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RAMming up the rig - 16 or 32?


BluBear

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Howdy chaps,

For those of you that fly DCS with me, you'll know that most of my time these days is spent swearing whilst it takes most of the evening to load with my measly 8GB of RAM.
Every update it gets worse as more and more goodies are added to DCS. So, I'm finally pulling my finger out and ordering some new RAM for my (now 5.5 year old) i5 rig.

The big question I suppose is, should I go ahead and buy 32GB outright, or go in at 16GB to start with and see where that gets me? Will I really benefit from 32GB with the age of my rig?
I used the crucial scanner to help identify roughly what I can take, which helpfully reminded me that I have a Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H mobo.

After a bit of searching on ebuyer, I've got my eye on this nicely discounted (£75.14) 16GB set of Corsair Vengeance sticks that should be compatible:
https://www.ebuyer.com/389201-corsair-16gb-ddr3-1600mhz-vengeance-performance-memory-cmz16gx3m2a1600c10r

 

I've been expecting to pay about £120 for 16GB, hence my question of just stumping up the extra cash, biting the bullet and going for two sets of the above.

 

It's been a long time since I upgraded, so would be keen to hear any advice from fellow Dogz before I click the buy button. :)

Thanks in advnace!
 

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Thanks for the advice chaps, I guess I'll be looking to build a totally new rig at some point, not this year though. There's still life in that old dog yet I think. 

It's on an SSD which does help and the gtx970 I have is decent enough for the time being. I haven't yet OCd the i5, so that could be another tiny win with the extra RAM?

Dave - thanks PM sent, I'll certainly give them a go if you've no use for them.

I know it's not always advisable, but maybe I could try mixing them with a brand new pair of Corsairs to make up to the 32? Would that be a bad idea?

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50 minutes ago, BluBear said:

Thanks for the advice chaps, I guess I'll be looking to build a totally new rig at some point, not this year though. There's still life in that old dog yet I think. 

It's on an SSD which does help and the gtx970 I have is decent enough for the time being. I haven't yet OCd the i5, so that could be another tiny win with the extra RAM?

Dave - thanks PM sent, I'll certainly give them a go if you've no use for them.

I know it's not always advisable, but maybe I could try mixing them with a brand new pair of Corsairs to make up to the 32? Would that be a bad idea?

Well, you can combine different brands of modules of RAM... but once you go the o/c route, it might limit you a lot. Is that i5 a K model?

If so, then get the 32GB new memory, and start o/c. If it's not a K model, then try and get the memory as cheap as possible - and just hold out until next year.

Simples. Ain't it?

:sheepsmile:

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16GB in the rig at present Chris - seems to do everything I need - If cash is no object then 4x8GB is the way but if you're looking at 16GB then buy 2x8 rather than 4x4 - at least that way you can upgrade at a later date without needing to ditch what you've already bought.

For an explanation of the timing codes (8-8-8-24 for example) there's a useful article here. In short though, these numbers relate to the various latency timings across the DIMM and lower is generally considered to be better. It should be noted however,  that these are absolutes (without overclocking) and your mileage may well differ.

If (when?) I return to DCS (Mosquito anyone?) I'll not be upgrading to 32GB for two reasons; 1) I would need to change out all the memory I currently have (Sid was kind enough to pass on his last memory kit and that's 4x4GB) and 2) sure as eggs are eggs it won't make me a better flier.

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Hey guys, here's a crazy thought...

I've read conflicting reports, some say yes, others say no no no, but what if I just added the 16Gb to my existing 8Gb to make 24Gb*?

Will it do any damage trying or just a case of switch off and whip out the 8Gb if it has a hissy fit?

 

 

*quick maths

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27 minutes ago, BluBear said:

Hey guys, here's a crazy thought...

I've read conflicting reports, some say yes, others say no no no, but what if I just added the 16Gb to my existing 8Gb to make 24Gb*?

Will it do any damage trying or just a case of switch off and whip out the 8Gb if it has a hissy fit?

 

 

*quick maths

Could work.

Damage can occur while handling the modules. When within specs, nothing will go wrong with the modules when the PC is switched on.

Placement could be relevant, some boards want some specific placement of modules of different sizes.... Manual should tell you that.

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2 minutes ago, FoolTrottel said:

Could work.

Damage can occur while handling the modules. When within specs, nothing will go wrong with the modules when the PC is switched on.

Placement could be relevant, some boards want some specific placement of modules of different sizes.... Manual should tell you that.

So as long as i'm careful installing (always) then it might work, nice.

I'll check the manual for pairing and placement etc and report back :)

Thanks FT.

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