Sons gaming computer and RAM
Discussion
We got my son a gaming computer a couple of years ago and he now tells me he needs more RAM
with a little investigation he has 2 slots available and the computer has 1 slot being used with a 8 GB RAM. I guess I can just buy him another 8GB and slot it directly into the 2nd free slot of off he goes with 16GB - is it that simple? Anything else I would need to do? (no idea on any of this)
OR do we try to get ahead and by 2 16GB and replace the one 8GB so he has 32GB and he will have to spend something like £250
He has also shown me he can buy RAM at CEX which I guess is 2nd hand - is this okay to do?
He told me he needs DDR4 3200mhz RAM if that makes a difference
thanks and be gentle as this is all another language and all means nothing to me
with a little investigation he has 2 slots available and the computer has 1 slot being used with a 8 GB RAM. I guess I can just buy him another 8GB and slot it directly into the 2nd free slot of off he goes with 16GB - is it that simple? Anything else I would need to do? (no idea on any of this)
OR do we try to get ahead and by 2 16GB and replace the one 8GB so he has 32GB and he will have to spend something like £250
He has also shown me he can buy RAM at CEX which I guess is 2nd hand - is this okay to do?
He told me he needs DDR4 3200mhz RAM if that makes a difference
thanks and be gentle as this is all another language and all means nothing to me
Ram has got horrendously expensive with the AI boom.
Amazon can be cheap for RAM, just stick to brands like Crucial sold/delivered by Amazon. If you're going the used route there are normally a few sellers on ebay who specialise in stripping ex corporate pcs for parts. Buyer protection on both is generally good.
If he's been getting by with 8Gb then an extra 8Gb to get 16Gb should be fine. Check the prices on 2x 16Gb though.
Amazon can be cheap for RAM, just stick to brands like Crucial sold/delivered by Amazon. If you're going the used route there are normally a few sellers on ebay who specialise in stripping ex corporate pcs for parts. Buyer protection on both is generally good.
If he's been getting by with 8Gb then an extra 8Gb to get 16Gb should be fine. Check the prices on 2x 16Gb though.
You need to be very careful mixing ram sticks, even if they look to be the same type and speed. It can be done but you might need to loosen timings etc. and some motherboards are fussier than others.
I would be inclined to buy a used pair of 16gb sticks from eBay to save some money. I’ve done just that and they work perfectly, but used equipment from an unknown source is always much higher risk.
I would be inclined to buy a used pair of 16gb sticks from eBay to save some money. I’ve done just that and they work perfectly, but used equipment from an unknown source is always much higher risk.
Nic-nfr74 said:
Thanks for the reply - so it's not just a straight plug and play. This was my fear and I guess it is simpler to get two new ones to be safe
So he will have to save up a bit more then
Amazon would be the easiest to get them from - any other place to consider? suppliers for 2 16gb?
My go to for new bits are Scan and Overclockers or of course, Amazon, picking the cheapest and used I’d go with eBay sellers, not CeX.So he will have to save up a bit more then
Amazon would be the easiest to get them from - any other place to consider? suppliers for 2 16gb?
Nic-nfr74 said:
Thanks for the reply - so it's not just a straight plug and play. This was my fear and I guess it is simpler to get two new ones to be safe
So he will have to save up a bit more then
Amazon would be the easiest to get them from - any other place to consider? suppliers for 2 16gb?
generally you want 2 matched memory sticks for DDR type, size, speed, and timings, you will need to check what type motherboard supports and the speed your CPU supportsSo he will have to save up a bit more then
Amazon would be the easiest to get them from - any other place to consider? suppliers for 2 16gb?
you then want to make sure they are in the correct slots on the mother board to enable dual channel mode which gives a big performance boost as it acts a single super bus, that is the first slot for bank a and the first slot for bank b
on older machines DDR4 3200 was common in which case it can still be picked up reasonably priced
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Integral-2933MHz-2666MHz-...
Edited by Dave Hedgehog on Monday 19th October 13:52
Okay I think I am understanding most of this - except how to find out the speed the Motherboard and CPU will work with. But that's okay
I think we have decided on getting ahead and him saving for 2 new 16gb cards to give him 32gb. We would be buying a pair so that makes life hopefully easier and simpler
Thanks for the link - these look good value as were told to look at Corsair as a brand and these are much more expensive
Sorry for all this - as a luddite I know nothing!!!! Still making me nervous to actually open the case and find them and exchange them soon!!!
I think we have decided on getting ahead and him saving for 2 new 16gb cards to give him 32gb. We would be buying a pair so that makes life hopefully easier and simpler
Thanks for the link - these look good value as were told to look at Corsair as a brand and these are much more expensive
Sorry for all this - as a luddite I know nothing!!!! Still making me nervous to actually open the case and find them and exchange them soon!!!
Nic-nfr74 said:
Okay I think I am understanding most of this - except how to find out the speed the Motherboard and CPU will work with. But that's okay
I think we have decided on getting ahead and him saving for 2 new 16gb cards to give him 32gb. We would be buying a pair so that makes life hopefully easier and simpler
Thanks for the link - these look good value as were told to look at Corsair as a brand and these are much more expensive
Sorry for all this - as a luddite I know nothing!!!! Still making me nervous to actually open the case and find them and exchange them soon!!!
If you pop out one of the old sticks it will normally have the spec printed on it.I think we have decided on getting ahead and him saving for 2 new 16gb cards to give him 32gb. We would be buying a pair so that makes life hopefully easier and simpler
Thanks for the link - these look good value as were told to look at Corsair as a brand and these are much more expensive
Sorry for all this - as a luddite I know nothing!!!! Still making me nervous to actually open the case and find them and exchange them soon!!!
Your motherboard (if it's a custom build PC) will probably have a model number on it that you can find the manual to check specs. Or if it's a Dell or similar pre-built PC their manual should have the specs.
You can probably put the above into your AI of choice and have it recommend something from Amazon...
If you're not sure though drop the info here and I'm sure someone will sanity check it for you.
If you can tell us exactly what CPU and graphics card (and preferably motherboard) he has, I'm sure a few people would be happy to venture an opinion on how best to upgrade it for gaming on a budget. Upgrading from 8GB is definitely a good move.
A very useful tool is CPUID CPU-Z that you can download and it will tell you what you've got. If you have onboard graphics and a separate graphics card you have to change from one to the other on the drop down menu to see the graphics card spec.
A very useful tool is CPUID CPU-Z that you can download and it will tell you what you've got. If you have onboard graphics and a separate graphics card you have to change from one to the other on the drop down menu to see the graphics card spec.
grumbas said:
If you pop out one of the old sticks it will normally have the spec printed on it.
CPU-z will tell you the relevant details. You really only need to match the type and speed (I.E. DDR4-3800) even then that's largely a recommendation rather than a strict requirement (performance won't be as good as matching sticks).
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