Just a quick question. I am doing some video editing and decided to upgrade my RAM.
My motherboard can take up to 16gb or RAM. Currently I have 8gb of RAM.
I opened my case and see I have four slots and 2gb of RAM in each one, for a total of 8gb
My question is, do I have to use all the slots when I upgrade? Do I have to buy 4 sticks of 4gb or can I buy 2 sticks of 8gb and leave two of the slots empty.
And if either is doable, will it make a difference in performance which method I use?
you probably should check the board’s/system’s documentation. depending on how old it is, the memory controller might not recognize higher-density modules.
again, consult the documentation. if it’s a multi-channel memory controller, then you usually want at least one module per channel for best performance, and the docs will tell you which slots are on what channel.
The above advise is sound. That being said, it is ussually optimal to run two sticks of equal size (and brand preferrably). Typically two of the slots (slot 1 and 2) will be color coded differently as they will support dual channel (optimized to work with both sticks concurrently and well).
You may need to access your BIOS to see if you need to toggle any settings tied to memory allocation (for on board video or dual channel settings, etc)
I third the recommendation to check your motherboard’s manual for the memory sizes said to be compatible. The stated 16 GB limit is low by modern standards and could mean your board was only validated with up to 4 GB modules. If you decided to try 2x 8 GB I would buy from a retailer with a good exchange policy.
That said, it isn’t uncommon for motherboards to be able to use more memory than stated. You may even be able to use 2x 8 GB and your existing 2x 2 GB for 20 GB total, depending on processor and board. Manufacturer tests are limited by the modules available at the time the board is designed.
If you don’t have the documentation for your computer, places like Crucialhave both lists of make & model, as well as system scanner tools that will analyze your hardware to determine what’s possible and/or best.
It depends on your make/model. 16 gigs is barely anything by today’s standards - if you need a faster computer, it may be time to upgrade the ram/motherboard/cpu all in one go. This would be moderately expensive. You can get a powerful CPU from Intel that has their latest tech for $70, a motherboard for about $100, and the RAM for another $100 or so depending on how much of it you wnat.
To add even more to the mix… it could be cheaper to do what Habeed said then to upgrade just the RAM on your current machine. I have some older mobo/cpu combo’s that are perfectly functioning but adding RAM to them was exurbanite due to the older RAM required, yes, the older technology RAM cost more than the new.
Especially if you are looking for similar performance as far as the CPU is concerned.
Thanks for the advice, I am working now, so I’ll have to wait and check when I get home.
I don’t really need a faster computer. It’s way fast for everything, but I was reading I could do video editing better with more RAM, and I don’t do a lot of that, but I figured it might be worthwhile.
Read your manual. It sounds like your motherboard is not compatible with 8GB DIMMs, so to get 16 GB you’d need 4x 4GB DIMMs. However, you might be able to work with 12 GB - 2x 4GB + 2x 2GB - but I would not recommend it as strange things can happen when you mix memory. Do note that your motherboard may have different RAM specifications depending upon how many slots are filled. Typically the more slots filled, the slower the RAM has to be. I usually recommend Crucial’s website for checking memory, but it has badly failed me in the past because it could not tell the difference between ECC RAM and non-ECC RAM, and you cannot mix the two.
Almost certainly, the maximum memory your motherboard can handle will require you to use the maximum amount of memory you can in each slot. If it has four slots and maxes out at a total of 16GB, then the maximum is 4GB per slot. You’ll need 4 4GB sticks.
Which, BTW, is probably cheaper than two 8 GB sticks.