I currently have an 8gb ddr4 3200mhz stick of ram in my pc. If I were to pop another 8gb ddr4 but 2400mhz in there, would doubling up on gb outweigh performance lost from the speed going down to 2400mhz?

  • HC4L@lemmy.world
    8·
    1 day ago

    There is no simple answer here. Usually not having enough RAM is worse than having slow ram. That being said, having 3200mhz DDR4 you might have something like a Ryzen 3000 / 5000 series cpu who are very picky about the RAM it supports. Intel is way less picky. Last time I checked DDR4 was dirt cheap. If you have a few bucks to spare you could buy a 16GB kit from the QVL of your motherboard/CPU used or new and have both the speed, the memory size and dual-channel support.

    • Cort@lemmy.world
      3·
      24 hours ago

      I think the simple answer is yes 2 sticks is better than one. If only due to the speed increase from moving to dual channel memory.

      Also, you may want to check ram prices again, they’ve literally doubled in the last couple months. Even on ddr4. Used ram might be a substantially cheaper option for the next month or so, until those prices go up too.

      • TheReanuKeeves@lemmy.worldOP
        2·
        24 hours ago

        Ya the guy at the shop selling me the 8gb 2400mhz was saying these same sticks sold for almost half the price in september. I can’t find any 8gb 3200mhz ddr4 less than $100 in town

        • Cort@lemmy.world
          2·
          24 hours ago

          They’re $20-35 per stick (8GB 3200mt/s) on eBay right now. looks like people are already raising the prices on the used market too, but not everyone has yet.

            • Cort@lemmy.world
              2·
              23 hours ago

              Oh no. I misread the OP; you’ve already bought it haven’t you?

              Maybe it’s returnable?

                • Cort@lemmy.world
                  2·
                  23 hours ago

                  And hey, at least that’ll give you an idea if you’re using more than 16GB. If so you’ll know where to get 32GB cheaper.

                  • TheReanuKeeves@lemmy.worldOP
                    2·
                    20 hours ago

                    So plot twist. I should have been more vigilant when buying from an independent store but after I booted up, I noticed I had 12 gb of installed RAM rather than 16. I powered off, took both RAMs out and popped the “new” one into the slot that I knew worked prior. It showed up as 4gb. I powered off, looked at the stick and sure enough, the guy sold me a 4gb stick and the 8gb sticker was on top of the packaging so I didn’t notice when I bought it. Now I’m expecting this guy to accuse me of replacing the product and trying to scam them when I return it…smdh…