[SOLVED] Installing more ram made my computer slower

[Danmcc03]

Hi folks, today i installed a 250gb SSD and an extra 8gb stick of ram to my computer

First of all i tried installing the stand alone 8gb along side the 2x4 but the computer would not boot up. I removed the 2x4 GB sticks and my friend gave me one of his spare single 8GB sticks and with the 2x8 the computer booted fine.

Everything seemed normal untill i tried to load any games, Fortnite wouldnt boot, minecraft could only be played at 30fps and the computer itself was spiking to 100% CPU usage just using google chrome. I checked that the bios settings were set properly for the RAM but nothing was helping, i couldnt even communicate through voice on discord as it was so jumpy.

Ive since removed the stick of ram my friend gave me and im currently running on 1x8gb. Doing this has allowed me to play minecraft, counter strike and league of legends at a decent FPS again but fortnite is no longer possible.

This is my dxdiag before any upgrades

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_ldr.170307-1800)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: Z68AP-D3
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3570 CPU @ 3.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.7GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 8110MB RAM
Page File: 4169MB used, 12046MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 770
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1184&SUBSYS_28351462&REV_A1
Display Memory: 4095 MB
Dedicated Memory: 1989 MB
Shared Memory: 2106 MB
Current Mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (60Hz)

How can i make my computer faster without any stupidly expensive upgrades?

 

[kanewolf]

Hi folks, today i installed a 250gb SSD and an extra 8gb stick of ram to my computer

First of all i tried installing the stand alone 8gb along side the 2x4 but the computer would not boot up. I removed the 2x4 GB sticks and my friend gave me one of his spare single 8GB sticks and with the 2x8 the computer booted fine.

Everything seemed normal untill i tried to load any games, Fortnite wouldnt boot, minecraft could only be played at 30fps and the computer itself was spiking to 100% CPU usage just using google chrome. I checked that the bios settings were set properly for the RAM but nothing was helping, i couldnt even communicate through voice on discord as it was so jumpy.

Ive since removed the stick of ram my friend gave me and im currently running on 1x8gb. Doing this has allowed me to play minecraft, counter strike and league of legends at a decent FPS again but fortnite is no longer possible.

This is my dxdiag before any upgrades

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_ldr.170307-1800)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: Z68AP-D3
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3570 CPU @ 3.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.7GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 8110MB RAM
Page File: 4169MB used, 12046MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 770
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1184&SUBSYS_28351462&REV_A1
Display Memory: 4095 MB
Dedicated Memory: 1989 MB
Shared Memory: 2106 MB
Current Mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (60Hz)

How can i make my computer faster without any stupidly expensive upgrades?

Put your original 4GB DIMMs back. Save your money and buy a motherboard CPU and a matched set of two DIMMs.
Mix and match of two random 8GB DIMMs and your PC is only recognizing one of them. That means you only have 1/2 the memory bandwidth you had with your two 4GB DIMMs.

 

[Danmcc03]

Put your original 4GB DIMMs back. Save your money and buy a motherboard CPU and a matched set of two DIMMs.
Mix and match of two random 8GB DIMMs and your PC is only recognizing one of them. That means you only have 1/2 the memory bandwidth you had with your two 4GB DIMMs.

My mate has my original 4v2s right now, so ill try it tomorrow. The computer did show that i had 16gb of ram when they were in though, are you sure one wasnt being recognised? Due to the corona virus i cant afford to save for anything right now so some ram and new memory was supposed to be a small boost, i wasnt expecting much but making it worse was a surprise.

 

[bobdabear]

Hi folks, today i installed a 250gb SSD and an extra 8gb stick of ram to my computer

First of all i tried installing the stand alone 8gb along side the 2x4 but the computer would not boot up. I removed the 2x4 GB sticks and my friend gave me one of his spare single 8GB sticks and with the 2x8 the computer booted fine.

Everything seemed normal untill i tried to load any games, Fortnite wouldnt boot, minecraft could only be played at 30fps and the computer itself was spiking to 100% CPU usage just using google chrome. I checked that the bios settings were set properly for the RAM but nothing was helping, i couldnt even communicate through voice on discord as it was so jumpy.

Ive since removed the stick of ram my friend gave me and im currently running on 1x8gb. Doing this has allowed me to play minecraft, counter strike and league of legends at a decent FPS again but fortnite is no longer possible.

