RAM Upgrade

[storm5510]

RAM prices seem fairly low at the moment so I want to upgrade my i7 system. It has four DDR4 2400's in it now. Total is 16GB. I would like to take it to 24GB. All the modules are HyperX Fury. I want to stay with the same brand. I have never had a problem with them. New Egg has pairs of 8GB modules, but they are DDR4-3200's. I would be removing two of the current sticks and replacing them with the 8GB's

I will make the assumption that I could use the 3200's as they would only run as fast as the 2400's. Is this correct? If I can use these then I could get another pair in a month or so to make it 32GB total.

[Mark Rose]

You may get instability mixing kits, especially if running over stock timings for DDR4, which is at 2133. You're better to wait a month and buy two kits at the same time.

Whether they'll operate faster than 2400 depends on your motherboard and CPU and what they support.

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by Mark Rose

You may get instability mixing kits, especially if running over stock timings for DDR4, which is at 2133. You're better to wait a month and buy two kits at the same time.

Whether they'll operate faster than 2400 depends on your motherboard and CPU and what they support.

Thank you for the reply!

This BIOS has a group of RAM settings, from 800 to 4266. There is also Auto, which is the default. Several years ago when I was having problems with Prime95 causing reboots, I tried slowing them to the next setting below 2400. This was a major fail. Some applications crashed, and others refused to load. 2400's needed to run at 2400.

NewEgg has pairs of 8GB 3200's so they might have sets of four. About the mixing: I now fear If I did that I might end up in the same situation as I mentioned just above.

Before I attempt this I need to find the board manual. That might prove difficult. I know it is here somewhere.

[VBCurtis]

Find the board model number, get the manual online via google.

Also, I suggest you just wait a month and buy 2x16GB. If the new 16's work with the old 4's you get 40GB; if not you still have a healthy 32GB.

Your board may like faster memory settings (e.g. 3200 as rated) when only running two sticks.

[kriesel]

CPU-Z is handy on Windows systems for getting "mainboard" manufacturer and model, BIOS particulars, memory speeds and type etc, directly from the running hardware. And multiple instances can be run together showing different tabs, as below.

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by VBCurtis

...Also, I suggest you just wait a month and buy 2x16GB. If the new 16's work with the old 4's you get 40GB; if not you still have a healthy 32GB.

Your board may like faster memory settings (e.g. 3200 as rated) when only running two sticks.

NewEgg has pairs of 16GB sticks. I recognize Kingston. Pairs are $60 USD for DDR4-3200. They have 3600's as well which are $63 USD. I have had Kingston RAM in the past and had no problems with it. I am leery of trying 3600's with this board which is five years old. I would need to see the documentation first. I am not as pee-poor as I make it seem. I want to be certain as possible that what I choose will work. Stability is far preferable than speed.

Originally Posted by kriesel

CPU-Z is handy on Windows systems for getting "mainboard" manufacturer and model, BIOS particulars, memory speeds and type etc, directly from the running hardware.

It has been years since I had a version of CPU-Z. A lot has been added since.

As it turned out, the RAM modules I have now are identified as Kingston. HyperX must be a past model name.

Update: I found the manual online and it is fortunate I did. Read the top line in the attached image. I take this as meaning this board will support only 2400's. I went back to NewEgg. They have several brands of 32GB (2x16GB) 2400 kits.

[tha]

Originally Posted by storm5510

. They have several brands of 32GB (2x16GB) 2400 kits.

Yep. I had bought 4×4GB originally for my pc. When prime95/mprime 30.8 came out I upgraded to 4×16GB. For both sets I paid the same price. So, effectively the price per GB had come down by a factor of 4.

[Xyzzy]

4 × 16 - https://pcpartpicker.com/products/me...5536004&page=1
2 × 16 - https://pcpartpicker.com/products/me...2768002&page=1

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by tha

Yep. I had bought 4×4GB originally for my pc. When prime95/mprime 30.8 came out I upgraded to 4×16GB. For both sets I paid the same price. So, effectively the price per GB had come down by a factor of 4.

I started out in 2018 with 2x4GB. Then, I went to 4x4GB in 2020.

I am upgrading because I fudged some P-1 work for James Heinrich. I corrected it afterwards. I was told by VBCurtis that a pair of 2x16GB would be better than a set four 4x8GB. It may be possible I might end up with 40GB total if I can leave two of the 4x8's in. If not, I will still have 32GB.

Prices may be low now, but they may not stay that way.

[kriesel]

2x16 + 2x8 = 48 GiB. And, 2x16 now, plus 2x16 later gets you 64, and some 8's as spares you might be able to sell.

[VBCurtis]

Originally Posted by kriesel

2x16 + 2x8 = 48 GiB. And, 2x16 now, plus 2x16 later gets you 64, and some 8's as spares you might be able to sell.

OP doesn't have any 8's. They're all 4GB sticks. See the original post.