Need advice on RAM for Asus z97-a mobo

Jkrenik

Distinguished
Aug 31, 2015
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Have 8gb of ram at the moment. Tried to find the same type of ballistix tactical tracer sticks as I have now but to no avail these here :


https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA98C5R71716

So I went and bought some that I thought matched to specs but apparently not as I couldn't boot up the system after switching them out. Did that a couple times and finally looked and ran the crucial scanner on my system and saw what was compatible. However, there isn't much that is compatible. It seemed way overpriced and I had maybe 27 options but most were in the 2gb per stick realm. Anyone have any ideas on what I need to look for specifically to get a set of sticks that work with my mobo and 4790K chip?


Also when I do get the new sticks, do I have to enter the bios and reconfigure anything? I assume with most ram its plug and play but maybe Im missing something as well after replacing older sticks.


*Edit* Also it doesn't have to be the same RAM as I showed, I just want to get up to at least 16gb, maybe 32gb if price is right. And lately on ram that isn't the case.*
 

Dark Lord of Tech

Retired Moderator
Solution
Memory is guaranteed in the form sold. Identical, exact match, and other combinations you decide to make have no guarantee to be compatible together.

Workarounds to get extra memory to work include:
1) Lower memory clock frequency
2) Relax DRAM timings
3) Increase DRAM voltage
 

Jkrenik

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Aug 31, 2015
16
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18,515
Ok thanks guys. Just curious if there are any compatible sets besides what crucial scan shows. I have bought a couple sets of ram that I thought were compatible with my mobo but when I booted up I just got a blank screen. So sent back the sticks both times and have been scared to buy anymore again as I feel Im doing something wrong.