wallet.

As for DDR5, new RAM standards hit servers long before consumer-level hardware (as in, some months as Server 'exclusive', HEDT after that, then consumer). Likely somewhere in the ballpark of 18 months - 2 years post initial implementation before you see DDR5 on a desktop socket.

As examples:
DDR3, launched in early 2007 and was on a consumer chipset (P35) 2008.

DDR4 as an example, launched in Q2 '14 (server), Haswell-E implemented DDR4 (Sep '14), and Skylake was the first consumer (June-ish '15)

Mid-2020 Epyc releases are still touted to run DDR4, meaning DDR5 is unlikely to be implemented until late 2020, early 2021 at the earliest. Following the DDR4 'roadmap', DDR5 on a consumer level is probably 2022 at the earliest (although this is strictly speculation based on historic trends).

 

[lukemurtagh1995]

Okay, fair enough. I probably won't get new RAM then. I didn't know if I had cheaped out on them to begin with. Thanks for the help!