I'm currently using 2 sticks of 8GB RAM (totaling 16GB) and I'm considering upgrading to 2 sticks of 16GB RAM (totaling 32GB). My original plan was to remove the old RAM and just use the new sticks for 32GB in total. However, I'm now thinking about keeping the old RAM and installing the new sticks, which would give me 48GB total. I've heard mixed opinions on whether using all four RAM slots is a good idea, so I'm curious about which option would be better. Is there any downside to having all four slots filled? Thanks for your insights!
2 Answers
If you don’t actually need the extra 48GB, it’s probably best to just stick with 32GB. It should be more than enough for most tasks and can help with compatibility issues down the line.
Using all four slots usually isn't a problem, unless one of the RAM kits is significantly slower. Just ensure they’re compatible in terms of speed. If both are DDR4, you should be fine. Mixing different speeds could slow down the faster RAM to match the slower one, though.
Is there a noticeable performance hit if the two sets are different speeds, even if both are DDR4?