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Upgrading memory on older computer - need advice

ve4grm
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My wife's computer (my old computer) is a 9-year-old 8-core 6-core AMD setup which we've upgraded a few parts in over the years. Specifically, she's running a GTX 960 (hey, it was a decent midrange card 5 years ago) and it got a brand new motherboard after a repair.

 

It's still running well, and we don't have the money for a full upgrade right now, but it's been struggling on the memory front recently. She has 8GB (2x 4GB) of DDR3 1333, and the GA-890GPA-UD3H mobo supports up to 16GB DDR3 1866, so I figured a couple extra sticks would be easy. Now I'm getting confused about a few things:

 

  • What do I have to watch out for when I add in different RAM to supplement the existing sticks? Obviously try to match speed. I've seen people talking about problems with timing differences? I don't think I'll be able to find an exact match for the existing RAM. What am I in for if I put in something different from the first 2 slots?
  • The mobo supports 16GB, and has 4 slots. Can it use 2x 8GB, or just 4x 4GB? I might have an easier time getting my hands on the 2x8 than an additional 2x4 (or 4x4 if I need that).

 

  • Also, does anyone have a trusted location for cheap and/or used RAM?

 

I've done my share of upgrading systems before, but combining different memory is a new one for me and I'm not sure of the pitfalls.

 

Thanks for your help!

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33 minutes ago, ve4grm said:

My wife's computer (my old computer) is a 9-year-old 8-core AMD setup which we've upgraded a few parts in over the years. Specifically, she's running a GTX 960 (hey, it was a decent midrange card 5 years ago) and it got a brand new motherboard after a repair.

 

It's still running well, and we don't have the money for a full upgrade right now, but it's been struggling on the memory front recently. She has 8GB (2x 4GB) of DDR3 1333, and the GA-890GPA-UD3H mobo supports up to 16GB DDR3 1866, so I figured a couple extra sticks would be easy. Now I'm getting confused about a few things:

 

  • What do I have to watch out for when I add in different RAM to supplement the existing sticks? Obviously try to match speed. I've seen people talking about problems with timing differences? I don't think I'll be able to find an exact match for the existing RAM. What am I in for if I put in something different from the first 2 slots?
  • The mobo supports 16GB, and has 4 slots. Can it use 2x 8GB, or just 4x 4GB? I might have an easier time getting my hands on the 2x8 than an additional 2x4 (or 4x4 if I need that).

 

  • Also, does anyone have a trusted location for cheap and/or used RAM?

 

I've done my share of upgrading systems before, but combining different memory is a new one for me and I'm not sure of the pitfalls.

 

Thanks for your help!

Eight Core? I'm guessing you mean FX 8000 series, I was confused because the mobo you linked to doesn't support FX CPUs. But if you do mean FX, my experience was that the memory controller wasn't that picky with memory, my old system pretty much ran any memory I threw in it. I actually had completely different memory in all 4 of my slots (like I do now in my current main system, funnily enough), and it didn't have any problems.

 

I wouldn't buy 8gb sticks, since they're a lot more expensive than 4gb sticks, even on the used market. In the UK where I live, I can just pick up a 4gb stick for £6 (about 7.8 freedom dollars) from CEX, which is a franchised shop which deals in CDs, DVDs, games, PC parts etc. If you don't have that, I would suggest the usual places, like eBay, facebook marketplace, and other classified listings.

REMILIA Mk.IIIG CPU: Ryzen 7 5700X3D, Cooler: Gelid Sirocco (Arctic MX6), RAM: 4x 8Gb sticks of Patriot Viper Steel Series 3600 CL17, Mobo: AsRock X570 Taichi, GPU: Inno3D RTX 3080 iChill x4 10G, Storage: 1TB Intel 670p NVME SSD boot drive, a few 1TB and 512gb SATA/NVME SSDs for game storage, 6 hard drives:2-12 TB, PSU: Montech Century II 850W, Case: Silverstone FLP02, PCIE Cards: Cheap Chinese Marvell 88SE9215 4 port SATA card, Sonnet Allegro USB3.2 Card Monitors: ViewSonic Elite XG270QC (165hz, 1ms MPRT, 1440p, VA, Freesync PP, pneumatic stand), electriq 27qhd180i (IPS, 180hz, 1440p, 1Ms), iiyama G2530HSU-B (75Hz, Freesync, one in landscape, one in Portrait, all on pneumatic monitor stands).

