Upgrading from 8GB to 16GB on a Haswell system

starmanwarz · 15 Sep 2019 at 11:04

I'm doing a partial upgrade on my PC (monitor, GPU) and I'm looking at adding some more RAM.

Currently I'm at 8GB (2x4GB sticks) of Corsair Vengeance Pro DDR3 1600Mhz C9. Rest of spec in sig.

Is it better to add 2 more sticks or should I just buy 2x8GB sticks? If I get 2x8GB, should I get a different brand/model or are the Corsair I have ok? (sticks must be low profile so they can fit under my Noctua D14 CPU cooler)

tamzzy · 15 Sep 2019 at 11:41

just add.
ddr3 = dead tech, no point spending a pretty penny on it.
you don't need matching ram to run...that's not quite true nowadays and most ram will play nice with each other as long as you're not gunning for monster clocks.
1600c9 is easily achievable by most ddr3 ram

Randomface74 · 15 Sep 2019 at 11:49

Are you actually running out of ram? If not, I wouldn't bother.

starmanwarz · 15 Sep 2019 at 15:04

billysielu said:
Are you actually running out of ram? If not, I wouldn't bother.

Hmm do you think it's not worth it? I don't think I am running out of RAM but I see that some games recommend having 16GB.

Randomface74 · 15 Sep 2019 at 15:12

Yeah I think it's not worth it. You'll just have a bunch of ram sitting there doing nothing.
Then a year or two from now you'll replace the cpu/mobo/ram anyway.
I'd just do the GPU, 1660Ti probably.

MaXxBoulton · 15 Sep 2019 at 17:33

Put more ram in. Many games will load more files to ram if you have extra there.

But buy 2 x 4gb and add it in for 16gb total.
There is actually a performance increase from got to 16gb from 8gb.

BF V, will run fine on 8gb and use about 6gb. But if you have 16gb it will use 11gb and run smoother and load better. It will give you fps too.

Also look round 8gb costs bigger all

Doogles · 15 Sep 2019 at 21:05

Get on the MM for another 8GB, should get some for £20 @1600mhz.

starmanwarz · 16 Sep 2019 at 16:15

Yeah it's not expensive but if it doesn't add anything performance wise why bother... I'd have to remove my CPU cooler too and I'm not really in the mood to do that

Worth the trouble?

tamzzy · 16 Sep 2019 at 16:59

De

starmanwarz said:
Worth the trouble?

Depends on what games/programs you are playing/using

MaXxBoulton · 16 Sep 2019 at 18:14

starmanwarz said:
it doesn't add anything performance wise why bother...

depending on the use it will add performance, in gaming alone many newer game benefit for 16gb+ of ram even thought they are playable with one 8gb

starmanwarz · 16 Sep 2019 at 20:29

Alright guys, thanks, I'll probably add two more 4GB sticks then.

One more question- It's been a long time since I overclocked my CPU and I don't remember how it goes but is it possible for the new RAM to mess with my CPU OC?

tamzzy · 16 Sep 2019 at 21:01

Possibly, though very unlikely

MaXxBoulton · 17 Sep 2019 at 05:19

starmanwarz said:
One more question- It's been a long time since I overclocked my CPU and I don't remember how it goes but is it possible for the new RAM to mess with my CPU OC?

tamzzy said:
Possibly, though very unlikely

Yes its possible and very likely. Putting extra stress onto the memory controller is known to lower how high you can push an overclock.

starmanwarz · 17 Sep 2019 at 07:52

Oh

That's a no go then. I really don't want to go over the process of finding a stable OC again.

MaXxBoulton · 17 Sep 2019 at 10:55

starmanwarz said:
Oh

That's a no go then. I really don't want to go over the process of finding a stable OC again.

It may work. It may just need a little bump in voltage. Or it may just need dropping by 1 multi. But going from 2 to 4 sticks will add strain to the memory controller on the cpu so somthing will change

sastusbulbas · 17 Sep 2019 at 15:59

I just did this on my lads system, a little expensive putting 16gb of DDR3 at 2400mhz in.£75.

Another system im just putting together has his old 8gb Patriot DDR3 2400.

Still tempted to add 16gb to the third Haswell we have and sell the 8gb.

Was thinking 4770k systems with 16gb would last a few more years for 1080p gaming.

MaXxBoulton · 17 Sep 2019 at 17:21

Depending on the gaming needs there is no need to replace Haswell yet. There is still a lot gaming on ivy xeons, it all depends on your needs.

But I think 16gb is must.

Steam system info shows most people play at 1080p and still run quad core CPU's. So I 4c8t xeon is still happy to game

peterwalkley · 18 Sep 2019 at 08:29

I've just moved off a Haswell system and the only reason for doing it was a flaky motherboard causing cold boot issues. Gaming (and other apps) performance was absolutely fine once it was up and running. Part of getting it running usually involved removing a RAM stick and it wasn't *that* often I noticed a difference between 16 Gig and 8 Gig.

I'd suggest spend on the GPU upgrade and then see if you really need the extra memory. I get where you're coming from in not wanting to re-do the overclock.

Oblivion007 · 18 Sep 2019 at 09:19

sastusbulbas said:
Was thinking 4770k systems with 16gb would last a few more years for 1080p gaming.

I've just updated my main rig - see sig. But, my plan is to turn my old 4700k into a living room PC for casual gaming. It's still got a good few years left in it and was running 1080p % 1440p quite happily.

starmanwarz · 18 Sep 2019 at 17:40

peterwalkley said:
I'd suggest spend on the GPU upgrade and then see if you really need the extra memory.

Yep, this is what I'll do!