Upgrading RAM, 4 x 4 GB or 2 x 8 GB?

[silversongshelties]

I'd like to upgrade from my current 2 x 4GB (8GB total) to 16 GB or RAM. Max RAM per slot is 8GB. Out of curiosity, which configuration would you recommend? Which would give the best result for online gaming? My system is an HP Omen 880-109. I just added a EVGA GTX 1070 ti SL as an upgrade to the integrated graphics card, though not sure if that matters lol. Running Windows 10 home edition., Thanks in advance!

 

[atomicWAR]

Best setup for speed is is getting 2x8GB but in reality the difference in gaming is so small as long as you get the exact same make and model ram when going 4x4GB you'll be fine. I can't say how important having The same make and model ram is. If you don't it may not work at all and even if it does it will run much slower do to running in mixed mode. So if you can get the same make and model ram then you need to go with all new ram and the 2x8GB becomes the easiest solution.

 

[clarkjd]

I'd like to upgrade from my current 2 x 4GB (8GB total) to 16 GB or RAM. Max RAM per slot is 8GB. Out of curiosity, which configuration would you recommend? Which would give the best result for online gaming? My system is an HP Omen 880-109. I just added a EVGA GTX 1070 ti SL as an upgrade to the integrated graphics card, though not sure if that matters lol. Running Windows 10 home edition., Thanks in advance!

Personally, I would recommend the 2x8GB option. The more sticks of ram you install increases the likelyhood of them not playing nice with each other.
Adding another 2x4GB kit would fall into the "unmatched Ram" catagory. getting unmatched ram to work together is problematical at best, impossible at worst. Sometimes even the exact same make, model, and timings (especially if purchased at different times) may not work together. The ram manufacturers won't even guarantee unmatched ram to work. That is why they sell ram in matched kits.

 

[nobspls]

2x8GB is far better choice since it doesn't eat up valuable ram slots, should you want to add more ram in the future, and you wouldn't need to discard the 4GB memory. Dual channel memory only requires slots to be populated in the pairs. Going 4x is not going to get you quad channel memory.

 

[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.
That is why ram vendors will NOT support ram that is not bought in one kit.

If you do buy more disparate sticks, they must 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?

Sometimes increasing the ram voltage in the bios will make things 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 extra ram.
If not, sell the old ram or keep it as a spare.

 

[atomicWAR]

Yeah as you can see 2x8GB is generally the best options for a handful of reasons. Mentioned above. Geo felt really nailed what I was trying to say but with more tech detail in regards to how make and model ram is very important. Every little detail must match or it won't work. Heck even if they do match they may not work. Point being 2x8GB is the safest and fastest bet on 16GB. I might actually argue going with 2x16GB would be the better call. That would max out your 2 dimms worth of ram capacity in use. 16GB has been the gold stand for ram now for over a year. I believe by the this time next year 32GB will be...if not the launch of 2020 products for certain.

Point being you would be future proofed for a good while in regards to gaming running 32GB of ram but still have room to double your capacity one last time to 64GB should you keep your PC long enough. When I got my i7 3930K (using PCIe 3.0 patch) I got 16GB in a time when 4GB was considered enough, I would not have guessed I would still be voluntarily using my CPU 6 years later for high end gaming and plan (hoping) on getting 2 more or I might have got 32 GB right when I built the rig. IPC changes have been crap for awhile and since I game at 4K@60hz a faster CPU really doesn't bring much to the table in the FPS department. This is why my i7 3930K is officially the longest lived CPU architecture's used in my primary gaming rig. Point being you may get a lot more gaming bang out of this rig then you expect these days if you choose wisely. Hopefully with Ryzen hitting the scene the CPU IPC and Core race is on. While I fear it is only the latter I could be wrong or games could start adopting 8+ cores as a requirement and you might want a new CPU platform in 3 years time. The future is a tricky thing. But my guess is you can get a good 4-6 years out of your CPU but not before needing (might be strong word say wanting) another ram upgrade. Some food for thought.

 

[dederedmi5plus]

Take a peak at the chips, if you can s

 

[silversongshelties]

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.
That is why ram vendors will NOT support ram that is not bought in one kit.

If you do buy more disparate sticks, they must 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?

Sometimes increasing the ram voltage in the bios will make things 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 extra ram.
If not, sell the old ram or keep it as a spare.

Thanks all! Geofelt, I'll try as you suggest and keep the original 2x4GB sticks and see if they'll play nice with the 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR$-2400 sticks I ordered last night