RAM Upgrade =specs but >GB

I am currently using the RAM that came with my machine when i had it built...

Mushkin Enhanced Blackline. 6GB (3x2GB) 1600 9-9-9-24 1.5-1.6v (tri-channel)

I can't seem to find my same RAM available, and i'd prefer to upgrade to 4GB sticks anyways... if it'll work out. The RAM I am looking at is:
newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226192
Mushkin Enhanced Blackline. 12GB (3x4GB) 1600 9-9-9-24 1.5v

This would keep all of the target specs the same, other than the 4GB per stick instead of 2GB. I'd like these to go alongside my existing tri-channel 3x2 setup, for a total 18GB, with 6 on the first channel and 12 on the second.

Will this work ok?

Edited by feyrband - 29 Feb 2012 at 11:40am

I don't think I need it right now and I may not be getting it any time soon. Depends how much Guild Wars 2 utilizes. I really just use the machine for gaming.

I try to stay a little bit ahead of the curve. I figure when I do, I'd like to basically get the next step up, without letting what I have go to waste.

fair enough, thanks for answering the question nevertheless. i will continue to put this off in the mean time until it's actually needed. just good to know i had the right idea with the different RAM working together.

Do not fill all your RAM dimms.There is a known issue that has been around since the first generation "i" series chips from Intel that reduces CPU performance if all your RAM dimms are filled.

If you are going to upgrade go with the x3 4GB set up and ditch the other RAM, do not pair it together with your old RAM filling up all your RAM dimms. 8GB of RAM is way more then enough for gaming so 12GB will be major over kill.

There has been more then a couple of misguided threads people have made lately thinking they need tons of RAM for gaming when it's just not true. 8GB of RAM is more then enough now and will be more then enough 2 years from now. And 2 years from now we will more then likely be on a new RAM standard of either DDR4 or DDR5, both of which already exist for GPUs.

The only time you need more then 8GB of RAM is you are doing rendering which requires an entirely different system all together.

What motherboard do you have. It will use either tri channel or dual channel, never both.

No again, all mobo's will be dual channel (as in multiples of 2) or tri channel (as in multiples of 3). Your mobo is tri channel, which is easily determined since it has 6 total RAM dimms split into two sets of 3 each.

For your MOBO you can only use RAM in quantities of 3 sticks at a time and never, ever, multiples of 2 sticks. You can have 3 RAM sticks, or 6 RAM sticks, never 2 or 4 RAM sticks and the total of 6 RAM sticks can never be made up of quantities of 2.

Can you install it like that, yes, will it work correctly, no. You need to only install RAM in multiples of 3 and keep them all in the matching set of dimms. You have a set of x3 Grey dimms and a set of x3 Black dimms. Fill one of those sets with a triple RAM kit. As in x2x2x2 or 4x4x4, and so on like that.

Never use a x2x2 or a x2x2 + x2x2 set up, only use 3 matching sticks of RAM and place all of those RAM sticks into a single set of dimms (slots).

x2x2x2 = Good

x2x2x2 + x2x2x2 = Good (with the exception that filling all the RAM dimms can affect CPU performance due to a known issue)

x4x4x4 = Good

x4x4x4 + x4x4x4 Good (with the exception that filling all the RAM dimms can affect CPU performance due to a known issue)

x2x2 = Bad

X2x2 + x2x2 = Bad

x4x4 = Bad

x4x4 + x4x4 = Bad

x2x2x2 + x4x4x4 = Bad


Edited by jmaster299 - 29 Feb 2012 at 2:21pm

All RAM should be a 100% match at all times, and not just speed, voltage and timings. It should be a 100% match from the manufacture that were manufactured in the same batch. A system can work with out matching RAM but you open yourself up to a million possible issues.

RAM is sold in matching sets for a reason. You can even have a x4x4x4 + x4x4x4 set up run into issues because one set was manufactured at a different time then the other set, even when they are the same brand purchased at the same place. What ever RAM you are going to use you always want to purchase a complete set from the manufacture for the total amount of RAM you are going to be using.

In your situation you will be using two totally different brands of RAM which increases your chances of issues even more. Plus your doing so when it is 100% not necessary and in no way will it improve your performance at all.

RAM one of those things that you either need it or your don't. Faster RAM can help but adding more RAM when you don't need it will do nothing for you, except it can potentially make things worse. It's just like a HDD, installing a faster HDD or a SSD will make things faster but adding a larger HDD does nothing unless you actually need the space. (It can even cause issues because larger drives get fragmented more easily if the space is not filled)

8GB is way more then enough RAM. 6GB is technically enough RAM still. I max out at 50% RAM usage (4GB) while in games with things like browser windows, STEAM and my protection programs running in the background. Of that 4GB of RAM only about 2GB is actually being used by my games. The rest is being used by background programs.

And with how Windows works the more RAM you install the more RAM it will reserve for it's self. That leads to false RAM usage readings when people are using extreme amounts of RAM, as in 12GB or more. Those people will report high usage numbers making them think it's needed when in fact it's just Windows going "wow, there is tons of memory here that the user does not need, I'm gonna take a bunch of that memory for myself and preload random programs that I think the user is going to need at some point".


Edited by jmaster299 - 29 Feb 2012 at 3:11pm