RAM memory upgrade question

A

Aerrie

Geek Trainee
Hello everyone, I would like to kindly ask you for advice regarding RAM memory upgrade:
PC specs:
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67LE rev. 3.0 B3
Power source: CHieftec 550W, CTG-550-80P
Graphics card: Nvidia Geforce GTX 560 ti Twin Frozer Edition
CPU: Intel Sandy Bridge i5-2500
HDD: WD 750 GB Black
Current RAM memory: Kingston 2x2 GB DD3 SDRAM 1333 MHZ 64 bit 1.65V, 8-8-8-22 – that is CL8 I assume.
Win 7 - 64 BIT
The PC is 1 year old and I mainly use it for games, so performance is very important to me.

Lately I have noticed that the PC struggles with quick alt tabbing, while for example:
running World of Warcraft game + Facebook + watching a stream in the background (not streaming myself, just watching)+ listening to Youtube + running Teamspeak.
Other than that, the performance for the actual games is solid.
Maybe it has lately been taking a while longer to load up a complex map or many characters in the game.
Shutting down the stream seemed to somewhat put the PC back in its comfort zone, but still not ideal.

At these busy moments, the HDD becomes pretty noisy and RAM usage jumps up to around 85-95 percent. The computer then takes like 20 seconds to even load up a city in the game or switch back to desktop.
I had a look at temperatures, they seemed allright maybe except HDD which shot up to even 52 C.
I had a look inside and the HDD edge is only a few centimeteres from the edge of the graphic card and I thought maybe the GFX was heating the HDD up. The GFX fans are aimed downards. I opened the side case and the HDD temp dropped by like 5 C, so it seemed allright especially now with winter coming.
I also tried cleaning the PC of dust + upgraded GFX drivers and defragged the HD + ran all tests I could find on it. Seemed fine.

In the end, I figured it might be a good idea to upgrade my RAM because of the shown usage, and since 4 Gb does not seem too much nowadays.

I have 4 of those slots that can hold RAM cards.
2 of those are occupied by the 2x2 GB cards and 1 seems to be partly under my CPU cooler – it does not look like it is usable.

My question is, should I perhaps buy 1x 4GB module and put it in the last memory slot that seems usable? Or is it necessary to buy another 2GB when the other two are also 2 GB?
Would it perhaps be best to completely remove the old CL8 1333MHZ modules since they are taking up too much space and not exactly brand new, and use new 2x 4 GB modules with perhaps higher speed and clock instead?

If I buy a third one, do I have to go for the same MHZ and CL8 clock? What other values should be the same? On Inet shops, I noticed that all sold memory sticks are now CL9. Would that be okay apart from the old modules holding up the new one?

I am willing to spend about 50-60 EUR on this upgrade/change. I know, that there are different quality memory cards of the same type, so I am willing to buy decent ones that will not hold my PC back if you let me know what to go for.

Thank you for your advice everyone it will be much appreciated!
 
If you do want to increase your RAM, then get a complete new kit. Mixing RAM will usually create instability. Even if you are able to find the same model number, the chances are good that the manuafcturer has been using different chip suppliers in the meantime. These are sourced and supplied from numerous suppliers on a regular basis and they usually are not identical.
Furthermore the DRAM voltage standard is 1,5V. So its best to source a kit that actually runs at that voltage. DDR3-1600 modules are about the same price as DDR3-1333 now and with XMP enabled you may be able to run at 1600. If not they will still default to 1333.
I used these Corsair 2 X 4GB CML8GX3M2A1600C9 on my P8P67-Pro succesfully and they ran flawlessly at 1333 or 1600 with XMP enabled at 1,5V.
 
Hello zsde, thanks for your advice.
That memory kit seems solid and the price is good also. I may indeed replace my old ones with this.

From the issues and PC specs that I described, does it seem to you as if the RAM upgrade is a good course of action?
I mean when looking at the specs it seems like RAM and the HDD not being SSD are the biggest holdbacks, doesn`t it.
 
Your slowest component in today's PC's is the HDD. A SSD can give you a huge improvement when data access is required. but the amount of times that one wait's for HDD access is rather limited and thus a conventional HDD is still acceptable.
What I see from your specs is the limited 4GB of RAM on a 64bit OS. That probably causes quite a few swap file actions taking place when you use large amounts of memory. You will probably find that even in idle with just the desktop and maybe a browser open that you are already at 50% RAM occupancy. So from that perspective there will be an improvement already, where swap files can be minimised. Secondary gain will be if your IMC plays along and you can run the meory in XMP or manually set to 1600. The difference between 1333 and 1600 isn't huge, but around 5% RAM management improvement is a fair expectation.
Pity you opted for the 2500 non -K version, otherwise a bump in CPU frequency could have helped as well. But go for 8GB for now an see if it helps.

Another thing to check is how many apps and programs have accumulated over your usage time in the start up menu.
You can check that in the System config dialog.
Just type config in the win start menu and the first item will be the System config. Go to the startup tab in System Config and have a look at what wonderful stuff is all running by the time your Windows has loaded up.
Sometimes a lot of rubbish collects here that one can disable and result in improvements. Did you ever do a BIOS flash to the last Sandy BIOS version ? Stay away from the Ivy support BIOS' for as long as you are running a Sandy CPU.

Further inconsistenties can be caused by fluctuating power. Chieftec PSUs are not up on the list of preferrable supplies and the 12V rail may be stretched to its capabilities by your system This can cause unwanted power ripples and other anomalies and may result in a failure at some stage. This is always a very difficult one to pick up before failure. One actually needs to test with another known good working unit to see if it makes a difference.But my advice would be to invest in something better in the future regardless. A single 12V rail unit like Corsair or Seasonic would be my recommendations.

But enough speculation for now:)
Start with the RAM and see how that helps.
 
Thank you very much for the time you put into your advice, I appreciate it and I will save this and use it for future reference.

At the time I was picking the PC I was really short on money, I worked my ass off for a year 12 hours a day except weekends (including commute) and 800 EUR was all I could spend for a PC, so I had to make some rough calls on the PSU, motherboard and RAM memory. I even had to get a student-free copy of Win 7 from a friend.

I knew the PSU was not quite the right thing, but I literally had no more money to use on it.
The non K CPU was due to the fact that it was not on stock and I did not want to wait another 2-3 weeks, even though the price was the same.

I will check the System config.

Regarding the BIOS flash, I have not ever done that, is it very helpfull?

I have also overclocked the GFX from 880 MHZ to 950 MHZ and equally higher memory, it ran fine through a whole benchmark without any artefacts, below 90 C without any instabilities. Thinking about the PSU being strained, I might be better off using a non-overclocked profile.
I will definitely not touch the GFX voltages, it is dangerous and it could cause even more PSU strain I presume.
It is not like the GFX is the weakness in my PC.
 
Start with the RAM upgrade and take it from there. The increase from 4 to 8 GB should assist already as you have stated that the memory runs up to 95%. By that time swap files are your biggest constraint.
That 2500 is a good CPU and should not be a bottleneck at this stage.
 
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