I'm planning to upgrade my system to 64GB of memory. I'm considering GIGASTONE because its 16GB sticks are significantly cheaper than most alternatives. My current memory runs at 2400 MT/s, and I'd also like to improve the speed. Is GIGASTONE RAM generally reliable, and would buying two additional sticks be a sensible way to reach 64GB, or would it be better to replace my current kit with a matched set?
4 Answers
If you have a choice, a matched 2x32GB kit is usually preferable to four 16GB sticks. Four modules place more electrical load on the memory controller and can reduce stability or limit the maximum speed. Two larger sticks also leave more room for a future upgrade. Four sticks can still work, but compatibility depends heavily on the motherboard and processor.
The main advantage of established brands is often the warranty and customer support rather than a completely different type of memory chip. GIGASTONE’s shorter warranty may be acceptable if the price difference is large, but make sure saving money is worth the additional support risk. Used memory can also be inexpensive, though testing it thoroughly after purchase is important.
Be careful about adding faster memory to your existing kit. All of the installed sticks normally run at the speed of the slowest module, so adding 3200 MT/s memory to 2400 MT/s memory will usually leave everything at 2400 MT/s. Mixing kits can also make it harder to run the rated speed reliably, even if the capacity and specifications appear identical.
GIGASTONE can be a reasonable budget option, since the actual memory chips generally come from a small group of manufacturers such as Samsung, SK hynix, or Micron. The bigger question is quality control and warranty support. A cheaper kit may be fine, but check the return policy and make sure the advertised specifications are supported by your motherboard.
That makes sense. I was hoping the extra sticks would let me increase the speed, but I’ll check whether my motherboard and CPU can actually support the faster setting.