what memory? & random questions and other nonsense

[lusk]

First some backstory, I had not upgraded for years! I was running on a q6600 quad on a ga-p35-ds3p with a 8800 gts. Honestly I still felt my computer was up to speed on most things, I did not play any demanding games. I figured I would just buy some old used but still much better GPU for some spare change. After reading up on a few things and whatnot I instead went and found a good deal for a r9 280x about 150 USD. I then overlocked the q6600 by 25% and everything was fine but I had gotten the taste for some new hardware. I was also sick and tired of THE NOISE.

 

Having such a good experiance buying second-hand on a auction-site, I continued on. Long story short, I eventually ended up with:

 

 

ASUS P8P67 Deluxe, Socket-1155

 

Intel Core# i7 Quad Processor i7-2600K with Corsair H50 Hydro Series thingy

 

Corsair Dominator DHX+ DDR3 1600MHz 4GB

Kit w/2x 2GB XMS3 modules, CL7-8-7-20, for Core

i3/i5/i7, 1.65V

 

Western Digital Caviar® Black 1TB

 

Corsair AX 850W PSU

 

xfx Radeon r9 280x DD

 

audigy 2 zs

 

in a Corsair Graphite 600T

 

No parts were wasted and I ended up giving a pretty decent computer to my brother (the old q6600 with a geforce GTX 275). Going from having the r9 280x in my old computer to the new build really only gave a framerate boost of about 3-4 on very high settings in crysis 3. But that was expected.

 

All in all so far I have put down approx 850 usd, do note that I still have warranty on the GPU,CPU, PSU and ram despite being second hand. (I did some digging before bidding ofc), also do note that prices here in sweden are quite different and similar performance computer new would cost nearly double from what I can tell, 25% taxes play at least some part in that. Sorry if all this has been a bragfeast about how good deal I have managed to get. I am just a bit excited, I had expected to be out of money by now.

 

So I know its not all the latest and greatest, but I figure it will last me another 5-6 years. My immediate upgrade plans this summer is really what this thread is about. Seeing as I have a way overkill PSU I figured I would throw in another r9 280x and pick up a ssd. More urgently however is the memory, 4 gb seams to be fine for most things but when it isnt it really hurts (read: planetside 2). I would like some advice on what ram to buy.

Do note that I am all about budget and I will try my best with sticking to second-hand it is sort of how I justify the purchases that I dont really need. I am quite new to this and ram is terribly frightning and seams to be the least flexible thing, particulary now that I already have 2x2gb sticks.

 

So onto some questions:

 

How much ram do I need? right now memory usage only ever peaks in planetside 2 with 95% usage I assume its some sort of roof there?

 

How do I achieve said ram, do I replace the current sticks with new XxX or can I add something to the current configuration? I would prefer the later if at all possible. Please explain how this stuff works! Do I need ram with same Hz, same timings, or what?! I have no idea how to go about this. Ram is scary.

 

How does adding a second r9 280x affect memory usage, will maybe adding a second card fix my memory problems, maybe I should prioratize crossfire over memory?

 

I will eventually probably, I suspect, want to overlock the i7 2600k to something like 4400-5000, please do elaborate on any sort of problems I might run into with different memory configurations. I would really appreciate if someone could take some time clearing things out for me. But it may be easier to just recommend some memory and link me to a explanation and call it done. That would be nice aswell.

 

In case this wasnt clear to you already, I am not very knowledgeable about this.

[ArrayGamer]

 

First some backstory, I had not upgraded for years! I was running on a q6600 quad on a ga-p35-ds3p with a 8800 gts. Honestly I still felt my computer was up to speed on most things, I did not play any demanding games. I figured I would just buy some old used but still much better GPU for some spare change. After reading up on a few things and whatnot I instead went and found a good deal for a r9 280x about 150 USD. I then overlocked the q6600 by 25% and everything was fine but I had gotten the taste for some new hardware. I was also sick and tired of THE NOISE.

