A question about adding RAM (desktop)

[Ohm97]

Hiya, I'm new here and I've caught myself interested in something i wanted to know more about. A while ago, i bought myself a pre-build gaming PC that i'm still paying off. It's pretty decent in my eyes and it does what i want it to do which is usually play starcraft2 (In really low settings) and guildwars2(which is also on really low settings lol,) i think it was, like, maybe 400 to 500$'s i think. But When i was in youtube watching other youtubers talk about upgrading thier PCs and then proceeding to open it and describe what they want and what they're thinking and seeing a freaking beast of a machine after in the end, I sorta had an idea of just opening my case up and looking inside. I've never really opened it and i was pretty surprised on how exciting it looks even thought it didn't look like much. But what really got me was the topic of adding RAM to the motherboard. Finding a little more about it i see that i don't have a graphics card slot-thingy either lol. That sort of threw me off guard seeing a lot of people have some sort of graphics card that they love and praise, however, seeing the chances of either having enough cash to make a new one or either buying parts to upgrade or even replace, i took the simple route and just took on this subject.

 

My question is would it be bad if i added another one in there? I mean, i only ask because i've heard it sort of improves performance and seeing that i'm used to playing games on really low settings my thought process would assume that it would work ya'know? Also, do i need the exact same thing? I would think so...right? Also i sorta of worry that my battery thing might not handle it or that maybe my processor can't either. Can you help? :'/

 

Edit: Even thought i'm still paying it off i feel like i have enough to buy that additional RAM stick. If it's the right brand thingy

[Fasauceome]

Give us the model and we'll tell you exactly what sort of wiggle room you have

 

[MandoPanda]

6 minutes ago, fasauceome said:

wiggle room

Speaking of... send us some pictures and measure out how long the inside of your case is. Also, download CPUz for us and tell us all of your specs. Most likely there are some upgrades you can do.

[Brooksie359]

Adding more ram generally doesn't increace performance unless you are running a single stick to begin with and adding a second would allow for dual channel. I mean if you need the extra ram because your computer is using alot of ram then it is possible to increace performance by not having it page file but that is a very unique case and does happen often unless you are running something like 4 gb of ram or your using software that uses alot of ram.

[Ohm97]

@fasauceome

@MandoPanda

Thankfully, i have that program, though, i'm not entirely sure what you mean by 'model.'

Is that in the SPD tab? or the CPU tab?

 

[Ohm97]

6 minutes ago, Brooksie359 said:

Adding more ram generally doesn't increace performance unless you are running a single stick to begin with and adding a second would allow for dual channel. I mean if you need the extra ram because your computer is using alot of ram then it is possible to increace performance by not having it page file but that is a very unique case and does happen often unless you are running something like 4 gb of ram or your using software that uses alot of ram.

what if it's just to get a little extra processing power off of starcraft2? Even though i have really low settings on it still kinda lags here and there ya'know. Or is that a processor thing? o.o

[Fasauceome]

 

1 minute ago, Ohm97 said:

@fasauceome

@MandoPanda

Thankfully, i have that program, though, i'm not entirely sure what you mean by 'model.'

Is that in the SPD tab? or the CPU tab?

 

What model prebuilt. Company, brand, etc

[Fasauceome]

Just now, Ohm97 said:

what if it's just to get a little extra processing power off of starcraft2? Even though i have really low settings on it still kinda lags here and there ya'know. Or is that a processor thing? o.o

Since you have no graphics card, you could actually benefit quite a lot from more ram since you would need more video memory.

[Brooksie359]

Just now, fasauceome said:

Since you have no graphics card, you could actually benefit quite a lot from more ram since you would need more video memory.

That is only the case if they currently don't have ram to spare. If they aren't using all if it then adding more won't help any unless it was to enable dual channel memory. 

[Fasauceome]

Just now, Brooksie359 said:

That is only the case if they currently don't have ram to spare. If they aren't using all if it then adding more won't help any unless it was to enable dual channel memory. 

$500 for a prebuilt makes me imagine 8GB at most, with a good chance of 4

[Ohm97]

1 minute ago, fasauceome said:

 

What model prebuilt. Company, brand, etc

Let's see.

