Adding more memory

[Sts610]

Hey everyone wondering on your thoughts about adding an additional 16gb of ram or 32gb to my system.  I know I haven't really heard of systems running 48gb.  I just saw the matching kit at 45$ difference between 16gb and 32 gb.  Used marked does not have anything in my area.  I'm using 50% memory just multi-tasking on youtube (watching LTT) and browsing the web.  When gaming on easy peasy games I keep one screen on youtube and the game on the other I hit 90% usage.  Chrome is so Ram hungry.  So if it was your build would you get the 32gb and run 48gb or just get 16gb or run 32gb and try to sell the other 16gb?

 

 

Thanks for all your input!

[191x7]

If you're using 2x 8GB now, those modules are probably single-rank. I wouldn't combine single rank and dual rank memory, most newer 16GB sticks (or larger) are dual rank.

Either add the same RAM as you have already, or replace all the RAM with new. That's for compatibility.

[RONOTHAN##]

16 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

If you're using 2x 8GB now, those modules are probably single-rank. I wouldn't combine single rank and dual rank memory, most newer 16GB sticks (or larger) are dual rank.

Either add the same RAM as you have already, or replace all the RAM with new. That's for compatibility.

Just saying, a lot of this is wrong. 2x8GB is almost certainly single rank, very few dual rank 8GB DIMMs do exist, but 16GB DIMMs are pretty reliably single rank now and have been for 2-3 years at least. 16Gb memory ICs have gotten cheap enough where single rank memory is cheaper to produce than dual rank memory, meaning memory manufacturers are making single rank 16GB DIMMs, with the exception being the B die bins like 3600 CL14, as those are guaranteed to be dual rank as Samsung B die (the only memory chip that can do 3600 CL14) is 8Gb in density, meaning that in order to make 16GB DIMMs you need to make the sticks dual rank. 

 

That said, mixing single rank and dual rank memory isn't inherently bad, and I'd argue it's actually the better scenario. It puts a lot of stress on the memory controller, yes, and generally the board/CPU gets very picky about which sticks are in what slots, but they generally will work together just fine. The real problem that can arise is mixing memory ICs, which that's a whole separate discussion to the organization of the memory. Having a single rank 2x8GB kit and a dual rank 2x16GB kit in the same system does mean that there's an OK chance that the system shares the same memory IC and compatibility is actually solid. Having a single rank 2x8GB kit and a single rank 2x16GB kit in the system guarantees that the memory ICs will be different and are therefore likely to misbehave. None of this guarantees compatibility or incompatibility, there are some ICs you can mix without much fuss, but it just means you've got a higher chance of incompatibility than if they were the same. 

 

Also, to add, just because a kit has the exact same model number does not mean that it would be the exact same. All the memory vendors (excluding the green PCB OEM sticks from Micron, Samsung, and Hynix to some degree) just put whatever memory IC they have on hand that can do a speed bin in a kit of RAM, meaning that say for one kit you can get Samsung C die and the next you get Hynix CJR. Unless you're buying a rather high end kit that only has one possibly IC in it, it'll just be luck of the draw what memory IC you get and not guaranteed to work. 

 

Basically, if you want best compatibility, it's just replace all the RAM with new, not even the same RAM you already have, since odds are it would be different. 

[Sts610]

Thanks for the info, if I'm replacing everything that definitely opens up my possibilities as I can look into other brands.  I just checked and my sticks are single rank.