Upgrading ram

[DND]

Hey guys i'm planning to upgrade my ram soon. I am currently running a 2x4GB kingston hyperx furry ddr3 1866 right now. I'm planning to get 2 8gb of the same model is it alright to do that? and btw the 2 4gb ram that i have right is only a a single channel kit did i make a wrong move on buying two single channel kit and using it on a dual channel?

[TheGamingBarrel]

Yes, you will just run 24GB, I run 20GB

[Minsekt]

its not recommended to mix ram kits tho, just dont expect it to work flawlessy/without tweaking then youre good. but in theory, it will work

[DND]

2 minutes ago, TheGamingBarrel said:

Yes, you will just run 24GB, I run 20GB

oh i see. So i just need to buy a 16gb dual channel kit?

[TheGamingBarrel]

Just now, DND said:

oh i see. So i just need to buy a 16gb dual channel kit?

Yeah.

[DND]

Just now, Minsekt said:

its not recommended to mix ram kits tho, just dont expect it to work flawlessy/without tweaking then youre good. but in theory, it will work

oh i see i didn't know about ram channels up until know. How can i know if it is working right?

[Minsekt]

Just now, Julian2000nl said:

The RAM will have less performance because you have 2 dual channel sticks.

his ram even has different frequencys (1866/2000) lol 

[Minsekt]

Just now, DND said:

oh i see i didn't know about ram channels up until know. How can i know if it is working right?

just buy a single kit and sell the one youre using right now. best thing you can do

[lowlyf]

Consult your motherboard specs. RAM is additive in capacity, but you'll want to make sure you're utilizing the channels properly.

[TheGamingBarrel]

3 minutes ago, Minsekt said:

his ram even has different frequencys (1866/2000) lol 

You can set speeds in the BIOS, or leave it on auto and have it set different timings, because my kits use differents IC's, I cannot set a timing for both (BASE And AFR If you are wondering.)

Both of these kits will do 2133 CL9, but they wont do it together, but if you dont need the extra frequency, it doesn't matter.

[DND]

1 minute ago, Minsekt said:

just buy a single kit and sell the one youre using right now. best thing you can do

Oh i see. So i just need to buy two dual channel kits?

[Minsekt]

Just now, TheGamingBarrel said:

You can set speeds in the BIOS, or leave it on auto and have it set different timings, because my kits use differents IC's, I cannot set a timing for both (BASE And AFR If you are wondering.)

yeah of course , but its a stupid thing to recommend it to someone just because it works for you. its clearly not the norm to mix kits and different specs.

[TheGamingBarrel]

Just now, Minsekt said:

yeah of course , but its a stupid thing to recommend it to someone just because it works for you. its clearly not the norm to mix kits and different specs.

Except it works fine, I hae mixed HP OEM RAM, HyperX Fury as well as G.Skill Pi and TridentX.

[lowlyf]

You need to find out what your motherboard supports. Your data bus is only so wide.

[Minsekt]

Just now, DND said:

Oh i see. So i just need to buy two dual channel kits?

just get either a 2x 8gb or a 2x 16gb kit depending on how much ram you need and sell your 2x4gb kit. you dont need quadchannel / 2x dualchannel on ddr3, theres literally no performance gain. just get 2 sticks and sell the your current ones

[DND]

3 minutes ago, lowlyf said:

Consult your motherboard specs. RAM is additive in capacity, but you'll want to make sure you're utilizing the channels properly.

yep checked it already. I made a newbie mistake for not knowing about ram channels. 

[TheGamingBarrel]

I have never actually seen it NOT Work before, there is no performance gain, but just more RAM. It used to not work well, and would cause systems not to post.

[DND]

2 minutes ago, Minsekt said:

just get either a 2x 8gb or a 2x 16gb kit depending on how much ram you need and sell your 2x4gb kit. you dont need quadchannel / 2x dualchannel on ddr3, theres literally no performance gain. just get 2 sticks and sell the your current ones

oh i see. i think 16gb is enough for gaming right?

[TheGamingBarrel]

Just now, DND said:

oh i see. i think 16gb is enough for gaming right?

Yes, more than enough, but if you are buying 16GB, you might see you need more if you want to do more than just gaming.

[lowlyf]

If it supports dual channel RAM, use the slots designated for the dual channel memory kit with the greatest capacity you have. You can populate any other slots with RAM with the same frequency for more capacity, just don't mix speeds. You'll default to the lowest speed. Just remember it's better to have more memory in the dual channel slots so you get increased bus performance on your dual channel slots. (You can access twice as much memory per cycle in your dual channel slots)

[DND]

1 minute ago, TheGamingBarrel said:

Yes, more than enough, but if you are buying 16GB, you might see you need more if you want to do more than just gaming.

oh i see. well i'm not into stuff like video editing, rending and other stuffs like that hahahha. so i think 16gb would be more than enough for me.

[TheGamingBarrel]

2 minutes ago, DND said:

oh i see. well i'm not into stuff like video editing, rending and other stuffs like that hahahha. so i think 16gb would be more than enough for me.

It alos applys if you use some form of RAM Caching, or just use a large amount of tabs.