RAM Recommendation, please

[rmnc3r]

Got a gaming PC for the Kid and it has 3 open RAM Slots for DDR4

Looking for value...

What's the best bang for the the buck - 2400 or 3200MHz, 8GB 16, or 32, or ??

what pitfalls to avoid?

Starting point consideration / reference:

https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-Vengeance-2400MHz-PC4-19200-Memory/dp/B01ARHBBPS/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3KV98Z2INB2ST&keywords=ddr4+ram+8gb&qid=1581279549&sprefix=ddr4+ram%2Caps%2C566&sr=8-3

[the86d]

If your board supports PC3200, get the 3200MHz.

Usually you can get a break on the ram, if you buy in sets, so 8GBx2 for a 16GB upgrade, only a few bucks difference, but still a savings.

I never cared about RAM make, but Samsung makes some stuff I have never returned. OCZ made some stuff that was suspect, in the DDR3 days, but it could have been the board...

You DON'T want to run Win10 with 4GB of RAM, 6-8GB seems to be a good minimum. Got my daughter "OLOy", and my Corsair, and they are both probably rebranded. My board only supports 2666MHz RAM, so I went with what the price was right on.

12GB of RAM should be enough for kids, I assume, unless running VMs (or some new game that licks all that RAM).

(If not running an SSD, get one of those before a RAM upgrade.)

[yellowsulphur]

I use the Corsair Vengence LPX 2666,16x2, clocked to 3200 for my AMD Ryzen 9 build. Things I like are low profile for large air coolers, no RGB, works without errors. 3200 is the sweet spot for performance/value for the latest AMD CPUs. From my experience, RAM is packaged in single, double, and quad units. Matching sticks is best, therefore, it might be beneficial to buy all new RAM.

For people to help you it would be best to provide platform/CPU and motherboard chipset.



I

[Mute]

3200 is the sweet spot right now. If your MB supports it get some 3200mhz RAM. Most of the major brands are reliable. I've never had any issues with RAM from Corsair, G.Skill, Crucial or Kingston.

[Dragunov]

I use the Corsair Vengence LPX 2666,16x2, clocked to 3200 for my AMD Ryzen 9 build. Things I like are low profile for large air coolers, no RGB, works without errors. 3200 is the sweet spot for performance/value for the latest AMD CPUs. From my experience, RAM is packaged in single, double, and quad units. Matching sticks is best, therefore, it might be beneficial to buy all new RAM.

For people to help you it would be best to provide platform/CPU and motherboard chipset.



I

I also use the corsair vengeance. Check Ebay.

[rmnc3r]

Thanks for the tips
How do I determine RAM Speed?
System and Security tells how much RAM, but not the speed

[the86d]

I think a Mainboard util can tell you, but looking at it will GENERALLY have the 2666 ("PC4 21300"), or 3200 ("PC4 25600"), or even cross reference like I did for this post on the Gargler (DDR4 3000=PC4-24000), it seems.

Googling "DDR4 3200" (no quotes) lists the "PC4 26500" in the results for cross reference...

Some models for some systems it will be coded on the RAM, and won't say, I think Kingston is one of these, if I recall correctly, and you'll have to look up the cryptic part number to cross-ref.

[ibanezfoo]

I use the Corsair Vengence LPX 2666,16x2, clocked to 3200 for my AMD Ryzen 9 build. Things I like are low profile for large air coolers, no RGB, works without errors. 3200 is the sweet spot for performance/value for the latest AMD CPUs. From my experience, RAM is packaged in single, double, and quad units. Matching sticks is best, therefore, it might be beneficial to buy all new RAM.

For people to help you it would be best to provide platform/CPU and motherboard chipset.



I

Thats the RAM we put in our CAD machines. Out of the, I dunno, probably 100's at this point, sets, I think I've had to return one or two.

For the OP, the RAM is generally installed in pairs, so having 3 slots open means you are just running a single stick. Is this correct? If thats the case, buy another of whatever stick you already have and put it in the slot that matches the color. Usually they are one set of blue and one black, though not always. Look for writing and match the channels. Alternatively, get a whole new pair (or quad set) and replace whats in there. You can get 4x4gig sticks for pretty cheap these days or even 4x8gig sets. We usually use 4x16 gig (I think its like 200 bucks for that set) but not every motherboard supports more than 32gig total (4x8)

A good resource is the Crucial website. You can put in your motherboard and it will tell you what RAM goes in there. You don't have to buy from them (though there stuff is good) but it will tell you what to get.

[Mute]

Thanks for the tips
How do I determine RAM Speed?
System and Security tells how much RAM, but not the speed

If your system shipped with all the motherboard items (parts, manual...etc.) you can look up the info in the manual. Also, as others have suggested, if you know what RAM is currently installed, the cheapest route would be to get the exact same RAM (speed and size) and put in the other paired slot in your motherboard. Although, if the existing RAM is only 4GB, I suggest getting a pair of 8GB RAM (for 16GB total), and replacing the existing RAM.

[MrFancyPants]

First thing you should do is post the motherboard mfg and model so we can see what the recommended RAM speed is, and what speeds are considered OC.

What I typically do is shop for the recommended speed RAM then check some higher speed sticks, because they can actually be cheaper depending on how common that speed is and what sales are going on. Other than speed, you also want to consider the timings, since they have an equal, if not greater effect on total system speed.

One benefit of buying higher speed RAM than what your motherboard manufacturer recommends is you can underclock it to the system recommended speed and run tighter timings, so for example if the RAM is rated to run at CAS16, you can potentially run it at CAS14 or lower and boost your performance. This setting is changed in the BIOS.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[the86d]

Hynix is a Lenovo shipped brand...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0829F4621/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3?psc=1&

[MrFeetZ]

I'm assuming your mobo has 4 total slots and only one of them is occupied?? Or, does it have six slots and three are occupied?

What is the ram stick(s) you have?

You either should match what you have or go all new (but the same). If it's old, matching might be difficult if not impossible. By matching, I mean; make, model, speed, latency, etc.

I agree with poster above, mfg doest really matter. I also dont think speed makes much of a diff if your not doing specific , ram intensive tasks. Given you said gaming, speed wont matter that much and likely not worth the added cost.

Mobo model would be helpful