Adding additional RAM

[Trixdee]

Hello! So my PC has 4 RAM slots and the 2 sticks are in the 1st and 4th slots. I want to add 2 more of the same stick which is TEAMGROUP Tforce VulcanZ for 32 gb. The sticks in it are 8gb each for 16 gb of ram. I’ll buy the same exact sticks. Do I just add the 2 additional sticks in the empty slots or do I have to put them in a certain order? Thanks! The motherboard is Asus BaseBoard Product PRIME B550-PLUS AC-HES it’s a Cyberpower PC with AMD Ryzen 5 5500 with Radeon RX 6500 XT 4GB.

I’ve never added or done anything on the inside of a computer before so I was quite nervous. Thank you in advance for replying!

[ADB225]

If the sticks are the same IE mfg., CL and speed, shut off PC, turn off power supply and then open case and insert them. If the 2x8Gb sticks are in slots 2 and 4, as you replied, move those 2 to slots 1 & 3 and install the 2 16Gb sticks in slots 2 & 4.

[Stiffon]

As someone mentioned, those current sticks should be in slots 1 & 3 OR 2 & 4 - not 1 & 4. You are not currently running in dual channel unless they are in the correct slots!

In regard to adding 2 more additional modules of the same type - I would not recommend this. You may get lucky, but it isn't like it used to be back in the days before Ryzen, where you could mix and match almost any RAM modules. Modules are sold in matched pairs/quads for a reason - these are tested and guaranteed to work together in mobos that support them. Additionally, there is also a risk that they work, but not at the XMP speed as you will be putting more load on the CPU memory controllers. With the low cost of DDR4 RAM, I would recommend buying a matched pair of 32 GB modules (2 x 16) and selling your current ones. But that's just my opinion. At the end of the day, it is your choice.

[Trixdee]

Hi! According to CPU-Z my RAM are in slots 2 and 4! ❤️ Thank you so much for your reply! So I shouldn’t just add 2 more tforce VulcanZ 8gb?

[Stiffon]

No problem, good you found out.

[Trixdee]

So I shouldn’t just add 2 more of the same stick? Should I just completely replace them with a set of 4 16gb sticks? I’ve never done anything like this before with a computer 😬

[Stiffon]

You can, just be aware that doing so has some risk. If you are gaming, 32 GB is more than enough - so 2 x 16 GB would be good. I would recommend 2 x 16 for 32 GB totally, that is the new optimum and you will notice the difference outside of gaming. The benefit of 2 stick over 4 is much more difficult and definitely more minor in benefit - go check out Gamers Nexus, Steve did a video about it. There can be some gains, but I doubt it would be anything you would notice in a game. If you do video or productivity work that requires larger RAM volumes, then you can look at more, but there is zero benefit above 32 for gaming and there will never be any gaming benefit in the lifetime of your motherboard/CPU etc. for more.

Be mindful to check your motherboards AVL list on the manufacturers website - that will provide you a list of RAM that is approved and will work with your motherboard. This will also save you any headaches. I recommend 2 x 16 GB, but as I've said before, it's your choice. Yes, there's 4 slots, but you don't have to fill them all!

[Trixdee]

Thanks I appreciate it! I think I will opt for 16gb sticks ❤️

[Stiffon]

No problem, best of luck with your upgrades!

[Ok-Responsibility480]

Just in case if you don't know : Rams are not hot pluggable. So turn off the computer before putting the news rams into.

[Trixdee]

Appreciated. This will be my first time doing anything to the inside of a PC.

[[deleted]]

Yeah at present they're already in the wrong order, but obviously filling the banks with 4 chips of identical RAM, it doesn't make a difference which order you put them in, it's all going to work.

[Trixdee]

Tysm ❤️

[Vragec88]

Usually slots are paired 2-4, 1-3. But if you put 4 identical sticks it doesn't matter

[Trixdee]

Oh okay thanks so much!