RAM Replacement, go with 16GB or 32GB?

[Eric3988]

Hello everyone, I found out that half of my RAM has effectively gone kaput. Currently I have Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB RAM in my system. I Used to OC it to 3200, but it was making my system unstable, used to get all kinds of boot failures. Then I updated Windows to 1903 and I check to make sure the update went through and see that Windows is only showing 8GB of RAM in the system. Weird? No it gets better. Immediately afterwords I start getting Page File BSODs every 15 minutes. Sure enough, one of the modules in the RAM went bad and through trial and error I have found which one it is. The question is whether I should buy or warranty the same replacement or to use this opportunity to upgrade to 32GB? I already have my eyes on some G. Skill Ripjaws as a replacement. I think 32GB is overkill right now as I use my PC primarily for gaming and light office tasks, but the future is always now, right? $140 for 32GB seems like a great deal for that much memory and a good hedge against future price gouging. I'm interested to hear the community's thoughts on this though, so feel free to chime in. Thanks!

 

[eidairaman1]

Remember 1 thing more ram can mean lower ram clock speed at trade off for capacity.

 

[Eric3988]

Remember 1 thing more ram can mean lower ram clock speed at trade off for capacity.

Ripjaws timings 19-20-20-40 vs Vengeance 16-18-18-36 seems pretty close to me. Not to mention the Vengeance kit runs at 3200 max, where the Ripjaws goes up to 3600. Seems comparable to me.

EDIT: I found a kit on Amazon with better timings at 3200MHz - Base Timings: 15-15-15-36; Tested Timings: 16-18-18-36

 

[eidairaman1]

Ripjaws timings 19-20-20-40 vs Vengeance 16-18-18-36 seems pretty close to me. Not to mention the Vengeance kit runs at 3200 max, where the Ripjaws goes up to 3600. Seems comparable to me.

Im not talking timings, im talking bandwidth

 

[Eric3988]

Im not talking timings, im talking bandwidth

How would I figure out if that's going to be an issue?

 

[theFOoL]

So basically you want both capacity @8GB (2x4GB) or 16GB (2X8GB) with the same brand "?as long as the CL is the same" but yeah two brands would just look better

 

[Eric3988]

So basically you want both capacity @8GB (2x4GB) or 16GB (2X8GB) with the same brand "?as long as the CL is the same" but yeah two brands would just look better

I'm just debating whether it's worth it replace my current RAM with the same kit or to upgrade. If I upgrade I figure I may as well get more capacity to future proof.

 

[eidairaman1]

I'm just debating whether it's worth it replace my current RAM with the same kit or to upgrade. If I upgrade I figure I may as well get more capacity to future proof.

No guarantee that ram will run on your said platform at the speed, tbf if 3200 and 3600 are close in price go with 3600 so you can experiment.

My rams bonus was being able to load xmp 2400 and then tighten the timings further, I have technically triden ram lol despite it being ripjaws.

 

[dgianstefani]

Team Dark Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL14 Memory

uk.pcpartpicker.com

This is the best RAM you can get.

B Die, the tightest stock timings of any 3200 RAM.

Cheap (relatively).

 

[theFOoL]

16GB is plenty unless you're doing a lot of tasks like Browsering, Video Editing, coding all at the same time but if gaming your good

 

[Eric3988]

No guarantee that ram will run on your said platform at the speed, tbf if 3200 and 3600 are close in price go with 3600 so you can experiment.

My rams bonus was being able to load xmp 2400 and then tighten the timings further, I have technically triden ram lol despite it being ripjaws.

I ran my old kit at 3200 for years until about 4 months ago, when the boot failures started happening. Figured my 3yr old system was just being picky, not that my RAM was almost kaput.

 

[Grog6]

That can be processor related, as all the memory hardware is on the CPU these days.

You might do some testing to verify you don't have a memory channel going bad.

 

[eidairaman1]

I ran my old kit at 3200 for years until about 4 months ago, when the boot failures started happening. Figured my 3yr old system was just being picky, not that my RAM was almost kaput.

Have you attempted to pull them, clean the slots out fully de-energized of course with a CO2 duster or Contact cleaner? Same with the ram modules at attempted to reinsert them?

