Ram upgrade question for HP Pavilion s5610f

[Jim_and_Evil]

Hello all! This is my very first post here and I've joined this board for a question I cant find similar answers to via Google Fu. I am new to trying to find out what's RAM is compatible or not and I will try to explain things to the best of my extant, so bear with me.

I have a HP Pavilion s5610f Slimline Desktop with:

H-Apricot-RS780L-uATX Motherboard

AMD Athlon II X2 250 Dual Core 3.0GHZ Processor

3GBs of RAM (Non-ECC memory) holding two DDR3 DIMM (240-pin) sockets with:

PC3-8500 (DDR3-1066) (1GB)

PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333) (2GB) (Memory can be expanded to 8GBs maximum)

ATI Radeon 3000 Integrated Graphics

640GB Hard Drive SATA 7200RPM

As to my question with the ram, I went to Crucial's website to do a scan on what type of ram my unit can take. I found an 8gb set (2x4gb) here http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/pavilion-slimline-s5610f/CT5291421 that has both chips with with DDR3 PC3-12800 speed. My slots are PC3-10600 (2gb) and PC3-8500 (1gb).

I know they make ones with 8500 and 10600 PC3 that are available as separate sticks, but they are more ($50 for the former and $80 for the latter) and I'm on a very limited budget. Amazon has the 8gb 2x4 set with 12000 PC3 for $75, which is the same one Crucial has and recommends for me. Can I have both slots with 4gbs of ram with PC3-12800 or will it cause problems?

Also, I think my slots are one blue (holding the 3gb), and one black (holding the 1gb). I heard that the blue one should hold the largest (4gbs). In this case, would I have to buy one 4gb and one 2gb, or could I have the same 4gb amount in both slots without issues?

I'd appreciate any and all help I could get!

 

[Paul NZ]

Is 64 bit windows installed tho?

 

[Jim_and_Evil]

Is 64 bit windows installed tho?

Yes, it came with 64bit Windows 7 Home Premium preinstalled. Sorry I forgot to put that.

Speaking of OS, would I need to reactivate my product key if I upgrade the ram? I heard of some people needing to do that, though I heard its only if you replace the Motherboard too.

 

[Paul NZ]

Dont think it'll have to be reactivated

Well according to the site


Memory upgrade information

Dual channel memory architecture

Two DDR3 DIMMs (240-pin) sockets

PC3-8500 (DDR3-1066)

PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333)

Non-ECC memory only, unbuffered

Supports 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB DDR3 DIMMs

Supports up to 8 GB on 64-bit systems (DIMMs run at DDR3-1066)

Supports up to 4 GB on 32-bit PCs

*32-bit PCs cannot address a full 4.0 GB of memory.

 

[Jim_and_Evil]

I was reading that on HPs website and thought it was a little confusing. So in other words, I can run 2x 4gigs 12000 PC3 in both the blue and black slots correct?

Also, will there be a performance difference going from 3 to 8 gigs. Do I have to do anything special with the BIOS or overclocking? Also, how good is my AMD Athlon II processor? Though 3ghz, is it better (faster overall) than the Intel Pentium 2.14ghz in my laptop?

 

[Paul NZ]

I have no idea what 12000 PCI is. As it says 64 bit runs at ddr3-1066

 

[Jim_and_Evil]

I have no idea what 12000 PCI is.

Sorry, here's the specs of the ram from Crucial's site:

Specs: DDR3 PC3-12800 • 9-9-9-24 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR3-1600 • 1.35V • 512Meg x 64 • Low Profile •

Edited PCI references to PC3 in earlier posts to prevent further confusion

 

[Jim_and_Evil]

So what's the verdict?

 

[Paul NZ]

Just have to try it and find out