[SOLVED] Ram upgrade options

[monotious]

Hi,

I am sure I can probably piece together a high level answer if I spent a lot of time on reading posts just in this forum, but I am trying to take a shortcut and I hope you excuse me for that.

I currently have 8GB DDR3 1333 Mhz memory on my computer, consisting of 4 x 2GB sticks.

I've been getting crashes on web browsers (multiple tabs) and Youtube so I thought I would upgrade ram and see if it makes a difference. Knew hardly anything about ram until yesterday, but I read up a bit on it and now I think I understand quite a bit, so I ordered a 16GB kit (2 x 8GB), DDR3 1600 Mhz.

My question is, since my mainboard has 4 ram slots, should I keep 2 x 2GB and replace the other 2 x 2GB with the new 16GB kit, for a total ram of 20GB at 1333 MHz, or is it better to just remove the 2GB sticks entirely so that I have 16GB of ram, but it runs at 1600 Mhz? (FYI, the maximu, ram capacity of my machine is 32GB, so I have no issue with that)

Is the speed differential between 1333 and 1600 worth giving up the extra 4GB, or vice versa?

I've read up on ram in the last few days so I think I kind know what to look for in the abstract, but I just don't have a sense of what 1333 vs 1600 must feel like in practical terms. I don't really play games. It's really for internet (I do have a lot of tabs open) and ordinary productivity work (no graphics work etc).

 

[jay32267]

I'm thinking....go with just the 16....as you probably won't even use close to all the 16 if your rig runs anything like mine do.

With normal gaming etc...I don't think I even ever go above 10 GB used.

 

[geofelt]

First of all, test your current ram.
Run memtest86 or memtest86+
They boot from a usb stick and do not use windows.
You can download them here:

MemTest86 - Official Site of the x86 Memory Testing Tool

MemTest86 is the original self booting memory testing software for x86 and ARM computers. Supporting both BIOS and UEFI, with options to boot from USB.

www.memtest86.com

Memtest86+ | The Open-Source Memory Testing Tool

Memtest86+ is an advanced, free, open-source, stand-alone memory tester for 32- and 64-bit computers (UEFI & BIOS supported)

www.memtest.org

If you can run a full pass with NO errors, your ram should be ok.

Running several more passes will sometimes uncover an issue, but it takes more time.
Probably not worth it unless you really suspect a ram issue.

More than 8gb is a very good thing, particularly if you have many things open.

What you ordered is likely to do the job.
What is the make/model of your motherboard?
Your motherboard may not support 1600 speed, but the ram will run at a lower speed if necessary, so you are ok.

Mixing ram does not always work.

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.

Since you have the old ram, you have the ability to test to see if adding it in works at all.
No harm will come if the experiment fails.

 

[monotious]

First of all, test your current ram.
Run memtest86 or memtest86+
They boot from a usb stick and do not use windows.
You can download them here:

MemTest86 - Official Site of the x86 Memory Testing Tool

MemTest86 is the original self booting memory testing software for x86 and ARM computers. Supporting both BIOS and UEFI, with options to boot from USB.

www.memtest86.com

Memtest86+ | The Open-Source Memory Testing Tool

Memtest86+ is an advanced, free, open-source, stand-alone memory tester for 32- and 64-bit computers (UEFI & BIOS supported)

www.memtest.org

If you can run a full pass with NO errors, your ram should be ok.

Running several more passes will sometimes uncover an issue, but it takes more time.
Probably not worth it unless you really suspect a ram issue.

More than 8gb is a very good thing, particularly if you have many things open.

What you ordered is likely to do the job.
What is the make/model of your motherboard?
Your motherboard may not support 1600 speed, but the ram will run at a lower speed if necessary, so you are ok.

Mixing ram does not always work.

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.

Since you have the old ram, you have the ability to test to see if adding it in works at all.
No harm will come if the experiment fails.

Thank you.

My motherboard is Asus P8B75-M, and according to the documentation available at E9142_P8B75-M.pdf (asus.com), based on the Qualified Vendors List starting on p. 1-14, it seems to support up to 2400Mhz.

I will try what you suggest.