Is it worth buying extra 8GB DDR3?

Rowan88 · 27 Dec 2019 at 09:46

Hi,

My current setup for gaming is:

i5-4670K (overclocked to 4.2GHz)
Sapphire Nitro+ RX580 8GB
8GB (2x 4GB) DDR3 1600MHz Corsair LP Vengeance RAM.

I am planning on upgrading to Ryzen etc in the nearish future but I was wondering would it be worth my time to buy an extra set of 8GB DDR3 ram sticks to up to 16GB as it seems to be the only thing letting me down at the moment (seeing prices for 2x 4GB at £35-40). The CPU still holds its own and the GPU is recent.

If I was to buy the kit do I need to buy the exact memory I have it there to match?
Does it still need to be 1600MHz?

Thanks

Finners · 27 Dec 2019 at 09:52

What is your current RAM usage? Monitor it and if you are seeing 7+GB it's likely windows is moving stuff out to disk and you would see a smoother system.

Ideally you would buy identical RAM and it should drop in. It could however upset your overclock as it puts more strain on the CPU having all 4 RAM slots occupied.

Rowan88 · 27 Dec 2019 at 09:55

Idle (only chrome and background apps) I am running at 3.7/7.9GB.

Does my motherboard benefit from Quad channel or just Dual?

My PC doesn't feel slow, its just because a lot of modern games as for 8GB minimum, and I feel thats letting it down and could help with it a bit more.

Rowan88 · 27 Dec 2019 at 10:07

Sorry for the double post here,

I ran Star Wars to see how much and according to AMD 2020 RAM UTIL is 6.9GB. So playing a game leaves me 1GB free.

Would I notice any difference upgrading then?

Right now I seen the exact same set I have (except colour but I can paint

) 8GB (2x 4GB) for £29.99.

Dave Burton · 27 Dec 2019 at 10:16

16Gb is more or less "entry level" now, personally I run 32Gb but that's because 2 wow clients are eating up 15Gb+ at any given moment, plus TV streaming/recording and browsing going on meant that 16Gb was strained, I noticed a smotther experience with the added RAM.

Rowan88 · 27 Dec 2019 at 10:57

Yeah, any build I do now is minimum of 16GB, and like I said I will be upgrading to a Ryzen bundle (possible whole new PC) at some point.

Don't mind buying the extra 8GB ram if its going to make a difference in any stuttering during games etc, but that could also be related to the fact my games are still installed on an HDD drive, so again might be a better investment changing out my HDD's for SSD drives.

Minstadave · 27 Dec 2019 at 10:59

Rowan88 said:
Sorry for the double post here,

I ran Star Wars to see how much and according to AMD 2020 RAM UTIL is 6.9GB. So playing a game leaves me 1GB free.

Would I notice any difference upgrading then?

Right now I seen the exact same set I have (except colour but I can paint ) 8GB (2x 4GB) for £29.99.

If you're never using 8GB adding more will make little to no difference. I would definitely get an SSD first.

tamzzy · 27 Dec 2019 at 11:00

nah not worth it as you're going to upgrade soon-ish, it's £30 wasted that could've gone into your new build.

aoaaron · 27 Dec 2019 at 12:07

i'd aim to looking at upgrading now. ddr3 is dead.

Rowan88 · 27 Dec 2019 at 12:11

aoaaron said:
i'd aim to looking at upgrading now. ddr3 is dead.

Sounds great, only hurdle left is the Mrs :'(

Yeah I have a SSD as my C:\ Operating Drive but I have two HDD's. Possibly see about upgrading to 1TB SSD's so I am ready for the future build, these can all be transferred over anyway.

aoaaron · 27 Dec 2019 at 12:11

Rowan88 said:
Sounds great, only hurdle left is the Mrs :'(

Yeah I have a SSD as my C:\ Operating Drive but I have two HDD's. Possibly see about upgrading to 1TB SSD's so I am ready for the future build, these can all be transferred over anyway.

Yes! Definitely do that.I did that myself with my old 4670k build. I only bought parts I knew I could recycle.

Quartz · 27 Dec 2019 at 12:20

Rowan88 said:
I was wondering would it be worth my time to buy an extra set of 8GB DDR3 ram sticks to up to 16GB

It won't hurt. What are you planning to do wit your old PC after you upgrade? If you're planning to keep it as a spare or pass it on then an extra 8 GB is a good idea; if you're planning on selling it then not so much.

Rowan88 said:
If I was to buy the kit do I need to buy the exact memory I have it there to match?

You should try to match the technical specifications as much as possible. The speed, timings, and voltage should be the same; the manufacterer isn't important.