Question Ram upgrade, 32 or 64?

[Connor99z]

Looking to upgrade some parts in my PC, probably the CPU and the Motherboard at some point... but probably going to start with the easiest and swap out the RAM for the time being.
I currently have 16 GB of Ram, and have done for 7+ Years in my current PC. I have attached a screenshot to Speccy which shows what System Specs i have.

What would be an upgrade from my already Corsair CMK16GX4M2A2400C16 Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4 2400 MHz C16 XMP 2.0 High Performance.
If I was to go to 32GB of Ram what Ram MHz should I go for and what does my Motherboard support?
I mainly use my PC to game on, Budget on the RAM isn't necessary just wanting better and more Future proofed RAM for my System.

https://prnt.sc/V7ieW9makLFP

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prnt.sc

just looked at my Mobo specs and it says:
https://prnt.sc/IkuD2bYEekkd
Does that mean my 2400 MHz ram in my PC already is being limited to 2133 as shown on my task manager memory specs? Im now wondering if it would be worth to upgrade the whole Motherboard so that it enables me to get higher speed Ram MHz aswell as future proofing for when i want to upgrade to a better CPU and GPU?

 

[punkncat]

Unless you are running into an issue with the system memory I don't really feel like that would be a good place to put money on this rig. Put it back and start saving up for something newer.

To actually answer the question 16GB is what could be considered the modern minimum. 32 is a good place to be right now.

 

[Connor99z]

Unless you are running into an issue with the system memory I don't really feel like that would be a good place to put money on this rig. Put it back and start saving up for something newer.

To actually answer the question 16GB is what could be considered the modern minimum. 32 is a good place to be right now.

True, but if I’m wanting to upgrade to newer things then the Motherboard is going to have to be upgraded, to enable newer CPU generations and as I’ve just found out better Ram speeds as I am limited to the 2133 with this current motherboard and can’t go over to speeds such as 5000+
Perhaps I upgrade the Motherboard and CPU first?

 

[ThomasKinsley]

True, but if I’m wanting to upgrade to newer things then the Motherboard is going to have to be upgraded, to enable newer CPU generations and as I’ve just found out better Ram speeds as I am limited to the 2133 with this current motherboard and can’t go over to speeds such as 5000+
Perhaps I upgrade the Motherboard and CPU first?

You're on the right track. Faster memory with a new mobo and cpu is the way to go. @punkncat is also absolutely right. 16GB is the bare minimum. You can upgrade to 32GB, but my advice if you really want to future proof a new build and the budget is not an issue, then go 64GB. You can get into heavier applications, including video editing or AI with more than enough memory to spare for years to come.

 

[kira-faye]

That board will absolutely support faster RAM than 2133, it's just that anything above that is considered "overclocking" and not officially supported / guaranteed so the motherboard manufacturers can just say "not our problem, put it back to stock" if you have a problem. Thankfully that's unlikely.

Yes, a 6500 and 1070 are fairly weak by modern standards, but there are tons of people using far less powerful systems. DDR4 is also really cheap right now. I'd say go ahead and throw 32GB of faster stuff in it, like this $60 Teamgroup kit, and save up for a full rebuild. Also make sure you go in to the BIOS and set XMP once the new kit is installed or it will run at 2133 too. 😉

 

[Connor99z]

That board will absolutely support faster RAM than 2133, it's just that anything above that is considered "overclocking" and not officially supported / guaranteed so the motherboard manufacturers can just say "not our problem, put it back to stock" if you have a problem. Thankfully that's unlikely.

Yes, a 6500 and 1070 are fairly weak by modern standards, but there are tons of people using far less powerful systems. DDR4 is also really cheap right now. I'd say go ahead and throw 32GB of faster stuff in it, like this $60 Teamgroup kit, and save up for a full rebuild. Also make sure you go in to the BIOS and set XMP once the new kit is installed or it will run at 2133 too. 😉

You're on the right track. Faster memory with a new mobo and cpu is the way to go. @punkncat is also absolutely right. 16GB is the bare minimum. You can upgrade to 32GB, but my advice if you really want to future proof a new build and the budget is not an issue, then go 64GB. You can get into heavier applications, including video editing or AI with more than enough memory to spare for years to come.

So I should have gone into the BIOS and set XMP from the get go when I first installed my RAM to stop it limiting to 2133? As it doesn’t go any higher than the 2133 on task managers and only says like 1060 on speccy under ram.. I mean if the price difference isn’t too far off for 64 GB compared to the 32 GB then I might as well get the 64.. but does my Motherboard support 64 GB of ram?

The thing is my CPU is massively underpowered compared to the rest of my PC, it’s the cheapest thing in my system, and the common problem when wanting to play newer games, in order to upgrade/jump to a very newer CPU I will need to upgrade the Motherboard anyway.. and seeing as the motherboard holds pretty much everything then shouldn’t I invest in just upgrading the motherboard first as well as the RAM, ram I can maybe get cheaper in sales?

EDIT:
Doesn't seem to be an XMP option in my BIOS?
https://prnt.sc/RuZxNpNNiv_R

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prnt.sc

 

[kira-faye]

So I should have gone into the BIOS and set XMP from the get go when I first installed my RAM to stop it limiting to 2133? As it doesn’t go any higher than the 2133 on task managers and only says like 1060 on speccy under ram.. I mean if the price difference isn’t too far off for 64 GB compared to the 32 GB then I might as well get the 64.. but does my Motherboard support 64 GB of ram?

