I guess I need more RAM?

[Lemons]

When I built this PC I figured that 16 GB would be plenty, but fact is ever since I've been using it...it's been a struggle to use more than 1 major program at once. Running a video game with a browser open is basically out of the question. So I've been wanting to upgrade my RAM and I have a few questions

1. I currently have 16GB (2 x 8GB). I was wondering if I could just put any old thing in the other 2 slots? I was thinking if I added 32GB (2x16GB) that would bring my total up to 48GB which should be good enough to multitask.

2. If it's not a good idea to slot in other types of RAM I know my kit was CMK16GX4M2B3200C16. https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Catego...6GX4M2B3200C16 I'm wondering if this is still good ram? I bought it a few years ago and so I'm wondering if it's still considered good/fast. If so would just buying the exact same kit and putting it in the other 2 slots be best?

3. Would it be best to just start all over and throw out the 16GB I have and buy a 32 or 64 GB kit?

[Thunderball]

When I built this PC I figured that 16 GB would be plenty, but fact is ever since I've been using it...it's been a struggle to use more than 1 major program at once. Running a video game with a browser open is basically out of the question. So I've been wanting to upgrade my RAM and I have a few questions

What kind of programs are you using? There are very few usecases right now that would require more than 16G of RAM.

1. I currently have 16GB (2 x 8GB). I was wondering if I could just put any old thing in the other 2 slots? I was thinking if I added 32GB (2x16GB) that would bring my total up to 48GB which should be good enough to multitask.

Bad idea.

2. If it's not a good idea to slot in other types of RAM I know my kit was CMK16GX4M2B3200C16. https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Catego...6GX4M2B3200C16 I'm wondering if this is still good ram? I bought it a few years ago and so I'm wondering if it's still considered good/fast. If so would just buying the exact same kit and putting it in the other 2 slots be best?

It totally depends on the CPU/motherboard. Older DDR4 CPUs/motherboards just wont work with faster RAM.

3. Would it be best to just start all over and throw out the 16GB I have and buy a 32 or 64 GB kit?

The best course of action would be figuring out why you're having issues with your system currently, because most likely getting more RAM wont fix it. Start with posting your full config and what kind of software you're struggling with.

[Kagthul]

When I built this PC I figured that 16 GB would be plenty, but fact is ever since I've been using it...it's been a struggle to use more than 1 major program at once. Running a video game with a browser open is basically out of the question. So I've been wanting to upgrade my RAM and I have a few questions

Then you're having some other issue. I can easily have a RAM hungry game open, 30+ browser tabs, a video actively playing, and VOIP sofware open and still be well shy of using 16GB.

[Temp name]

What do you do on your computer? 16gb should be plenty for gaming and light work usage

[Kauko]

If one of the ram sticks is not broken, then ram is definitely not the problem. What is your CPU? You use SSD?

16gb ram is more than enough to run two games, browser and even something else.

[Drusin]

What kind of programs are you using? There are very few usecases right now that would require more than 16G of RAM.

Maybe he has 3 Chrome tabs open

[Demsi]

Dont think the issue is ram tbh, is your OS on an HDD by any chance?

[WowIsDead64]

When I built this PC I figured that 16 GB would be plenty, but fact is ever since I've been using it...it's been a struggle to use more than 1 major program at once. Running a video game with a browser open is basically out of the question. So I've been wanting to upgrade my RAM and I have a few questions

1. I currently have 16GB (2 x 8GB). I was wondering if I could just put any old thing in the other 2 slots? I was thinking if I added 32GB (2x16GB) that would bring my total up to 48GB which should be good enough to multitask.

2. If it's not a good idea to slot in other types of RAM I know my kit was CMK16GX4M2B3200C16. https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Catego...6GX4M2B3200C16 I'm wondering if this is still good ram? I bought it a few years ago and so I'm wondering if it's still considered good/fast. If so would just buying the exact same kit and putting it in the other 2 slots be best?

3. Would it be best to just start all over and throw out the 16GB I have and buy a 32 or 64 GB kit?

Biggest question is - why do you think, that you need more RAM? As I know, nothing requires more than 16GB now. Even 16GB may be excessive. 8GB should be enough.

Everything else depends on motherboard. Is it dual or quad channel? You should understand, that in case of dual channel 4 slots will work at 1/2 frequency. Overall all reviews say, that there is no difference in performance, but 4 slot configuration may be less stable. I use 4 slot configuration and I don't have any problems though.

It's also very interesting for me, if it's possible to use 2x slower and therefore cheaper memory in 4 slot dual channel mode with the same performance, as fast memory in 2 slot mode? For example to use 1600Mhz memory instead of 3200Mhz one, because it will work at 1600Mhz anyway?

[tikcol]

You could explain how you got to the conclusion that it's a lack of RAM..

Check your task manager while you're experiencing those slowdowns first

[Usernameforforums]

Biggest question is - why do you think, that you need more RAM? As I know, nothing requires more than 16GB now. Even 16GB may be excessive. 8GB should be enough.

Everything else depends on motherboard. Is it dual or quad channel? You should understand, that in case of dual channel 4 slots will work at 1/2 frequency. Overall all reviews say, that there is no difference in performance, but 4 slot configuration may be less stable. I use 4 slot configuration and I don't have any problems though.

It's also very interesting for me, if it's possible to use 2x slower and therefore cheaper memory in 4 slot dual channel mode with the same performance, as fast memory in 2 slot mode? For example to use 1600Mhz memory instead of 3200Mhz one, because it will work at 1600Mhz anyway?

8GB is not enough, maybe for barebones usage like browsing. 16GB is soon to be not enough for AAA titles. MSFS can use 20GB of ram easy and ive seen boarderlands 3 use 14GB by itself.

