Where does my ram go?

[fafa341]

Hey, I currently have 2 ram sticks installed in my pc. Those are 2x 3gb ddr3 1333mhz and they are connected to DIMM 2 and 3. I wanted to upgrade my ram with 4gb 1333mhz ddr3 more, but where should I connect the new stick if I were to buy it and if you recommend buying 1x 4 or 2x 2.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

What board?

 

[photonboy]

as said, what board?

Since you apparently have FOUR DIMM slots it would be best to populate all of them (not three slots) otherwise you will revert to SINGLE CHANNEL mode which may affect CPU performance.

Mixing memory is generally not a good idea. This is BEST to worst:

1) 4x DIMM kit (all sticks in the same kit)

2) add 2xDIMM kit of same MODEL (when made later there can be some issues even though model number is the same)

3) add 2xDIMM kit with same frequency and CAS (i.e. 1333MHz CAS11)

4) mixing frequency and/or CAS not recommended at all

Try to GOOGLE exact model number of current kit and/or look at pcpartpicker.

Also 1333MHz even in Dual Channel may be a bit low for some CPU's.

NOTE:
If you mix a 2x3GB and 2x2GB kits properly it will still be in DUAL CHANNEL, however as they are different models you may have compatibility issues, which MAY (or may not) be resolved by manually adjusting the timings such as CAS

 

[photonboy]

Just an example: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/XtXfrH/kingston-memory-hx318c10fk28

If your motherboard supports 4GB per slot you may want to consider that. Then read the manual to ensure both sticks are setup as recommended for ONLY two sticks.

If you then decide that the lower bandwidth you get by adding the original two sticks back is justified by having more memory than 8GB you can attempt to add them back.

No matter what you should run MEMTEST86 for a full pass www.memtest86.com

OTHER:
If you try to add a 2x2GB (10GB total) for $30 plus tax/ship then here's an example:
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/DCQypg/kingston-memory-kvr1333d3n9k24g

At least match the frequency (1333MHz apparently) and CAS value to what you have.

 

[fafa341]

Im sorry, its actually 1x4 DIMM2 and 1x2 DIMM3. Should I buy a 1x8 1333mhz and replace it with the (1x2 dimm3) and leave the 1x4 in dimm2 and the 1x8 in dimm3 to have 12gb?
MOBO: LENOVO 9SKT63AUS
cpu: i7 3370

 

[fafa341]

Just an example: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/XtXfrH/kingston-memory-hx318c10fk28

If your motherboard supports 4GB per slot you may want to consider that. Then read the manual to ensure both sticks are setup as recommended for ONLY two sticks.

If you then decide that the lower bandwidth you get by adding the original two sticks back is justified by having more memory than 8GB you can attempt to add them back.

No matter what you should run MEMTEST86 for a full pass www.memtest86.com

OTHER:
If you try to add a 2x2GB (10GB total) for $30 plus tax/ship then here's an example:
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/DCQypg/kingston-memory-kvr1333d3n9k24g

At least match the frequency (1333MHz apparently) and CAS value to what you have.

Im sorry, its actually 1x4 DIMM2 and 1x2 DIMM3. Should I buy a 1x8 1333mhz and replace it with the (1x2 dimm3) and leave the 1x4 in dimm2 and the 1x8 in dimm3 to have 12gb?
MOBO: LENOVO 9SKT63AUS
cpu: i7 3370

 

[photonboy]

Do you mean i7-3770?

1) First, you must find out how much memory your motherboard supports PER SLOT. I could not find a support site for that motherboard, but my Z77 motherboard for my i7-3770K only supports 4GB of DDR3 memory per slot.

I have 4x4GB 2133MHz CAS9 (16GB total)

So unless you know for sure 8GB is supported you should stick with 4GB sticks.

2) This is likely too expensive, but this MIGHT be more ideal for you (4x4GB = 16GB total):
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/VcDwrH/corsair-memory-cmz16gx3m4a1600c9b

3) MORE MEMORY may be more important than having sufficient bandwidth so DUAL CHANNEL may not matter much too you. For example, browsing the web and probably most games may not benefit much above 1333MHz Single Channel. I suspect GTA5 and Witcher 3 would though (also depends on graphics card, resolution etc).

4) MIXING sticks may or may not work in terms of compatibility. I've done it a few times by adjusting the CAS and other timing values to fix issues where MEMTEST86 failed.

So while you SHOULD stick to a single kit designed to work together like a 4x4GB kit (at least $130USD) you may or may not have success buying something like:

a) 1x4GB 1333MHz, and
b) 1x2GB 1333MHz, then

Set the 2x2GB in Channel A (may be for example BLUE), and 2x4GB in Channel B (may be BLACK slots).

That may cost $50 (ish) though you may get lucky with E-Bay too.

5) I believe the basic specs are DDR3, 240-pin, (non-ECC).

If an i7-3770 some programs can benefit up to 2133MHz CAS9 DDR3 setup in Dual Channel, but again most applications aren't that memory bandwidth dependent.

6) ONLY an example, but I looked on EBay and saw this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/CORSAIR-XMS3-DDR3-1333MHz-16GB-4x4GB-DDR3-DIMM-CMX4GX3M1A1333C9/182887438190?epid=140610328&hash=item2a94f0d76e:g:Y~cAAOSwvD5aA7NW

4x4GB, 1333MHz, DDR3, non-ECC, unbuffered, 240-pin

Again, not 100% sure that's the right memory for your motherboard.