A question for the computer literate

[artie]

My recently acquired sff PC has 8gb or ddr4 ram in two 4gb sticks.
There are four slots so I fancy adding another 8.
The ram I have is in pic 1 would it be ok to add the ram in pic 2, it's not exactly the same.

 

[Spectric]

The DDR memory should all be identical sticks in size, make and timings. There is also a speed benefit in just having two large memory sticks over 4 unless your mobo supports quad channel mode.

 

[artie]

So you reckon UA1-10 v RDQ-11 or NO AC -1547 v TD AB 1620 Won't make a difference.

There's already two X 4gb sticks in there so I don't want to waste them.

 

[RobNichols]

Hmmm. If the RAM speeds don't match there is a good chance the system will work at the speed of the slowest RAM. However, that does not mean that putting in more RAM will not have a significant improvement in performance. That is if you put in two more 4Gb of faster RAM in it won't be quite as fast as 4 sticks of fast 4Gb RAM but it will be a lot better than the current set up.

It's also worth checking the manual of the motherboard. In the old days RAM was always added in pairs but that isn't always the case. The motherboard may allow you to put in just one 8GB RAM module. Though IMO you'd be better off putting in a pair.

Oh and the other thing - get a pair of 8GB and fit them. Use the PC for a while. Then remove the pair of 4GB and see what that does to the performance. If the performance drops, put them back in.

 

[Rhossydd]

In a quarter of a century of building my own PCs, the one thing I've learnt the hard way is don't add ram. Put in a matching set of ram all the same. Sell the old sticks to some sucker on eBay or just shelve them.
Even minor variations in ram sticks can cause all sorts of odd errors that are a nightmare to diagnose. Maybe the system will seem to normally work fine, but then one particular program will use memory differently when pushed and start throwing errors.
Just not worth trying to economise with this if you value your time and sanity.

 

[mg123]

Agree with Rhossydd, adding in ram often causes stability issues or slower speed overall versus leaving in the original set. Sell on your current set and add in 2x 8gb matched pair. That will have a huge boost. First, check your motherboard specs to see what's supported, although official support doesn't actually mean others don't work. It's just the voodoo of PC building, so many variations and iterations that listing everything is often a nightmare.
Unfortunately, ram can be a pipper to get right.

 

[artie]

Well that seems to be unanimous.

Looks like a couple of new sticks are in my future.

Thanks all.