 

Mic: iSK UPM-1 USB XLR interface with Neewer NW700, Audio: Sabaj A3 160W DAC/AMP + Wharfdale Diamond 220 + Mission MS6 Sub, Fiio K11 R2R DAC + Douk P5 (Toshiba Tubes), Sendy Peacock, Mouse: Glorious Model I, Keyboard: Glorious GMMK ISO with Mengmoda MMD Tactile (main) and Kailh Box Navy (Function keys), Tribosys 3203 brush lubed, Taihao Green forest caps.

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3 hours ago, ibabyslapper said:

Eight Core? I'm guessing you mean FX 8000 series, I was confused because the mobo you linked to doesn't support FX CPUs. But if you do mean FX, my experience was that the memory controller wasn't that picky with memory, my old system pretty much ran any memory I threw in it. I actually had completely different memory in all 4 of my slots (like I do now in my current main system, funnily enough), and it didn't have any problems.

 

I wouldn't buy 8gb sticks, since they're a lot more expensive than 4gb sticks, even on the used market. In the UK where I live, I can just pick up a 4gb stick for £6 (about 7.8 freedom dollars) from CEX, which is a franchised shop which deals in CDs, DVDs, games, PC parts etc. If you don't have that, I would suggest the usual places, like eBay, facebook marketplace, and other classified listings.

Whoops, sorry it's a 6 core, not 8. Phenom X6 1055T. I'll edit the initial post.

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10 hours ago, ve4grm said:

Whoops, sorry it's a 6 core, not 8. Phenom X6 1055T. I'll edit the initial post.

I think what I said in my initial post still stands. Don't worry too much about it, match freq and timings as much as you can be bothered to, but don't stress yourself too much with memory compatibility.

 

If you can't find cheap memory, you could always order some off Aliexpress.

REMILIA Mk.IIIG CPU: Ryzen 7 5700X3D, Cooler: Gelid Sirocco (Arctic MX6), RAM: 4x 8Gb sticks of Patriot Viper Steel Series 3600 CL17, Mobo: AsRock X570 Taichi, GPU: Inno3D RTX 3080 iChill x4 10G, Storage: 1TB Intel 670p NVME SSD boot drive, a few 1TB and 512gb SATA/NVME SSDs for game storage, 6 hard drives:2-12 TB, PSU: Montech Century II 850W, Case: Silverstone FLP02, PCIE Cards: Cheap Chinese Marvell 88SE9215 4 port SATA card, Sonnet Allegro USB3.2 Card Monitors: ViewSonic Elite XG270QC (165hz, 1ms MPRT, 1440p, VA, Freesync PP, pneumatic stand), electriq 27qhd180i (IPS, 180hz, 1440p, 1Ms), iiyama G2530HSU-B (75Hz, Freesync, one in landscape, one in Portrait, all on pneumatic monitor stands).

 

Mic: iSK UPM-1 USB XLR interface with Neewer NW700, Audio: Sabaj A3 160W DAC/AMP + Wharfdale Diamond 220 + Mission MS6 Sub, Fiio K11 R2R DAC + Douk P5 (Toshiba Tubes), Sendy Peacock, Mouse: Glorious Model I, Keyboard: Glorious GMMK ISO with Mengmoda MMD Tactile (main) and Kailh Box Navy (Function keys), Tribosys 3203 brush lubed, Taihao Green forest caps.

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  • 5 weeks later...
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Update: Bought 8GB (2x4) of Gskill ram off Newegg, same type, same timings, everything theoretically ideal. Computer started getting blue screens. After the 3rd, returned them, been stable since.

 

Not sure just why, but I guess the people being cautious are doing so for a reason.

 

No more advice needed, as I'm just leaving it at 8GB for now. Just wanted to update so this thread isn't incomplete.

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