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Ram Upgrade
hi i have the alienware pc (x51 i think) with cpu i5 3450 3.1ghz and 6gb ram. i read that the 3450 is ivy bridge so i can go up to 16gb. however, i found out my ram is a 4gb and a 2gb. does that mean i can just take out that 2gb and put in an 8gb so i can at least double the ram i have now? i take it the two don't have to be the same capacity since what came with my system was a 4gb and 2gb.
my comp has been lagging lately when i have browser (with multi tabs open), game, and video running. i see that my memory usage is up to 95% when i do that and i get momentary slowdowns and freezes when i have multiple things like that going and my game suddenly has a burst of visuals. would putting more ram make my programs not stutter or lag when all running at the same time? i'm hoping it's not a cpu thing because i used to do this and had no problems, but now i guess the game and browser updates require more ram?
thanks for any help.
Resurrectionist
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January 8th, 2014 11:00
If your memory is anywhere near 95%, your computer is using the page file to continue operating, therefore it's taking a longer time for the CPU to access the data. Because of this, you get the slow speeds.
RAM generally does not make your PC faster, it just allows it to do more things at once.
2 x 8GB DDR3 1333MHz is an easy upgrade.
ulnek
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January 8th, 2014 18:00
the only reason i considered it is because my computer originally came with 6gb (4 and 2) so they were not even to begin with. so just figuring i want more than 8gb, but i probably don't need 16 so if i can just replace the 2gb with 8, i can have 12 which would be better.
ulnek
4 Posts
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January 8th, 2014 18:00
i know 2x8gb is an easy upgrade, that was not my question. my question was if i can just replace that 2gb with an 8gb so i have 4gb and 8gb together.
Tesla1856
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January 8th, 2014 18:00
Memory is likely Dual Channel. Dual Channel mode is only possible when identical DIMMs are used in each pair of slots.
So, while it might work, it will likely be in Single-Channel mode which is pretty slow. Also, since this is so un-optimal, I doubt anyone knows the answer to your question or has ever tried it. It's just not done.
I suggest you read the manual to find out what the allowed ram configs are. For further help in this forum, verify exactly what machine you have.
ulnek
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January 8th, 2014 19:00
oh ok. so switching the 2gb to 4 so i have 8gb should be enough right? i just don't want to get a 4gb then still run into that problem with getting up to 95% usage. i'm trying to not spend too much if i don't have to.
Tesla1856
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January 8th, 2014 19:00