The processor is a 'AMD A8-7410' (Idk what the 7410 means)

The motherboard is a 'Dell Inc. 0NNJDX A00 (if that means anything)

RAM is 'A-data 8bg ddr3'

The CPU is 'AMD Radeon R5 Graphics'

idk what else i should put

[Brooksie359]

2 minutes ago, Ohm97 said:

what if it's just to get a little extra processing power off of starcraft2? Even though i have really low settings on it still kinda lags here and there ya'know. Or is that a processor thing? o.o

Processing power is going to driven by your processor and your graphics card which in your case seems to be an integrated gpu. Ram will help feed your processor and graphics card with memory it needs to process but if you have enough memory already or won't do much unless you are running in single channel now and it would allow for doul channel.

[Fasauceome]

Just now, Ohm97 said:

The processor is a 'AMD A8-7410'

Yup, this is what's holding you back. These CPUs are pretty darn old.

 

Just now, Ohm97 said:

The CPU is 'AMD Radeon R5 Graphics'

This'll be your GPU, which is summed up as graphics cores stuck onto your CPU (not every processor has this, such as Ryzen)

 

8Gb is ok, but do you have 2 ram sticks (dimms) or just one?

[Ohm97]

1 minute ago, fasauceome said:

Yup, this is what's holding you back. These CPUs are pretty darn old.

 

This'll be your GPU, which is summed up as graphics cores stuck onto your CPU (not every processor has this, such as Ryzen)

 

8Gb is ok, but do you have 2 ram sticks (dimms) or just one?

Yeah, i just have one in there. And again seeing that i really don't know if i need the exact same thing to add, i don't know what to look for ya'know.

[MandoPanda]

Since you are on such an old processor, a graphics card upgrade would be a path to better performance in games. Do you have a budget for this?

[Ohm97]

Just now, MandoPanda said:

Since you are on such an old processor, a graphics card upgrade would be a path to better performance in games. Do you have a budget for this?

Sadly no, I should also mention that i don't see a slot for a GPU on the motherboard

My only, i guess, 'saving grace' is the RAM subject.

[MandoPanda]

1 minute ago, Ohm97 said:

i don't see a slot for a GPU on the motherboard

Mind if we get some pics of your rig?

[Fasauceome]

1 minute ago, Ohm97 said:

Yeah, i just have one in there. And again seeing that i really don't know if i need the exact same thing to add, i don't know what to look for ya'know.

Well I'll break it down first.

Ram comes in generations. Yours is 3rd generation, DDR3. Your motherboard will therefore only accept DDR3. DDR4 is physically different.

Two ram dimms of the same capacity (8+8GB, 4+4GB, etc) will operate in dual channel. Buying an identical dimm to the one you have assures that they'll cooperate, but you can mix and match to some success.

2 minutes ago, MandoPanda said:

Since you are on such an old processor, a graphics card upgrade would be a path to better performance in games. Do you have a budget for this?

@MandoPanda is right, time to get off the integrated graphics and slap a real graphics card in there.

 

1 minute ago, Ohm97 said:

Sadly no, I should also mention that i don't see a slot for a GPU on the motherboard

My only, i guess, 'saving grace' is the RAM subject.

Send a photo so we can tell you for sure what's possible. You may be surprised.

That or grab a cheap motherboard that supports a truly good gaming CPU.

[Ohm97]

1 minute ago, fasauceome said:

Well I'll break it down first.

Ram comes in generations. Yours is 3rd generation, DDR3. Your motherboard will therefore only accept DDR3. DDR4 is physically different.

Two ram dimms of the same capacity (8+8GB, 4+4GB, etc) will operate in dual channel. Buying an identical dimm to the one you have assures that they'll cooperate, but you can mix and match to some success.

@MandoPanda is right, time to get off the integrated graphics and slap a real graphics card in there.

 

Send a photo so we can tell you for sure what's possible. You may be surprised.

That or grab a cheap motherboard that supports a truly good gaming CPU.

