RAM upgrade options

[bicolormoth]

HI all , i have just had to fire up an old desktop to run the Hard-drive out of my dead laptop. it seems ok, but needs new fans (later) and i think would benefit from some extra RAM due to hang-ups when multi-tasking.

current RAM is 2 x 4Gb cmk8gx4m2a2400c14 / 2133 MHz (Corsair) i looked for the same but couldn't find any, and my online browsing time is short due to cataracts/eye strain.

I am also unable to work due to illness so i am looking for the best/cheapest option, even 'value/select' . with DDR4 being quite expensive i would be happy to go with 2x4Gb, or 2x8Gb if i have to and its still affordable.

any help with this would be very much apreciated.






Board: Gigabyte AB350M-Gaming 3-CF
CPU : 3.20 gigahertz AMD Ryzen 5 1600 Six-Core
RAM: 2 x 4Gb cmk8gx4m2a2400c14

 

[Tetras]

If you're running it at 2133 just for basic desktop use, then practically anything should work including a single 8GB stick. What you have now (8GB) will benefit from any extra capacity, since 8GB is pretty minimal for Windows nowadays.

 

[NetMan]

I think I'd try picking up 2 8GB modules second hand then in the future think about a small cpu upgrade also second hand.

Does it have an SSD for the OS?

Laptop mechanical drives were often low RPM so anything you are accessing from that could be quiet slow.

 

[bicolormoth]

If you're running it at 2133 just for basic desktop use, then practically anything should work including a single 8GB stick. What you have now (8GB) will benefit from any extra capacity, since 8GB is pretty minimal for Windows nowadays.

so basically any DDR4 ram, the cheapes i can get?

 

[bicolormoth]

I think I'd try picking up 2 8GB modules second hand then in the future think about a small cpu upgrade also second hand.

Does it have an SSD for the OS?

Laptop mechanical drives were often low RPM so anything you are accessing from that could be quiet slow.

yes the HDD is a SSD out of a Dell XPS 15 9520 . i am out of work so any further upgrades would have to wait. is there still a for sale section here?

 

[NetMan]

so basically any DDR4 ram, the cheapes i can get?

At that speed yes but AM4 especially early gen isnt great at running 4 sticks at the same time if you can find slightly faster ram you could always run it slower with your ryzen 1600 then bump it up a bit if later you say got a cheap second hand 3600.

 

[NetMan]

yes the HDD is a SSD out of a Dell XPS 15 9520 . i am out of work so any further upgrades would have to wait. is there still a for sale section here?

There's an area where members can sell their old stuff but you need to have like 1000 posts and been a member for a certain period before you can access it

 

[Tetras]

so basically any DDR4 ram, the cheapes i can get?

If this is just a basic desktop PC with the memory running at 2133, yeah. More RAM (capacity) will trump everything else..

But, if you're playing games on it, then I'd suggest an upgrade to 2x8 with faster memory, but that won't work with your existing RAM because they're not fast enough.

 

[NetMan]

Dell XPS 15 9520

This?
Intel® Core™ i9-12900HK
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti
32 GB DDR5 (4800 MHz)
OLED

I'd be spitting feathers if I had a laptop like that and it died is it complete toast?

Edit: It won't charge:

Verification required

forums.overclockers.co.uk

Does it power on with the battery removed if you connect it to a power supply?

 

[bicolormoth]

The laptop became difficult to charge. over time i broke the usb-c plug due to having to force it into the charge port. this continued and i replaced four of them. eventually it just refused to charge at all and it was suggested that it could be the battery. so i replaced it. the new one came with 60% charge and i did manage to fully charge it, but then it ran down over the course of that day and i could not charge it up again. i took it to a ''pc-repair shop'' they had a look at it and said it 'might be' the charging loop. (whatever that is) they wanted £150 on top of the £50 i had already paid them to look further and advised me that it could require a new motherboard which could then be another £500. so i brought it home and removed the SSD. installed it on my PC motherboard, and now my PC thinks it is a laptop.

 

[NetMan]

The laptop became difficult to charge. over time i broke the usb-c plug due to having to force it into the charge port. this continued and i replaced four of them. eventually it just refused to charge at all and it was suggested that it could be the battery. so i replaced it. the new one came with 60% charge and i did manage to fully charge it, but then it ran down over the course of that day and i could not charge it up again. i took it to a ''pc-repair shop'' they had a look at it and said it 'might be' the charging loop. (whatever that is) they wanted £150 on top of the £50 i had already paid them to look further and advised me that it could require a new motherboard which could then be another £500. so i brought it home and removed the SSD. installed it on my PC motherboard, and now my PC thinks it is a laptop.

Laptops aren't easy to work on and most places won't do component level repair it's a very specialist job, it looks like a common problem on those laptops when I did a search there was a place in London offering component level repair for this fault but I've no idea how much they charge or if they are any good.