 

Having such a good experiance buying second-hand on a auction-site, I continued on. Long story short, I eventually ended up with:

 

 

ASUS P8P67 Deluxe, Socket-1155

 

Intel Core# i7 Quad Processor i7-2600K with Corsair H50 Hydro Series thingy

 

Corsair Dominator DHX+ DDR3 1600MHz 4GB

Kit w/2x 2GB XMS3 modules, CL7-8-7-20, for Core

i3/i5/i7, 1.65V

 

Western Digital Caviar® Black 1TB

 

Corsair AX 850W PSU

 

xfx Radeon r9 280x DD

 

audigy 2 zs

 

in a Corsair Graphite 600T

 

No parts were wasted and I ended up giving a pretty decent computer to my brother (the old q6600 with a geforce GTX 275). Going from having the r9 280x in my old computer to the new build really only gave a framerate boost of about 3-4 on very high settings in crysis 3. But that was expected.

 

All in all so far I have put down approx 850 usd, do note that I still have warranty on the GPU,CPU, PSU and ram despite being second hand. (I did some digging before bidding ofc), also do note that prices here in sweden are quite different and similar performance computer new would cost nearly double from what I can tell, 25% taxes play at least some part in that. Sorry if all this has been a bragfeast about how good deal I have managed to get. I am just a bit excited, I had expected to be out of money by now.

 

So I know its not all the latest and greatest, but I figure it will last me another 5-6 years. My immediate upgrade plans this summer is really what this thread is about. Seeing as I have a way overkill PSU I figured I would throw in another r9 280x and pick up a ssd. More urgently however is the memory, 4 gb seams to be fine for most things but when it isnt it really hurts (read: planetside 2). I would like some advice on what ram to buy.

Do note that I am all about budget and I will try my best with sticking to second-hand it is sort of how I justify the purchases that I dont really need. I am quite new to this and ram is terribly frightning and seams to be the least flexible thing, particulary now that I already have 2x2gb sticks.

 

So onto some questions:

 

How much ram do I need? right now memory usage only ever peaks in planetside 2 with 95% usage I assume its some sort of roof there?

 

How do I achieve said ram, do I replace the current sticks with new XxX or can I add something to the current configuration? I would prefer the later if at all possible. Please explain how this stuff works! Do I need ram with same Hz, same timings, or what?! I have no idea how to go about this. Ram is scary.

 

How does adding a second r9 280x affect memory usage, will maybe adding a second card fix my memory problems, maybe I should prioratize crossfire over memory?

 

I will eventually probably, I suspect, want to overlock the i7 2600k to something like 4400-5000, please do elaborate on any sort of problems I might run into with different memory configurations. I would really appreciate if someone could take some time clearing things out for me. But it may be easier to just recommend some memory and link me to a explanation and call it done. That would be nice aswell.

 

In case this wasnt clear to you already, I am not very knowledgeable about this.

 

first, adding a second 280x will NOT add to your memory, second, does your mobo have 2 or 4 memory slots?

[Askew]

first, adding a second 280x will NOT add to your memory, second, does your mobo have 2 or 4 memory slots?

 

It has 4, I used to own one.

 

OP, upgrading the RAM to 8GB is something I'd consider to be important, get yourself a 2x4GB kit of something like Corsair vengeance LP 1600 1.5v .

 

Try to get an 8GB 1.5v 1600Mhz kit, that is the sweet spot for your chip/config, and replace your current RAM with it.

 

I would also recommend installing the latest BIOS update from here along with any other updated drivers (especially chipset). if you leave the file somewhere on the desktop it's very easy to update from the actual BIOS itself, ASUS's update utility is also an option.

 

 

 

Adding another card will not increase your memory, RAM is different from VRAM found on graphics cards, the two do not affect each other's capacity.

Also, if you have a card with 3GB of VRAM, and add another card with 3GB of VRAM, you still have 3GB of VRAM that the system can use because of how multi GPU setups work, this is the same for all  multi GPU setups, the graphics memory is mirrored, it cannot increase by adding more cards.

 

Your CPU is ok to deal with another GPU, I would consider overlocking it to around the 4.2-4.5Ghz mark and no higher, although some of the Sandy chips can go higher the voltage is gonna start climbing and it's going to get hot with an H50.

