Help with RAM

[Kylehendy]

so i have a gigabyte GA B85 HD3 motherboard and i currently have one stick of 8gb memory with 1600mhz and im looking to upgrade to 16gb of memory(2x8gb) but im not sure where to shop or what type of memory is the best and compatible with my board as the manual shows it has support for 1600/1333 memory modules, does this mean i have to only get ram that is 1600 or 1333 mhz? or can i use any, 2400mhz for example. i could do with a well known brand like corsair or kingston or hyper x as i know these brands but i also need a reliable seller. if you can help thank you in advance.

[treeroy]

You need a stick of DDR3 memory. It should ideally be the same frequency (MHz) and have the same intervals. If you get a stick that's 2400MHz it will only run at 1600MHz.

Think of it like both sticks need to be synchronised. If one of them is a slower module, the other one will slow down to the same speed.

 

You can tweak settings in the BIOS but generally its best to get very similar memory. You need to find out what latency your RAM runs at. find the manufacturer number/code on the stick and type it into google.

[EunSoo]

Any DDR3 RAM will work. The motherboard will just underclock the RAM to your existing RAM. If you live in the US, I usually buy from either Newegg or Amazon (just make sure which seller you are buying from. If it is Prime eligible, then that is a good sign.), or NCIX. There are probably more good retailers but that's where I get my computer hardware.

[Kylehendy]

4 minutes ago, SCGazelle said:

Any DDR3 RAM will work. The motherboard will just underclock the RAM to your existing RAM. If you live in the US, I usually buy from either Newegg or Amazon (just make sure which seller you are buying from. If it is Prime eligible, then that is a good sign.), or NCIX. There are probably more good retailers but that's where I get my computer hardware.

 

so if i were to say buy something like these (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMY16GX3M2A2400C11R-Vengeance-2400Mhz-Performance/dp/B00EUPV2RQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1479841378&sr=1-2&keywords=ram) (https://www.amazon.co.uk/HyperX-FURY-16-Memory-Module/dp/B00J8E8ZOC/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1479841378&sr=1-3&keywords=ram) it would work with my mobo? i would have to take my current 8gb out and replace with two sticks of 8gb?

[EunSoo]

Just now, Kylehendy said:

so if i were to say buy something like these (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMY16GX3M2A2400C11R-Vengeance-2400Mhz-Performance/dp/B00EUPV2RQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1479841378&sr=1-2&keywords=ram) (https://www.amazon.co.uk/HyperX-FURY-16-Memory-Module/dp/B00J8E8ZOC/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1479841378&sr=1-3&keywords=ram) it would work with my mobo? i would have to take my current 8gb out and replace with two sticks of 8gb?

 

Yep. You could use all 3 sticks if there is room on your motherboard

[Kylehendy]

8 minutes ago, treeroy said:

You need a stick of DDR3 memory. It should ideally be the same frequency (MHz) and have the same intervals. If you get a stick that's 2400MHz it will only run at 1600MHz.

Think of it like both sticks need to be synchronised. If one of them is a slower module, the other one will slow down to the same speed.

 

You can tweak settings in the BIOS but generally its best to get very similar memory. You need to find out what latency your RAM runs at. find the manufacturer number/code on the stick and type it into google.

 

i was thinking of just buying brand new 2x8gb sticks and taking my 1 stick out, so no matter the mhz it would still work but only run at 1600mhz?