Is it worth getting more DDR3 RAM now?

[wNotyarD]

See, my brother has the following rig:

AMD FX-8320E Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P 1x8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 CL10 Zotac GTX 1070 Mini Kingston A400 240GB WDC Blue 1TB

I found a new 8GB stick of the same Vengeance 1600CL10 for about 200 BRL (already listing local currency) and I'm kinda willing to gift him that.
If his whole platform was to be upgraded to a new one (say 10th gen i5/Zen 2 R5 or newer) it would cost at least 8 times that value here. I wouldn't splash that cash, much less my brother would be able to do that now.
And in the event he upgrades his rig one day, his current one would probably be handed down to our parents.

So, is it worth it getting him that new 8GB for his FX rig, even now that we're bordering 2023?

 

[Bomby569]

if it still does whatever your brother needs from it, and you can't/wont upgrade then 16gb is a nice upgrade if cheap. It also depends if what he does needs/benefits from more RAM or not. Don't spend money on that machine if it isn't needed.

 

[P4-630]

So, is it worth it getting him that new 8GB for his FX rig, even now that we're bordering 2023?

If it's cheap , why not, the PC might even get a slight boost since with 2 sticks you can run dual channel.

 

[delshay]

You have to be careful with Corsair Memory as the IC can sometimes change with different revision number even thou the part number is the same.

 

[wNotyarD]

if it still does whatever your brother needs from it, and you can't/wont upgrade then 16gb is a nice upgrade if cheap. It also depends if what he does needs/benefits from more RAM or not. Don't spend money on that machine if it isn't needed.

As he is a Chrome user on Windows 10 x64, I'd say more RAM is never bad
For his gaming endeavors, there may be one or two cases in which he may be helped by the extra memory.

If it's cheap , why not, the PC might even get a slight boost since with 2 sticks you can run dual channel.

Compared to rebuilding? 1/8 of the price, so yeah I'd call that cheap. And I did think of dual channel, just hope there's no compatibility issue between the sticks, even if they've the same part number.

You have to be careful with Corsair Memory as the IC can sometimes change with different revision number even thou the part number is the same.

I'm aware. From 2016 (his rig was mine before) to now is a long time, and I know there may be differences. So I can only hope dual channel works.

 

[GerKNG]

You have to be careful with Corsair Memory as the IC can sometimes change with different revision number even thou the part number is the same.

they even change the manufacturer within the same revision now...
single rank 3600 CL 18 rev. 3.31 is micron e die and nanya.

 

[wNotyarD]

they even change the manufacturer within the same revision now...
single rank 3600 CL 18 rev. 3.31 is micron e die and nanya.

Within the same revision? Ouch.
I knew of every Corsair "version" number being a X.YZ combination of chip maker (X), chip size (Y) and revision (Z). If they throw that out of the window, what's there to trust?

 

[Ruru]

It's pure luck does mixed RAM work. Personally I have NEVER got any problems.

But yeah, 16GB is the practical minimum these days and dual channel helps as well.

 

[Shrek]

I'd say 8GB was good enough unless one is gaming a lot (Windows takes up less than 4)

Just my opinion.

Not sure $38 is such a good price; I'd use the money instead for a solid-state drive.

 

[shovenose]

If you are using an SSD, the RAM upgrade is less critical. If you’re using a mechanical HDD, you want as much RAM as possible. Although for $40 you can get an SSD which is going to make it feel so much faster so I’d you’re still using spinning rust, an SSD would be a better buy.

That said, two RAM sticks for dual channel will make a difference in RAM bandwidth which will help in performance across the board, so in this case I would say yes, go for it.

 

[wNotyarD]

Not sure $38 is such a good price; I'd use the money instead for a solid-state drive.

If you are using an SSD, the RAM upgrade is less critical. If you’re using a mechanical HDD, you want as much RAM as possible. Although for $40 you can get an SSD which is going to make it feel so much faster so I’d you’re still using spinning rust, an SSD would be a better buy.

I thought storage was irrelevant in this discussion, but since you both brought it up I'll say there's already a SSD installed. Granted it's not the fastest SATA there is (if I'm not mistaken he has a DRAM-less Kingston one), but it gets the job done.
About the price being ~40 USD, well... That's the cost of living in the third world.

 

[Shrek]

In my opinion you will see very little benefit

 

[eidairaman1]

Since you intend on keeping the Rig, you might as well max it out I believe is 32GB or (Unofficial 64, at least on asus crosshair or sabertooth 990fx)

sell the single 8GB stick after you buy some Gskill or Mushkin, Team, Geil 32GB PC 1600 or 1866

See, my brother has the following rig (I won't list storage because it is not relevant to my question):

AMD FX-8320E Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P 1x8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 CL10 Zotac GTX 1070 Mini

I found a new 8GB stick of the same Vengeance 1600CL10 for about 200 BRL (already listing local currency) and I'm kinda willing to gift him that.
If his whole platform was to be upgraded to a new one (say 10th gen i5/Zen 2 R5 or newer) it would cost at least 8 times that value here. I wouldn't splash that cash, much less my brother would be able to do that now.
And in the event he upgrades his rig one day, his current one would probably be handed down to our parents.

So, is it worth it getting him that new 8GB for his FX rig, even now that we're bordering 2023?

Please open the case and face the motherboard and look at the bottom left corner of the motherboard for a Revision number, tell us that number please.

Nvmd Gigabytes memory support list is very miniscule with ram support.

Get a Quad Channel 32GB Kit from 1 of the above.

