[SOLVED] Question about upgrading old system with DDR3 RAM

[jShoon]

Hi there!

Looking to use my old computer for a little while longer as it is getting on in its years.

Part List:

Asus Z87-A

Intel Core i5-4670K

AMD RX 580

Samsung 840 Evo 250GB

G.SKILL TridentX DDR3 2400 C10 2x4GB

Computer is seeing 100% usage in ram and cpu on medium gaming loads, and can "crash" (admittedly with chrome open).

Thinking about inserting some more dd3 RAM e.g DDR3 4x2gb or 8x2gb at 1600 or finally starting overclock my Intel K cpu.. (computer runs a bit hot and might require more cooling)

Would this be okay to suffice for another year or two, looking to get value upgrades to last until DDR5 or Zen 4.

I understand that with adding slower ram the timings will be set to the slowest, would this still see performance gains?

Any help would be awesome, thanks!

 

[dchen2105]

Well the RAM won't necessarily be compatible with your current RAM(even if it's the same brand+model). 8gb RAM at 2400Mhz should be ok I thought? Actually, my current gaming PC(which I am going to upgrade) has 1x8gb of DDR4-3000 running at 2667Mhz. My motherboard won't support anything higher, even with the XMP profile selected. I can play R6 at 134fps near max settings @ 1080p. Are you sure there aren't any malware lurking around, stealing your RAM and CPU space? And isn't C10 really low? I get that it's slower frequency, so C10 is easier to achieve, but currently, C16 @ 3200Mhz is the most common.

If you meant adding new RAM, then 16GB should do fine for another year or two. Overclocking might not solve your problem, but might as well give it a go. Even if you burn your CPU, how much do you think a gen 4 or 5 intel will cost? On the used market, an i5/i7 would probably go for around 50 bucks imo.

 

[MeanMachine41]

Adding more RAM does not provide any performance gain when gaming and mixing RAM kits is not advised.

 

[geofelt]

Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
A motherboard must manage all the ram using the same specs of voltage, cas and speed.
The internal workings are designed for the capacity of the kit.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards, can be very sensitive to this.
This is more difficult when more sticks are involved.

If you do buy more disparate sticks, they should be the same speed, voltage and cas numbers.
Even then your chances of working are less than 100%

What is your plan "B" if the new stick/s do not work?

If you want 16gb, my suggestion is to buy a 2 x 8gb kit that matches your current specs.
Then, try adding in your old 8gb,
If it works, good; you now have 24gb.
If not, sell the old ram or keep it as a spare.

If you have a fair cpu cooler, go ahead and overclock the cpu.
A tower type air cooler with a 120mm fan would be ok.
I think you can get perhaps 25% better performance out of your chip.

I would not worry about ram speeds.
Quantity counts more if you need it.
2400 is quite good.
As I recall waay back, I needed to reduce xmp settings to get a better multiplier.