8GB was fine 10 years ago but nowadays its just not true. Tired of people saying its fine when in reality its a great way to ruin your pc experience. 16GB should be enough for older titles, even some newer one, but within these next 5-10 years you most definitely will have to upgrade to 24-32GB

[Sinaa]

When I built this PC I figured that 16 GB would be plenty, but fact is ever since I've been using it...it's been a struggle to use more than 1 major program at once. Running a video game with a browser open is basically out of the question. So I've been wanting to upgrade my RAM and I have a few questions

1. I currently have 16GB (2 x 8GB). I was wondering if I could just put any old thing in the other 2 slots? I was thinking if I added 32GB (2x16GB) that would bring my total up to 48GB which should be good enough to multitask.

2. If it's not a good idea to slot in other types of RAM I know my kit was CMK16GX4M2B3200C16. https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Catego...6GX4M2B3200C16 I'm wondering if this is still good ram? I bought it a few years ago and so I'm wondering if it's still considered good/fast. If so would just buying the exact same kit and putting it in the other 2 slots be best?

3. Would it be best to just start all over and throw out the 16GB I have and buy a 32 or 64 GB kit?

Just uninstall>>reinstall Chrome before you do anything..

[Thoriangun]

I should actually ask, what background applications are you running.

Ahem, torrent software or any self functioning apps that run in the background that aren't there to support physical hardware like mouse, keyboards etc.. can be a hog.

Disable stuff from running, if you don't want to do that, well its your wallet.

[Depakote]

What is the processor you're using cause if it's an old processor it won't matter how much memory you use it's still gonna be slow.

[Tarx]

It's not the problem the ram. Maybe it's your CPU most likly or your GPU

[Viikkis]

8GB was fine 10 years ago but nowadays its just not true. Tired of people saying its fine when in reality its a great way to ruin your pc experience.

Can confirm. Spent years with 8GB because of a student budget build. RAM usage was always over 90% when gaming and only allowed slight multitasking. Some games like PUBG, Black Ops 4 and even WoW sometimes suffered from memory swapping. For WoW it was only small (but irritatingly noticeable) stuttering occasionally and PUBG and BO4 got freezing and really large FPS drops.

So yeah for gaming/anykind of productivity get at least 16GB. 8GB is only okay for browsing and paying bills. For now at least.

[Temp name]

8GB is not enough, maybe for barebones usage like browsing. 16GB is soon to be not enough for AAA titles. MSFS can use 20GB of ram easy and ive seen boarderlands 3 use 14GB by itself.

8GB was fine 10 years ago but nowadays its just not true. Tired of people saying its fine when in reality its a great way to ruin your pc experience. 16GB should be enough for older titles, even some newer one, but within these next 5-10 years you most definitely will have to upgrade to 24-32GB

8gb is fine for the vast majority of games if you don't do anything other than gaming. Like, no browsers open, nothing. Just because it says it's using X amount of ram doesn't mean it is

And Flight simulator is horrendously optimized, it doesn't count.

That said, yes, you should get 16gb if you can. It's like 50 dollars more

[mrgreenthump]

Why are you talking like he has 8GB of memory? He said he has 16GBs already.

On topic, 16GB is plenty of ram. I don't think I run into many instances where I have more than 16GBs of memory in use, even when I have over 1000 tabs open in Firefox and playing WoW at the same time. So something else is wrong in your setup. However if you want to buy more ram, just buy another 2x8GB kit and run 4 sticks. It's the cheapest way if you don't want to OC ram. I just have a feeling it's not going to help much.

[Jabakaga]

ctrl+shift+esc check the percentage value of cpu and hdd/ssd. Are you using spinning hdd or ssd? Is something hogging the cpu? Check the temp for example download core temp and check out if the cpu is throttling it self because of high temperature. My old laptop had 8gb of ram and it never maxed so I don't think it's the lack of ram causing your problems since 16gb is more than enough. More like cpu problem or corrupted OS or programs.

[Djuntas]

OP PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE XMP PROFILE ON - THIS IS FIRST STEP. ITS NOT HARD, DONT BE SCARED OF GOING INTO BIOS :&

Also 16 GB...I have 8 ddr3 and I have no problems with 5-10 tabs, voice and wow. Granted I see other games not liking only 8.

[Lemons]

Holy crap...lots of questions! I totally let this thread slide.

First off...full build? I don't really know my full build off the top of my head I would have to look into it. These are what I assume are the important parts:

CPU - Intel Core i7-8700K
Mobo - Asus TUF Z370-Plus Gaming
SSD - Samsung Evo 830 250GB (this is what my windows is installed on)

I recently bought and installed a 1TB NVMe, but I've been too lazy to transfer all my shit and make it my boot drive.

Also I don't use Chrome I use Firefox. After making the thread I decided to nuke all my tabs I had open...I had a shitload open, but I didn't really consider it an issue because afaik only the tabs that are active are sucking any memory. At any rate I nuked them. I was at zero tabs. I try to run a game (Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition...in case you're wondering)...no dice. Game crashes as soon as I attempt to launch an actual match from the game's UI. So I can't really blame the tabs, although something might be funky with FF itself?

I also was watching my memory usage. My PC idles at 3.0 GB used, which already seems high, but whatever. I've watched some Linus Tech Tips videos about RAM lately and seen his systems, which I assume are brand new clean builds, idling at 2.7GB. Anyways...with just FF and Discord open it jumps to 5.5GB. Opening Steam (which I need to have open to run my game) now I'm at 6GB used. Now I'm launching a fresh game...I'm at 10GB used. Seems lower than it has been for some reason. I think I'll have to get further into the game and see if that number goes up as I play. Last time I did this test it immediately jumped to 15GB, and I've had the game crash before with literally nothing else running.