[ArrayGamer]

It has 4, I used to own one.

If it was me, i would replace it with a 2x4gb kit. As far as i know, if you add 2 of the same exact kits together they will only sometimes work.

[wng_kingsley7]

1a For ram 4-8GB will be enough with the purpose of gaming and casual internet browsing in mind.

12-16 recommended for the base video editing requirement however on certain sockets you get either dual/triple/quad channel memory which basically multiplies the amount of ram you can potentially run.

 

2a No adding an extra 280X will not help you gain more more gpu vram.

Listen very carefully the 690 is a gpu with two cores with 2GB per gpu core. It has 4GB however it splits hand in hand.

 

3a Overclocking the i5 2600K might get you around the 4.0Ghz or more. You don't seem to be very knowledgable about overclocking.

@ArrayGamer did you need to quote the entire post? you can just re-edit it taking the important parts of information.

[ArrayGamer]

This would be good ram http://pcpartpicker.com/part/a-data-memory-ax3u1600w4g9dmv or if you have a few extra dollars this would perform (slightly) better  http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f32400c11d8gxm    

[Enderman]

first, adding a second 280x will NOT add to your memory, second, does your mobo have 2 or 4 memory slots?

woah plz dont quote the op

[ArrayGamer]

woah plz dont quote the op

oops didn't realize i quoted the whole thing  

[lusk]

 

I would also recommend installing the latest BIOS update from here along with any other updated drivers (especially chipset). if you leave the file somewhere on the desktop it's very easy to update from the actual BIOS itself, ASUS's update utility is also an option.

 

 

 

 

The audigy 2 zs is a bit outdated, and has caused me some headaches already, I don't really want to touch the bios for now. On a sidenote, one quirk I learned pretty quick was that pretty much all the "automatic OC" functions on the motherboard set the PCIE to 103, and the soundcard did not seam to like that one bit. But maybe thats just me getting things mixed up, thats what I gather from it anyways, but im not sure if thats all expansion slots or just the GPU one or what. 

 

 

 

 

Adding another card will not increase your memory, RAM is different from VRAM found on graphics cards, the two do not affect each other's capacity.

Also, if you have a card with 3GB of VRAM, and add another card with 3GB of VRAM, you still have 3GB of VRAM that the system can use because of how multi GPU setups work, this is the same for all  multi GPU setups, the graphics memory is mirrored, it cannot increase by adding more cards.

 

Your CPU is ok to deal with another GPU, I would consider overlocking it to around the 4.2-4.5Ghz mark and no higher, although some of the Sandy chips can go higher the voltage is gonna start climbing and it's going to get hot with an H50.

 

Using only the automatic OC thing it clocked the CPU to 4.4 (when turbo was active) and the temps never went above 65 degrees celsuis according to coretemp, the voltage looked a bit unstable and would occasionally peak at 1.35V but from what I gather thats fine. But I will leave it at standard for now.

 

 

Ugh ill answer the rest without this awkward quote thing, it takes forever for me to sort it out 

 

Thanks, I will try to pick up some 2x4 GB sticks then. When browsing around at auctions there are a lot of people selling quite cheap ECC, would that be absolutly crazy for gaming, or is it more like meh, it doesnt matter? Say I could get 2x8 or 4x4 for half the price of 2x4 gb non ECC

 

again, thanks for such quick replies

 

 

edit: sigh, I cant even figure out how to edit this thing away

 

[Askew]

@lusk your setup doesn't support ECC memory anyway so buying it is pointless.

 

You don't need ECC memory on a desktop to be honest, this is perfect for your system, it's also what I am using

[lusk]

good thing I asked than, thanks!

[Askew]

good thing I asked than, thanks!

 

No problem, if I were you I'd take care of the RAM first, sell your old kit (don't use them both at the same time, it can cause issues) and then see how the system performs.

 

Windows will use as much RAM is you have in accordance with what's running, if you have an 8GB kit you may see your useage going up while doing the same things, don't let this alarm you it is normal.