OK, I'm laughably the IT expert in the house which means when something needs turning off and on again the family throw it at me. I've been tasked with making a laptop run a bit smoother so child number two can use his 3d package and do "rendering" (whatever that is)
So, the computer is running a solid AMD Ryzen 7 current processor, the SSD is only 1/4 full but the 16gb or RAM is needing a tickle. I've got as far as identifying its DDR4 Sodimm ram in 2x8gb sticks. The laptop only has 2 sockets for RAM.
So my very simple questions are;
1) Can I upgrade just one stick to a 16gb one and run 24gb in total or do I need to match the sticks for size?
2) I'm assuming its better to buy branded RAM from a rep source?
3) is it "plug and play" to fit?
4) Oh, last question. Do you have to fill both sockets in the computer? ie can I run 1x32gb stick? If so any benefits/costs to doing that?
That's it for now I think.
Thanks.
Tim
I'd go with 2x 16GB as it can increase bandwidth. Will probably need that much with rendering. It will still be slow - rendering needs a powerful GPU as well as RAM. Daughter doing an Animation Masters and she has 32gb RAM and a RTX 3070 TI graphics card on a desktop.
Thanks :O)
He's just starting out so not even at GCSE level yet. There's a desk top for future use that can be pushed harder as and when child number 1 stops photo editing on it.
So it is probably the RAM but as fossy says it could also be the GPU.
Have you looked at the detailed processes view in task manager to confirm that the rendering software is actually using copious amounts of RAM? I would do that before deciding to make any hardware changes.
My daughter has a gaming laptop with a lower level mobile Nvidia GPU, but that's quite slow at the rendering. It's 16GB. I assume it's running out of memory to do it all, that was my daughter's issue.
RAM manufacturers usually have scanners on their websites that will analyze your machine and make recommendations on compatible upgrades. Those would be a good starting point.
OK, the GPU is a tiny 128gb thing. Will take a gander at Task Manager which might push me to spec the desktop instead as the laptop was never purchased to run 3d stuff.
It's always good to ask questions on here :O)
Thanks
GPU is usually a graphics chip in a laptop. or it's on (part of) the CPU. A desktop's GPU can also be part of the CPU, but you'll usually see a huge component attached to the motherboard with all sorts of fans and exhausts. These are much more powerful.
So, many normal laptops come with the GPU as part of the CPU, gaming ones usually have an additional processor/card in there to take off the processing load.
If you've got a slow/onboard GPU I doubt adding more RAM will make much difference to render speed. Most 3D packages are very GPU-dependent for rendering.
What software is he using? And what GPU? And is it just rendering that's the issue or is he getting viewport lag too?
Question 0 would be "how have you determined that the RAM 'needs a tickle'"?
The rest are largely "it depends." I'll give a fuller explanation after I've made tea unless someone beats me to it.
- No, you don't want to just increase the capacity of 1 stick, RAM likes to be in matched pairs (see below)
- No, you don't want to just populate 1 slot, 2 slots are needed for dual channel and thus more bandwidth
If you want to buy RAM do it ASAP, prices have rocketed and continue to rise. The RAM I bought 2 weeks ago has now doubled in price on large retailers sites, and are being scalped even more on ebay etc. This time it's AI to blame rather than crypto. which is the same for GPUs and increasingly for solid state drives as well.
If it needs a tickle then there's no point having 1 stick or mismatched pairs of sticks.
Get a 2x 16Gig matched pair. And make sure they have the highest speed the lappy supports. It might/probably supports 2x 32gig, but prolly not any more.
Go to crucial.com or kingston, and put the details in for the laptop and it will say what works.
Don't cheap out. I did, and then found out the reason Firefox/Brave was crashing all the time was cos the RAM was defective. I won't buy anything less than crucial or corsair.
Ok, I assumed that bigger ram made for a smoother faster experience. I will take a look at the task managed when he’s using it and see what’s maxed out. The laptop wasn’t bought for this purpose so upgrading the desktop might be a better idea long term.
I did put idiot in the title didn’t I :0)
Right, now that I've got some time, let's answer your questions.
1) Can I upgrade just one stick to a 16gb one and run 24gb in total or do I need to match the sticks for size?
2) I'm assuming its better to buy branded RAM from a rep source?
3) is it "plug and play" to fit?
4) Oh, last question. Do you have to fill both sockets in the computer? ie can I run 1x32gb stick? If so any benefits/costs to doing that?
Right, now I have a bit of time:
1) Almost certainly, yes, but it depends on the motherboard/chipset. See also, 5).
2) Yes.
3) Yes, electrically. Physically might be a different story. I've done some laptops where it's one screw, others where it's a full teardown and half a day's work.
4) No.
5) No, and yes you (almost certainly) can. For cost differentials you'll have to run the numbers, 1x32 may well be cheaper than 2x16. The system checker at crucial.com/uk will confirm what options you have. I wouldn't necessarily buy from Crucial as they aren't the cheapest, but the scanner is usually on point.
Several people have spoken about matched pairs and yes, there is a performance benefit to be had here but I'd argue that it's of negligible difference unless you're doing something which is absolutely caning the RAM (which is plausible depending on what "rendering" actually entails, that could mean anything). I would further argue that if his laptop is troubling the RAM to a point where dual channel becomes a serious factor then I'd sack the idea completely and swap to a desktop because the GPU is probably bleeding.
The downside to fitting pairs rather than single sticks is that should you later want to upgrade further then you'll have to throw away what's already installed rather than just adding a second module, though if you've got 32GB installed and need more then again a laptop probably isn't the solution here. IF you've no intention to upgrade past 32GB and IF the price difference is nominal then there's little compelling reason to not get a matched pair but I wouldn't be losing any sleep over it.
All that said...
Ok, I assumed that bigger ram made for a smoother faster experience. I will take a look at the task managed when he’s using it and see what’s maxed out.
You need more RAM when you don't have enough. Windows will use surplus RAM for performance boosts, but if your apps have everything they need and the OS has prefetched half the disk, adding more isn't going to make a blind bit of difference. Pouring a pint into a half pint glass is going to present problems, pouring it into a two pint glass isn't going to get you any more beer.
This is actually harder to check with confidence than it might first appear. High memory usage in isolation isn't necessarily indicative of a problem - it should be fairly high, RAM is there to be used. But if it's constantly maxed at 100% and the disk I/O is showing "thrashing its tits off" (technical term) then yes, more RAM is probably an excellent course of action.
Task Manager is an excellent start.
Might be cheaper to buy a new machine than upgrade the RAM with the way the prices are going.
Also Crucial are winding down their consumer business (which is the consumer arm of Micron).
You can thank Clippy 2.0 (AI)
Thanks again everyone. I’m thinking the desktop needs the attention now. Maybe a games style machine without the LED accoutrements. Will delve into Task manager this weekend.