Vince has a thread on repairs, I'm not sure whether he does laptops but it might be worth posting a comment on the thread to ask:

Vince's Repair Thread - (Console Repairs & Mods)

Before I started I didn't know this was going to turn into a random repair thread so you will see plenty of attempted repairs in here some that work and some that don't... To keep track on spend and possible item profit a spreadsheet has been created of the repairs in this thread: Google Sheet...

forums.overclockers.co.uk

When I posted I was just wondering if you had tried powering it without the battery connected so you could at least use it that way.

 

[bicolormoth]

''When I posted I was just wondering if you had tried powering it without the battery connected so you could at least use it that way.''

no i haven't tried that as its not something i expect would work. but you might expect the 'tech guys' would have tried that,seeing as they charged me £50 for basically doing nothing.

 

[NetMan]

It should be possible to power it from the AC adapter without the battery connected assuming the USB charging port still works and it's just the charging circuit that isn't working not any of the other power circuitry.

I'll dm you the page I saw that offers repairs its not a recommendation because I've never used them but it has some info on the fault so might be worth contacting.

 

[bicolormoth]

If this is just a basic desktop PC with the memory running at 2133, yeah. More RAM (capacity) will trump everything else..

But, if you're playing games on it, then I'd suggest an upgrade to 2x8 with faster memory, but that won't work with your existing RAM because they're not fast enough.

yes i do play a game but its not hugely graphics hungry, just enough to cause a few hangups while i have other stuff running, as i use 2 monitors. the game is called Stornfall Age of War (Plarium) , been playing it for 13 years, lol. so if i can find a pair of 4Gb x 2133MHz RAM to give me 16Gb in total (4 sticks) i would be happy with that. unless 2 x 8Gb x fasterMHz turns out to be cheaper or better value, i might go that way, but the budget is very tight .

 

[Tetras]

yes i do play a game but its not hugely graphics hungry, just enough to cause a few hangups while i have other stuff running, as i use 2 monitors. the game is called Stornfall Age of War (Plarium) , been playing it for 13 years, lol. so if i can find a pair of 4Gb x 2133MHz RAM to give me 16Gb in total (4 sticks) i would be happy with that. unless 2 x 8Gb x fasterMHz turns out to be cheaper or better value, i might go that way, but the budget is very tight .

A game that old is probably not an issue, but 1st-3rd gen Ryzen CPUs lost a lot of performance from slow RAM when CPU-bottlenecked.

 

[sastusbulbas]

The ideal option is second hand from the likes of CEX, eBay or here when you have the post count.

But do not run four sticks.

Simply try and get their cheapest 16gb (2x8) DDR4 3200 or 3600 kit, as those speeds are better for the AMD infinity fabric.

Not sure what these go for now though, last time I was in a store they did have some cheap DDR4 under £30, but I never paid it much mind.

 

[Quartz]

The laptop became difficult to charge. over time i broke the usb-c plug due to having to force it into the charge port.

Check out the Adamant IT channel on YouTube. Broken ports are a staple and a relatively easy repair. He does board-level repairs and may be able to recommend someone close to you.

 

[~>Dg<~]

The ideal option is second hand from the likes of CEX, eBay or here when you have the post count.

But do not run four sticks.

Simply try and get their cheapest 16gb (2x8) DDR4 3200 or 3600 kit, as those speeds are better for the AMD infinity fabric.

Not sure what these go for now though, last time I was in a store they did have some cheap DDR4 under £30, but I never paid it much mind.

facebook you will get some cheap 2nd hand stuff. 3200 goes a lot for 30 to 40 quid for 16gb.

 

[bicolormoth]

how many posts do i need tomaketo get access to the marketplace?

why not run 4 ram sticks?

 

[NetMan]

how many posts do i need tomaketo get access to the marketplace?

why not run 4 ram sticks?

I said earlier in the thread its 1000 so you aren't getting access any time soon:

"Access to the Members Market forum requires two things. Firstly, you will need to have over 1000 posts and have been signed up for at least 180 days."
Read the rest of the rules: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/help/boardusage/

The memory controller is on the cpu, AM4 doesn't like running 4 sticks of ram at higher speeds because it puts too much stress on the memory controller so when all four slots are populated people often had to run them at lower speeds so the system didn't crash.

The cpu is rated for 2666 but people used XMP/DOCP to run them at 3200 which gives better performance but it depends on the quality of the ram modules (B die were popular) and the memory controller on the CPU; ideally you would use ram thats on your motherboard QVL list so you know its been tested and works well but in the current market or when buying secondhand you won't have as much choice.

If you can find two 8GB 3200 at a good price then you should get that because it gives better performance but if you stick with the much slower 2133 then you should be able to use all 4 slots with the trade off being lower system performance.