 

[wNotyarD]

Since you intend on keeping the Rig, you might as well max it out I believe is 32 or 64GB sell the single 8GB stick after you buy some Gskill or Mushkin, Team, Geil



Please open the case and face the motherboard and look at the bottom left corner of the motherboard for a Revision number, tell us that number please

It's a GA-970A-D3P rev 2.0, which I know not by looking at it right now - I live approximately 650km away from my brother. Gigabyte really changed the box design between versions 1.0 and 2.0, and I know for sure it was black. Additionally, I remember very well it using Realtek audio drivers, which only the 2.0 uses.

Motherboard version notwithstanding, according to Gigabyte both of them accept at maximum 32GB but getting a 4x8GB kit is hardly justifiable for his use (and not exactly easily available, not here at least). If getting an extra 8GB stick already made me ask you guys, if I were to get another 16 on top of that I'd consider gifting/recommending him a platform upgrade (with 16GB DDR4 then). And (un)fortunately, Corsair is essentially what DDR3 I still can find brand new.

 

[eidairaman1]

It's a GA-970A-D3P rev 2.0, which I know not by looking at it right now - I live approximately 650km away from my brother. Gigabyte really changed the box design between versions 1.0 and 2.0, and I know for sure it was black. Additionally, I remember very well it using Realtek audio drivers, which only the 2.0 uses.

Motherboard version notwithstanding, according to Gigabyte both of them accept at maximum 32GB but getting a 4x8GB kit is hardly justifiable for his use (and not exactly easily available, not here at least). If getting an extra 8GB stick already made me ask you guys, if I were to get another 16 on top of that I'd consider gifting/recommending him a platform upgrade (with 16GB DDR4 then). And (un)fortunately, Corsair is essentially what DDR3 I still can find brand new.

Put 16 in and call it a day

/Thread

 

[Shrek]

4x4GB DDR3 is $20 on ebay (used)

 

[wNotyarD]

I'll still have to work out the details of how I'll get him to 16GB (cost+shipping and whatnot), but I thank you all for taking your time to discuss with me if the idea was valid.
I wish you guys a nice afternoon (well, at least here it is still afternoon).

 

[shovenose]

I thought storage was irrelevant in this discussion, but since you both brought it up I'll say there's already a SSD installed. Granted it's not the fastest SATA there is (if I'm not mistaken he has a DRAM-less Kingston one), but it gets the job done.
About the price being ~40 USD, well... That's the cost of living in the third world.

Hey, don't sell that SSD short, I'm assuming it's a Kingston A400, I have installed hundreds of those over the years and they work well for what they are. Just because it's a budget DRAM-less drive doesn't mean much for most everyday users

I'd say, if you plan to keep the system a while longer, get the second stick of RAM. It's really about the bandwidth benefits of going dual-channel vs the extra capacity unless you do play a game or run software that actually uses more than 8GB in which case it's a dual benefit!

 

[wNotyarD]

Hey, don't sell that SSD short, I'm assuming it's a Kingston A400, I have installed hundreds of those over the years and they work well for what they are. Just because it's a budget DRAM-less drive doesn't mean much for most everyday users

I'd say, if you plan to keep the system a while longer, get the second stick of RAM. It's really about the bandwidth benefits of going dual-channel vs the extra capacity unless you do play a game or run software that actually uses more than 8GB in which case it's a dual benefit!

It's pretty much along those lines, yes. As rebuilding the rig isn't an option right now (and when it becomes, the MB+CPU+RAM combo will still be handed down), adding the second stick looks like a nice idea from the dual-channel angle. And if it fixes some issues my brother has with some games now, all the better.
Thank you for setting some of your time to discuss with me and the others here. If I was already inclined to get my brother that new RAM stick, your words help me diving in the idea of doing so.

 

[ymdhis]

It's a good deal, it will prolong the life of the system basically until the CPU is absolutely not enough. I'd go for it.

4x4GB DDR3 is $20 on ebay (used)

Unless it is already in Brazil, it would be a bad idea. That $20 set would end up $60 with shipping and the import tax on electronics (Brazil has a ludicrous tax on hardware, things like the Playstation costs $1000, five times the minimum wage and twice the national average wage).

Also 4 sticks might tax the controller more and run slower than just 2 sticks, but I'm not sure how much Dildozer is affected by RAM speeds. I remember back in the Athlon 64 days (socket 939) I could pair random no name "RAM BO" sticks together, and it would run perfectly in dual channel.

 

[wNotyarD]

Unless it is already in Brazil, it would be a bad idea. That $20 set would end up $60 with shipping and the import tax on electronics (Brazil has a ludicrous tax on hardware, things like the Playstation costs $1000, five times the minimum wage and twice the national average wage).

Not to mention the possibility of being outright refused at customs. Importing used/refurbished goods in Brazil is finicky to say the least.

 

[ShiBDiB]

4x4GB DDR3 is $20 on ebay (used)

I've never been a fan of buying used RAM. It's just the one component I've had fail the most often that I don't trust used stuff at all.

OP just find the cheapest compatible 16GB kit and roll with that. Or if you can just find an 8GB stick of the same RAM he has now you "should" (99.9% of the time) be fine.

 

[ymdhis]

Not to mention the possibility of being outright refused at customs. Importing used/refurbished goods in Brazil is finicky to say the least.

Yeah, so I heard. The packages have to be specifically marked as gift items if I recall right.

 

[Jism]

for best performance, at least head with 2 sticks (Dual channel) at around 1600mhz. The lower the case the better.

 

[biffzinker]

for best performance, at least head with 2 sticks (Dual channel) at around 1600mhz. The lower the case the better.

The FX IMC can take two sticks of DDR3-1866 MHz. That was one of the selling points for the FX AMD advertised.