New ram

[Josquius]

In my computer currently I have two Corsair 8gb 2133mhz sticks.

I've been told to be careful about what you put in next. That you should try and have the same types or else speed will be restricted. For this reason I didn't transfer over the ram from my old computer.

So...if I am to put in some new ram...I should buy the same stuff again for the next two slots?
If I were to buy faster it would be restricted to the speed of these (/slower it would be at the speed of the new ones) but a bigger size is fine?

[Threviel]

What do you do that requires more than 16GB of RAM?

[viper37]

So...if I am to put in some new ram...I should buy the same stuff again for the next two slots?
If I were to buy faster it would be restricted to the speed of these (/slower it would be at the speed of the new ones) but a bigger size is fine?

If you need more than 16gb, then you have to consider the following:
If you put, say, 2 sticks at 3000mhz, you are limited to 2133mhz for all your sticks.  No need to pay a premium, stick (no pun intended!) with the 2133mhz you can find.

Also, speed (mhz), is one thing, but you need to know your latency.  Something like 14-14-14-34.
Again, here, you will be limited by the lowest value (technically, highest value, since lower is better).

bottom line: your old computer memory could probably slow you down, and if you don't absolutely need to break the 16gb barrier (only modded games with high graphic settings need that, really), keep what you have now.

[Josquius]

So games can't use it yet?
I'm sure I sometimes seem to be running low on memory.

Any idea where to spot latency for my current stuff?

Not rushing into this. But thinking forward about how to improve my performance.

[viper37]

So games can't use it yet?
I'm sure I sometimes seem to be running low on memory.

Any idea where to spot latency for my current stuff?

Not rushing into this. But thinking forward about how to improve my performance.

it is not impossible that an unmodded game uses more than 16gb of ram, but I've yet to see one.
Far Cry 5 requires 8gb of ram.  16gb is required for 4k gaming.

As for seeing what's inside your computer, I personally use this:
https://www.hwinfo.com/
small software that will tell you everything you need to know and more.
Once you get your module part#, you can search for it and look at the specs on the manufacturer's web site.

[mongers]

In my computer currently I have two Corsair 8gb 2133mhz sticks.

I've been told to be careful about what you put in next. That you should try and have the same types or else speed will be restricted. For this reason I didn't transfer over the ram from my old computer.

So...if I am to put in some new ram...I should buy the same stuff again for the next two slots?
If I were to buy faster it would be restricted to the speed of these (/slower it would be at the speed of the new ones) but a bigger size is fine?

Ewe have got to be kidding.

Strokes goatee.

[Josquius]

Bumping this as I tried to play Watch Dogs 2 on highest settings recently and it didn't like it at all, said insufficient memory. I do also often do graphics editing et al....

I wrote wrong before, my ram is , DDR4-3200, not 2133.

However...cpu-z is showing my nb frequency north of 3700. Any one know why this is?

[Grey Fox]

8gb is low, get 8 more.

[Josquius]

Revisiting this I'm going to go ahead and update since a new computer is a ways off.

Its a head scratcher choosing which to get however.
I find this one:
https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Memory/VENGEANCE-LPX/p/CMK32GX4M2E3200C16#tab-tech-specs

But I note on the compatibly list there is no mention of 100 series, which I believe my mother board (z170) is.

I'm curious; why wouldn't it be compatible?
I understand speed and the very basics of cas latency but what other factor would there be to make it not work with  a slightly older motherboard?

Particularly annoying as one I find that does mention mine is a fair bit more expensive and is only slightly better on latency.

https://www.corsair.com/uk/en/Categories/Products/Memory/VENGEANCE-LPX/p/CMK32GX4M2D3200C16#tab-tech-specs

[Darth Wagtaros]

YUou could go to pc parts picker and look up RAMs and things there.

[viper37]

Revisiting this I'm going to go ahead and update since a new computer is a ways off.

Its a head scratcher choosing which to get however.
I find this one:
https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Memory/VENGEANCE-LPX/p/CMK32GX4M2E3200C16#tab-tech-specs

But I note on the compatibly list there is no mention of 100 series, which I believe my mother board (z170) is.

I'm curious; why wouldn't it be compatible?
I understand speed and the very basics of cas latency but what other factor would there be to make it not work with  a slightly older motherboard?

Particularly annoying as one I find that does mention mine is a fair bit more expensive and is only slightly better on latency.

https://www.corsair.com/uk/en/Categories/Products/Memory/VENGEANCE-LPX/p/CMK32GX4M2D3200C16#tab-tech-specs

This will tell you if it's compatible:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com

Sometimes, on release, a board's bios will not support specific speed (i.e., above 2333mhz for AMD Ryzen 1st gen on release, they were unstable beyond that, but they quickly increased support up to 4000mhz).



It's usually a simple matter of BIOS update to make your motherboard compatible.  Partpicker will tell you in its footnotes.

[Caliga]

On my current build I had to flash my BIOS before it would work with the CPU I put into it.  All I needed to do was provide power to the board and flash it via a USB thumb drive.  Obviously your board has to support a feature like that though (most high end boards do, I believe).

[Josquius]

I found one which very definitely will work with my motherboard anyway.
Also noticed in the process for some reason the wrong bios profile was set and my ram was only running at 2133 instead of 3200. For how long I do not know

Thanks.

[viper37]

I found one which very definitely will work with my motherboard anyway.
Also noticed in the process for some reason the wrong bios profile was set and my ram was only running at 2133 instead of 3200. For how long I do not know

Thanks.

probably since the last bios upgrade.

[Josquius]

Strange installation experience.
Put them both in and turn on my computer.... Nothing. The lights are on but nobody's home. No signal detected on my monitor.
I take one of them out...and a bit better. It is on the initial boot screen where it tells me overclocking has failed- I switch the profile back to the old one and the computer starts up.
I put the other back in and, slower than normal (it takes a while to get things setup for new ram?), it all loads up and works fine.
Its exactly the same model as my pre-existing ram so very curious. Will try putting the other profile back on again, hopefully just needed some backend work to figure out what to do with 4 ram rather than 2.