This is my dxdiag before any upgrades

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_ldr.170307-1800)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: Z68AP-D3
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3570 CPU @ 3.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.7GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 8110MB RAM
Page File: 4169MB used, 12046MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 770
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1184&SUBSYS_28351462&REV_A1
Display Memory: 4095 MB
Dedicated Memory: 1989 MB
Shared Memory: 2106 MB
Current Mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (60Hz)

How can i make my computer faster without any stupidly expensive upgrades?

https://us.answers.acer.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1664/~/what-is-dual-channel-memory?
that other guy is wrong, it will recognize both random 8gb sticks of ram.

did you look up each stick of ram to make sure its compatible w ur mobo? Specs say it supports DDR3 2133/1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz

id start small and simple then work my way up to the more difficult/time consuming problem solving. some simple things to try:

first go here and get the newest bios (F8):

then go here and get EZ Smart Response Technology, Intel Extreme Tuning Utility and/or Easy Tune. Pick one of the last 2 to overclock ur cpu. get MSI Afterburner or Asus GPU Tweak 2 to easily oc ur gtx 770.

-look at using ReadyBoost, which can sorta increase ur RAM with a flash drive.

-increase page file size (rule of thumb is about half ur ram, so if u have 4gb ram set max page file size to 2gb and min to 512mb).
now play a game(s) for a bit and be sure to check ur page file system usage. u can use perfmon.exe for that just run it and go to Add Counters -> Paging File -> Usage. It'll give u a % but its not too hard to figure out how much is used or free. to get the total PF size go to 'System Properties' -> Advanced -> Performance -> Advanced -> Virtual memory -> Total paging file size

-theres also a whole suite of tools on Steam to help w performance (CPUCores.... his stuff really does work, i use it to peg the OS to one core so Visual Studio has as much resources as it needs to compile/build. ). everything from cleaning out ur ram to isolating the OS and non essentials to one core leaving everything else able to take full advantage of all the newly found resources =). https://store.steampowered.com/search/?sort_by=_ASC&term=cpucores

next i'd suggest taking a look at the Event Viewer (found by Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools. Double-click Event Viewer). With the event viewer open, expand Windows Logs on the left side panel. You're looking for errors (red circle) that occur around the time of a crash or horrible stuttering, u only need to focus on 'System' and 'Application' under the Windows Logs heading. Fix anything you find, u might have to do a google search for the event id.

lets look at ur rig. Windows 7 HP 64bit. This OS has a limit of 16gbs of ram and a minimum requirement of 2gb. I found it interesting that you just used 2 rather random 8gb sticks of ram tho. Are they both even DDR3? If one is DDR3 and another DDR2 or something, ya thats not going to work. if they're from different manufactures all together they might work, but def not nearly as good as they should since speed, bus, cell type, stick type.... bunch of factors and the more of those that aren't exactly like the paired stick of ram, the more likely u are to run into trouble. you CAN run 1x 8gb stick in a dual channel architecture, it'll function w half the normal bandwidth slowing it down a bunch tho.

"First of all i tried installing the stand alone 8gb along side the 2x4 but the computer would not boot up. I removed the 2x4 GB sticks and my friend gave me one of his spare single 8GB sticks and with the 2x8 the computer booted fine."
did u make sure the ram was in the right place and fully seated? dual channel architecture has an A and B channel and they're usually numbered also, A0, B0, A1, B1. U start w putting a card in A0 then B0 then A1 then B1. Ideally, w 1x 8gb + 2x 4gb both channels would have access to 8gb.

I think something else that needs to be considered is the power supply. more ram = more power and same for adding an ssd. also, 2x 4gb sticks in dual channel should be better than 1x 8gb in single channel as the double bandwidth . what power supply do you have? https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

From the link at the top of the post:
"Dual-channel architecture is a motherboard technology and does not apply to memory modules. In other words, any matched pair of memory modules may support single and dual-channel operation provided the motherboard supports this architecture.

A matched pair of memory modules consist of:

• Capacity (for example; 1024 MB). Certain Intel® chipsets support different capacity chips in what they call Flex Mode, the capacity that can be matched is run in dual channel the remainder runs single channel.
• Speed (for example; PC5300). If the speed is not the same, the lower speed of the two modules will be used. Likewise, the higher latency of the two modules will be used.
• Number of chips and sides (for example; 2 sides with 4 chips on each side)."

 

[kanewolf]

that other guy is wrong, it will recognize both random 8gb sticks of ram.

You have not searched to see how many posts there are about systems that WON'T accept mix-and-match random DIMMs.
Mixing random DIMMs with no research on the voltage or timing of the DIMMs is a gamble. In this case the motherboard DOESN'T like the combo.

 

[Calvin7]

Adding extra memory to existing memory has no guarantee to be compatible together. Since you can make any combinations you want, your free to do your own compatibility testing with no guarantees.

If you have a question about memory, I suggest you include part number and/or link to it. Less use of terms like "couple sticks, couple random modules" may be useful in determining what memory you have.