The thing is my CPU is massively underpowered compared to the rest of my PC, it’s the cheapest thing in my system, and the common problem when wanting to play newer games, in order to upgrade/jump to a very newer CPU I will need to upgrade the Motherboard anyway.. and seeing as the motherboard holds pretty much everything then shouldn’t I invest in just upgrading the motherboard first as well as the RAM, ram I can maybe get cheaper in sales?

Yes, you always have to set XMP in BIOS to get rated speeds with RAM, it's not automatic because stock is stable and safe - when you reset the BIOS that needs to be the default, in case there are problems.

What are you playing that's not running well? Yes, your CPU is not very strong, but you could still easily be GPU limited with a 1070. What's your total budget? $50-100 gets you RAM, but a full platform upgrade - CPU, motherboard, RAM - is going to be $400+, big jump. Easily $700+ if you go mid to high end. You'll almost certainly need a new PSU once it's time to replace the GPU, and that's another $100, plus say $300 to, well, 2k for the gpu, since the market has gone crazy.

If you can't swing all that there are faster drop in options for CPU with your current motherboard, but they're obviously going to be dated and much slower than what can be had in a modern system. It all comes down to budget and goals, which you haven't been clear on yet.

So far as waiting for sales, I doubt it will make much difference, at least for DDR4 - it's as cheap as it's ever been, didn't even drop much for Black Friday. If you do a full platform upgrade and go to DDR5 it might save you $20-50, but that's minor in the greater scheme.

 

[Connor99z]

Yes, you always have to set XMP in BIOS to get rated speeds with RAM, it's not automatic because stock is stable and safe - when you reset the BIOS that needs to be the default, in case there are problems.

What are you playing that's not running well? Yes, your CPU is not very strong, but you could still easily be GPU limited with a 1070. What's your total budget? $50-100 gets you RAM, but a full platform upgrade - CPU, motherboard, RAM - is going to be $400+, big jump. Easily $700+ if you go mid to high end. You'll almost certainly need a new PSU once it's time to replace the GPU, and that's another $100, plus say $300 to, well, 2k for the gpu, since the market has gone crazy.

If you can't swing all that there are faster drop in options for CPU with your current motherboard, but they're obviously going to be dated and much slower than what can be had in a modern system. It all comes down to budget and goals, which you haven't been clear on yet.

After checking my BIOS there doesnt seem to be an XMP option?
https://prnt.sc/KGfQGaUGqeHP

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prnt.sc

My budget isn't exactly limited but I do want to upgrade and have wanted to upgrade my CPU and Motherboard and now as well the RAM.. im wanting to go big with the CPU, Intel i7 maybe or more..., but because most things in my PC is outdated i probably would like to upgrade the Motherboard as a whole.
Potentially upgrading big on the CPU will bottleneck the GPU if I don't also upgrade that?
I want to upgrade the motherboard to allow for a newer end CPU, higher RAM and just overall better stats on the motherboard to enable for more memory..
I want to upgrade those things first before I upgrade my GPU, but I don't want to bottleneck so would upgrading those and not my 1070 cause problems.

 

[logainofhades]

There is nothing wrong with your GPU being the bottleneck. It doesn't hurt anything.

 

[kira-faye]

After checking my BIOS there doesnt seem to be an XMP option?
https://prnt.sc/KGfQGaUGqeHP

Screenshot

Captured with Lightshot

prnt.sc

My budget isn't exactly limited but I do want to upgrade and have wanted to upgrade my CPU and Motherboard and now as well the RAM.. im wanting to go big with the CPU, Intel i7 maybe or more..., but because most things in my PC is outdated i probably would like to upgrade the Motherboard as a whole.
Potentially upgrading big on the CPU will bottleneck the GPU if I don't also upgrade that?
I want to upgrade the motherboard to allow for a newer end CPU, higher RAM and just overall better stats on the motherboard to enable for more memory..
I want to upgrade those things first before I upgrade my GPU, but I don't want to bottleneck so would upgrading those and not my 1070 cause problems.

There is nothing wrong with your GPU being the bottleneck. It doesn't hurt anything.

Nothing wrong with upgrading the GPU later, as logain said. People have for some reason started conflating "bottleneck" (many saying it don't even know what it means) with "broken." There is /always/ some "weakest link" in a system, no such thing as perfect balance, and that's ok.

Upgrading your CPU first will just mean your GPU is the limiting factor in your system until you can upgrade it as well.

 

[SkyNetRising]

That board will absolutely support faster RAM than 2133, it's just that anything above that is considered "overclocking" and not officially supported / guaranteed
Also make sure you go in to the BIOS and set XMP once the new kit is installed or it will run at 2133 too. 😉

This board (B150 chipset) doesn't support ram overclocking at all.
DDR4 2133mhz is max. Higher speed ram will not run past 2133mhz.

 

[USAFRet]

Nothing wrong with upgrading the GPU later, as logain said. People have for some reason started conflating "bottleneck" (many saying it don't even know what it means) with "broken." There is /always/ some "weakest link" in a system, no such thing as perfect balance, and that's ok.

Or even worse, thinking a "bottleneck" will somehow physically break something.