Hopw about checking the cpu pins?

 

[Eric3988]

Have you attempted to pull them, clean the slots out fully de-energized of course with a CO2 duster or Contact cleaner? Same with the ram modules at attempted to reinsert them?

Hopw about checking the cpu pins?

I have pulled both modules and one gets me a BSOD within 15 minutes, tested that pretty conclusively. I thought the other module was good to go, but after an hour I just got another BSOD page fault in nonpaged area. I'll clean out the case with the CO2 duster and the slots, and change slots to rule that out.

 

[Ruru]

Depends what you do with your PC. If it's mostly gaming, 16GB is more than enough.

 

[eidairaman1]

I have pulled both modules and one gets me a BSOD within 15 minutes, tested that pretty conclusively. I thought the other module was good to go, but after an hour I just got another BSOD page fault in nonpaged area. I'll clean out the case with the CO2 duster and the slots, and change slots to rule that out.

Clean the ram contacts and the slots thoroughly, pull the cpu too

 

[Athlonite]

I have pulled both modules and one gets me a BSOD within 15 minutes, tested that pretty conclusively. I thought the other module was good to go, but after an hour I just got another BSOD page fault in nonpaged area. I'll clean out the case with the CO2 duster and the slots, and change slots to rule that out.

Definitely sounds like there's a problem with the ram if that's what it's doing

 

[Eric3988]

Clean the ram contacts and the slots thoroughly, pull the cpu too

Why should I check CPU pins? I haven't messed with that since I installed my water cooler and that was almost 2 years ago. I cleaned everything thoroughly with the duster though. I also changed slots too, to rule that out. Time to wait to see if I get another BSOD.

Definitely sounds like there's a problem with the ram if that's what it's doing

That's what I'm thinking too. I had my system going for about 2 hours last night after I changed modules and thought I was in the clear. Thinking I should buy new RAM because my confidence in this set is rapidly eroding.

 

[eidairaman1]

Why should I check CPU pins? I haven't messed with that since I installed my water cooler and that was almost 2 years ago. I cleaned everything thoroughly with the duster though. I also changed slots too, to rule that out. Time to wait to see if I get another BSOD.

Ensure nothing is bent or arcing/burnt, intel LGA is prone to causing half ram or even bsods.

This is to cover every avenue relating to the memory system.

 

[Eric3988]

Ensure nothing is bent or arcing/burnt, intel LGA is prone to causing half ram or even bsods.

This is to cover every avenue relating to the memory system.

Okay, I'll check the CPU if I BSOD again. What I really don't get though is why all of the BSODs after I update to Windows 10 ver 1903. Been a long time since I had a BSOD before that. Last I can remember is a Watchdog error or something like that when I plugged in an external HDD.

 

[eidairaman1]

Okay, I'll check the CPU if I BSOD again. What I really don't get though is why all of the BSODs after I update to Windows 10 ver 1903. Been a long time since I had a BSOD before that. Last I can remember is a Watchdog error or something like that when I plugged in an external HDD.

Hmm, id put the rig to defaults and set the ram XMP rating and then see.

 

[Eric3988]

Hmm, id put the rig to defaults and set the ram XMP rating and then see.

Yeah, I loaded the optimized defaults in the BIOS since yesterday just in case.

 

[eidairaman1]

Yeah, I loaded the optimized defaults in the BIOS since yesterday just in case.

If it crashes at that point then yeah, its possible the system cant handle overclocking any longer.

 

[Final_Fighter]

get warrenty on that ram if possible. why spend more money on than you need to.

 

[Eric3988]

Update:

I've got an RMA on the RAM and it's on it's way back to Corsair. I have eliminated the BSOD issue by changing out the RAM and doing a reinstall of Windows. There was no damage on the motherboard or CPU pins. This BSOD was a more of a pain in the ass than a hemorrhoid. None of the recommended software fixes did anything to alleviate the issue. I tried the Windows reinstall before the new RAM arrived to see if that could fix the issue, but it did not help at all. Lesson learned; if it's a page fault error, change the RAM.