Upgrading RAM

[lategsi]

I’ve figured it’s time to boost my memory. currently I have 2x4gb DDR4 2666 MHz CL15 RAM memory on a Asus Maximus VIII Ranger motherboard.
Now I have 2 options: buy another set of 2x4gb ram for 100$ or get a new, even further upgradable set of G.Skill 2x8GB Trident Z 3200MHz RAM for ~200$.
Heres my guestion: can i combine the two sets of ram (2x4GB and 2x8GB) both of which my motherboard supports and what would be the best option to buy for, if I I’m going to upgrade my motherboard in near future?

[veeg]

Hello
It is always better to match the ram than to mix it. You didn’t specify what the speed was on the other ram compared to the G.Skill, faster ram is always good.

[phillpower2]

In addition to what Veeg has advised above

Heres my guestion: can i combine the two sets of ram (2x4GB and 2x8GB) both of which my motherboard supports and what would be the best option to buy for, if I I’m going to upgrade my motherboard in near future?

Couple of other considerations, what is the main use of the computer, if only gaming then any more than the present 2x4gb DDR4 2666 would be a waste as no present game will use any more than the 8GB, what processor do you have, an i5 6600K CPU for example only supports RAM up to DDR4-2133 so paying for anything faster would be wasted unless you intend on overclocking things.

If you intend on upgrading in the near future in any event I would hold off purchasing anything else for now as the 8th generation Intel Coffee Lake desktop CPUs are due to launch this month.

[veeg]

Any updates for us?

[lategsi]

Yes, thank you for the replies!
I have come to an conclusion that I will sell my old RAM mainly because of program crashes and replace it with what I’ve listed below.

I use my PC for work (3D and 2D graphics) and for gaming now and then. Overclocking my PC is my goal with the new parts.
I waited until the Coffee CPUs were available to compare prices and parts, so I came up with a list for “ideal parts” to buy:

G.Skill 16GB (2 x 8GB) Trident Z RGB, DDR4 3000MHz, CL16, 1.35V RAM
After that in a bundle, buying waay later:
Intel Coffee Lake i5-8600K, LGA1151, 3.6 GHz, 9MB, Boxed CPU
Asus ROG STRIX Z370-F GAMING, ATX Motherboard

Buying RAM first, now correct me if I’m wrong, but 3000MHz DDR4 is supposed to be working with the two motherboards.
If there isn’t any problems with G.Skill RAM, I will be buying them in a couple of weeks.

My current setup, also found in my profile:
CPU cooling:

Corsair Hydro H100i v2

Motherboard:

Asus Maximus VIII Ranger

Processor:

Intel Skylake i5 6500 LGA1511 3,2GHz

Memory / RAM:

2x Kingston HyperX Fury 4GB 2666Mhz

Graphics Card / GPU:

Asus Strix Gtx 960 OC 4GB

Hard Drive:

3TB Barracuda 7200rpm

Power Supply:

Corsair 750W 80Plus Bronze

Operating System (OS):

Windows 10

[veeg]

Thanks for the update. Hopefully Phill will be online soon.

[phillpower2]

Buying RAM first, now correct me if I’m wrong, but 3000MHz DDR4 is supposed to be working with the two motherboards.

Do you have a link to the RAM that you are considering on purchasing.

For the best and most stable performance you should where possible purchase a CPU and RAM that have been tested and approved by the motherboard manufacturer, this is referred to as the QVL ( qualified vendors list ) understand though that there are too many products released for them all to be tested so other hardware will be compatible but not proven to be.

[lategsi]

Here is the link for the product, though I’m buying it from other source, where switches and returns are possible.
Amazon.com

[phillpower2]

Expensive stuff

Not saying that it will not work but see the attachment below for DDR4 3000MHz RAM on your MBs QVL list here

Btw, slightly better performing Cas latency 15 RAM here

[lategsi]

What is the difference between Cas 16 and 15?

[georgeks]

Sorry for jumping in, are the memory modules on ASUS QVL?

Some weird stuff can happen if not.

[Bruce]

What is the difference between Cas 16 and 15?

the difference is speed.
but if you are talking DDR3 or DDR4, and high MHz’s, the latency difference between 15 and 16 would not even be discernible.
let Google be your friend for further research; CAS latency - Wikipedia

[lategsi]

Okay, i found G.Skills RAM Configurator site with RAM QVLs of my motherboard: https://www.gskill.com/en/configurat...484&model=2491
and found this:
F4-2400C15D-16GTZR
CL15 2400MHz 8GB*2 G.Skill RGB
So this should be confirmed to work on my motherboard 100% ?
I also read that the timings (15-15-15-35) are changable and Trident RAM should be easy to use

[phillpower2]

What is the difference between Cas 16 and 15?

Btw, slightly better performing Cas latency 15 RAM here

As already mentioned in my reply #9 Cas latency 15 performs slightly better than Cas latency 16, that is all and tbh whichever of the two was the least expensive is what I would suggest a person should purchase but only after being confirmed as being compatible with the MB that the RAM was intended to be used with.

Okay, i found G.Skills RAM Configurator site with RAM QVLs of my motherboard: https://www.gskill.com/en/configurat...484&model=2491
and found this:
F4-2400C15D-16GTZR
CL15 2400MHz 8GB*2 G.Skill RGB
So this should be confirmed to work on my motherboard 100% ?

Not by ASUS it isn’t no, check your MBs QVL in the user manual, what guarantee do G.Skill offer to say that it is, will they refund your money if it does not work or worse still if it damages your hardware, we understand that RAM that lights up may look nice but it costs a lot of money, often requires more power and if not on the MBs QVL it is not
guaranteed to work, I really would wait until your are upgrading your MB and CPU before purchasing the RGB RAM.

You will notice that I managed to reply without mentioning Google

[lategsi]

Well, I’m going to take all of these things in concideration.
Thanks for all of your replies! now I know much more about RAM options and I’m going to make my purchase decisions from here on.