... Yep. All i can say about this is that I'm ready. #goeasyonmeplzlol

[Fasauceome]

3 minutes ago, Ohm97 said:

... Yep. All i can say about this is that I'm ready. #goeasyonmeplzlol

Well, sad to say there's no hope for this motherboard. More ram simply will not give you anything good. 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Athlon 200GE 3.2GHz Dual-Core OEM/Tray Processor	$64.25
Motherboard	Gigabyte - GA-AB350M-DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$49.99 @ Amazon
Memory	G.Skill - Value 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory	$60.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$175.23
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-10-04 00:46 EDT-0400

https://www.grooves-inc.com/amd-gmbh-amd-athlon-200ge-2ghz-4mb-box-processor-amd-gmbh-hardware-electronic-pZZa1-2098639608.html?language=en&currency=USD&utm_source=froogle_us&utm_campaign=froogle_us&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0dHdBRDEARIsAHjZYYBC7jw2PBZzT3IJc7uduQf0qbkJYDE8mIAJlZ_Rgk18FIOM-bXArYgaAp5aEALw_wcB

How long would it take you to save up for this bad boy?

Maybe throw an SSD in there later when you get the chance

[Ohm97]

2 minutes ago, fasauceome said:

Well, sad to say there's no hope for this motherboard. More ram simply will not give you anything good. 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Athlon 200GE 3.2GHz Dual-Core OEM/Tray Processor	$64.25
Motherboard	Gigabyte - GA-AB350M-DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$49.99 @ Amazon
Memory	G.Skill - Value 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory	$60.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$175.23
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-10-04 00:46 EDT-0400

https://www.grooves-inc.com/amd-gmbh-amd-athlon-200ge-2ghz-4mb-box-processor-amd-gmbh-hardware-electronic-pZZa1-2098639608.html?language=en&currency=USD&utm_source=froogle_us&utm_campaign=froogle_us&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0dHdBRDEARIsAHjZYYBC7jw2PBZzT3IJc7uduQf0qbkJYDE8mIAJlZ_Rgk18FIOM-bXArYgaAp5aEALw_wcB

How long would it take you to save up for this bad boy?

Oh man lol. Well, seeing as i have till the end of the year and then sum i guess i'll have to save that up. Though would i need a new case for that? or would it fit my thing?

Actually, how do i know what kind of case i have?

[Fasauceome]

6 minutes ago, Ohm97 said:

Oh man lol. Well, seeing as i have till the end of the year and then sum i guess i'll have to save that up. Though would i need a new case for that? or would it fit my thing?

Actually, how do i know what kind of case i have?

How many slots do you have on the back of your case? You can tell the form factor from these as a general rule:

If you have 4, your form factor is Micro ATX.

If you have 7, you have full ATX.

 

I also just noticed your power supply looks super proprietary, and if it doesn't have standard power connectors for the motherboard, you would need to replace it.

Some pictures of where the power supply plugs into the motherboard would be useful as well.

https://www.neweggbusiness.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9B-17-438-130&nm_mc=afc-cjb2b&cm_mmc=afc-cjb2b-_-Power+Supplies-_-EVGA-_-9B17438130&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=afc-cjb2b-PCPartPicker%2C+LLC&cjevent=dfd20564c79111e881a6005e0a240613

This budget power supply, while not amazing, would be a suitable replacement.

 

Edit: my original idea for you measuring slots should be clarified. You know how a graphics card usually takes up 2 expansion slots for all its video ports? those are what you'd need to measure

[Ohm97]

1 minute ago, fasauceome said:

How many slots do you have on the back of your case? You can tell the form factor from these as a general rule:

If you have 4, your form factor is Micro ATX.

If you have 7, you have full ATX.

 

I also just noticed your power supply looks super proprietary, and if it doesn't have standard power connectors for the motherboard, you would need to replace it.

Some pictures of where the power supply plugs into the motherboard would be useful as well.

https://www.neweggbusiness.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9B-17-438-130&nm_mc=afc-cjb2b&cm_mmc=afc-cjb2b-_-Power+Supplies-_-EVGA-_-9B17438130&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=afc-cjb2b-PCPartPicker%2C+LLC&cjevent=dfd20564c79111e881a6005e0a240613

This budget power supply, while not amazing, would be a suitable replacement.

I see four.

[Fasauceome]

Just now, Ohm97 said:

I see four.

Micro ATX. The motherboard I selected in the parts list I linked earlier will fit.

[Ohm97]

1 minute ago, fasauceome said:

Micro ATX. The motherboard I selected in the parts list I linked earlier will fit.

Alright then. At least i know now so i'll save up with i can and wait for everything to come on in. Thanks man And thanks for everyone else.