Is 8GB enough? Is 32GB needed? Using 16GB, most users are able to leave the tasks they are working on up and running and play a game or do extra work without eclipsing that mark and paging out, potentially creating a negative user experience.
That said, the extra capacity if unused does allow users to create a RAM disk for ultra-fast disk access, which could benefit some applications and tasks. If you see your system often getting close to 16GB, then you may want to go ahead and jump into a 32 GB kit, now that prices are lower than they have been for years.
If prices slip substantially further you can grab yourself a matching set of low-cost sticks and drop them in alongside your existing pair. A system with four sticks installed may not clock as high as a dual-DIMM setup, but if you can actually make use of that extra memory, having twice as much will be far more beneficial than having half as much that runs a bit slower.
Image 1 of 7. Image 2 of 7. Image 3 of 7. Image 4 of 7. With Intel, you can essentially settle for whatever the best kit you can afford is, while AMD Ryzen patrons will want to look a little deeper. Essentially you want to aim for 3,MHz memory for Zen 2 Ryzen chips. Absolutely not. ECC Memory - Error-correcting Code Memory, RAM capable of automatically detecting and correcting errors on the fly, generally used in highly sensitive applications, like scientific data collection or banking.
Typically only used and supported on servers and workstations, most desktop boards can run it as non-ECC. Timings - The measure in several memory clock cycles an operation requested by the memory controller will take for the RAM to complete.
Lower is generally better. He built his first gaming PC at the tender age of 16, and finally finished bug-fixing the Cyrix-based system around a year later.
When he dropped it out of the window. Now he's back, writing about the nightmarish graphics card market, CPUs with more cores than sense, gaming laptops hotter than the sun, and SSDs more capacious than a Cybertruck. Included in this guide: 1.
Image 1 of 4. Image 2 of 4. Image 3 of 4. Image 4 of 4. Timing: CAS latency: Voltage: 1. To properly identify your RAM you need to know the total memory size in Megabytes MB , how many memory modules there are, the type of RAM you have, its speed and ideally its manufacturer. There are a number of different ways you can find some or all of this information.
Using Systeminfo. Below are some free utilities that can be used to determine the amount of memory currently installed and the types of hardware installed:. Everest Memory Module Properties. Ironic that this quote should come from the founder of Microsoft - the company whose Windows operating system goes through computer resources like kids go through birthday cake.
Older operating systems required a lot less RAM then moden system. Modern operating systems, and their hardware, require quite a bit more to properly operate. As a standard, most computers these days should have a minimum of 4 GB Gigabytes in order to properly run. In my opinion, though, the sweet spot is 8GB, which should allow you to run most applications and games in Windows.
For those who are doing heavy video editing, graphics design, hard core gaming, or just like to have a lot of programs running, you cannot go wrong with 16GB. Anything past 16 GB may not provide much of a speed benefit other than being able to run more programs at the same. In modern operating systems and hardware, having a lot of ram won't hurt the system, but you may not actually benefit from it.
For historical purposes, here are the details for using too much ran in older systems. For the most part, noone should be using these systems anymore, so it should not matter.
Remember this is a function of the motherboard, not the RAM, but the RAM must be symmetrically placed on the two memory channels and it has to have "matching" characteristics. Exactly how they match is not clear. RAM manufacturers sell boxed pairs of matched RAM for dual channelling yet according to Intel the memory does not have to be the same brand, have the same latencies or even the same speed to dual channel.
In the end the motherboard "decides" whether the dual channelling will be implemented or not. If your computer has like mine one memory module in a dual channel system, then adding another module of the same size, and sensibly the same speed, should enable the system to dual channel, but it may not.
If the modules are not sufficiently "matched" the system will continue to run with single channel access and most of the benefit of the upgrade would be lost. Motherboard manufacturers try to make it easy for us to install the RAM by colouring the RAM slots differently for different channels.
So you might have a motherboard with four slots, two of them blue and two of them green for example. Unfortunately some manufacturers use the colour to indicate which channel the slot belongs to while others use it to show which is the first slot on each channel. If you get it wrong you can still use all your RAM but you won't have the speed benefit of Dual Channelling. Check your motherboard manual for their recommendation for where to install the RAM modules.
Once you have purchased and received your new RAM all that remains is to install it, which is probably the simplest part of the whole process. It's probably best to open the RAM container after you have your computer powered down, the case opened and your static strap attached if available. Just before inserting or removing any components pull the power cord out of the back of the computer and wait for at least 30 seconds so there is no chance of any voltages left inside the case to cause damage.
Then all that is required is to unplug and remove the old RAM if it is being replaced. Older systems may have less user-friendly mechanisms, but all of them use a mechanical latch at either end of the module. Inserting the new RAM is a matter of choosing which slots to use if your are not using Dual Channelling then just use the next available slot.
Hold the module close to and centred on the slot and check the notch in the RAM module lines up with the "key" in the slot to make sure you have the module the right way around. RAM slots showing the key arrowed. Then press down towards the motherboard on the latches at either end of the vacant slot to put them in the 'open' position. Insert the module in the slot with the gold contacts towards the slot, double check it's the right way round, then push it firmly down into the slot using firm thumb pressure equally on each end of the module.
If all is well the latches will pop up to lock the module in place. Do the same thing for any other RAM modules to install and you're done. Put any removed modules in the RAM container, take off your static strap, close the computer case and reconnect the power.
The system is ready to go. For details on rated clock speed measured in MHz and timings listed as a series of numbers, like , you can check our frequency and timings primer , were we also look at how the number of ranks or banks of memory on a given stick or kit of memory can significantly affect real-world performance.
A list of approved DDR4 modes is frequently updated on Wikipedia. Every current kit with enhanced timings requires XMP to automatically configure those timings, and the above-linked Wikipedia entry should help you figure out if those timings are standard or XMP. Those who chose not to take that risk may want to check out the CPU-Z screenshots of our memory reviews and pick from one of those kits. After tracking a similar phenomenon on Intel processors for several years , our Ryzen memory deep-dive detailed how having two ranks of memory per channel offers a significant performance benefit to some applications.
We also know from our PC Memory article that two ranks per channel can be achieved by either doubling the number of modules or using modules with two ranks. Reasons to choose the later include leaving expansion room in the empty slots of boards that have two per channel, or getting the benefit of two ranks from boards that have only one slot per channel. So, for the best performance, opt for two modules for a dual-channel board or four for a quad-channel board. Those who can afford modules that have twice as many chips will benefit from both the extra capacity and a slight performance boost in certain applications.
The recent re-introduction of 32GB desktop DIMMs means that you can even get 64GB from just two modules or GB from four, without worrying about whether your board supports pricier server memory.
You may need to update your BIOS first. We have reviewed several of these boards and noticed that most retail parts include Intel XMP. CAS 15 timings appear to be the quickest of currently-available parts.
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