Do ram need drivers: Does RAM Have Drivers? If Yes, Where Can I Update Them?

Does RAM Have Drivers? If Yes, Where Can I Update Them?

Home Blog Does RAM have drivers? If yes, where can I update them?

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No, RAM does not have any drivers. We think the term you are looking for is a RAM upgrade. Unlike applications on a desktop or laptop, RAM does not contain drivers, which means you can not update these ‘non-existent’ drivers.

However, you can directly upgrade your RAM.

In the specifics of this article, we shall understand everything about upgrading RAM, in case you are interested in the same.

Why should you upgrade my RAM?

The brain of your computer’s short-term memory is RAM, or random access memory. Your computer’s RAM serves as a temporary storage space for data that it will require right away or in the near future. Using this method, it doesn’t have to go through all of the data on your computer. To put it another way, computers store data in RAM so that it can be accessed quickly.

When it comes to improving your computer’s speed and performance, a memory upgrade is one option. The smoother and faster your computer performs, the more RAM it has. Your computer will start up faster, keep all of your open browser windows and apps running smoothly, have a higher FPS (frames per second) when gaming, and be more responsive in general.

What does upgrading RAM do?

A RAM upgrade provides the necessary resources to temporarily move data from a hard disc to a central processing unit (CPU). When compared to the speed of RAM, even the fastest solid-state discs (SSD) are sluggish by comparison. If you don’t have enough RAM for what you’re doing, your computer will either be excruciatingly slow or completely unusable.

The most common reason for increasing the amount of RAM in a computer is to: Make it run faster.

Streamline your web browsing experience.
Their PCs should be optimized for gaming
Prevent system failures when working with images or videos.
Recycle an old computer and give it a new lease on life.

Notice how all of the reasons given above are directly related to making your PC quicker and more powerful. That’s the main reason you’d want to increase your RAM.

Are there any risks?

A DIY RAM increase comes with its own set of risks. Aside from the danger of causing harm to your computer’s delicate parts when you open it up, there are many other reasons why you should not open your computer. If you have a manufacturer’s warranty, you may be voiding it as well.

To ensure that you know exactly what to do when it’s time to increase your RAM, read on to learn about the most crucial aspects to keep in mind.

Additionally, you can boost your computer’s performance even if you don’t want to upgrade the RAM. Keep your PC running at its best with AVG TuneUp’s built-in cleaning and optimization features.

How to upgrade RAM on a desktop PC?

With the necessary RAM installed, you’re prepared to do a desktop memory update. Here’s how to add more RAM to your desktop computer:

Shut down your computer and allow it to completely cool.
Ensure that all cords, cables, and accessories are unplugged.
Remove the case from your computer. Consult your PC’s owner’s handbook for detailed instructions. You’ll very certainly need to unscrew it, so keep track of which screws go where. They may not all be identical in terms of type and size.
To release static energy from your body, touch an unpainted metal surface on your computer. This will assist in preventing unintentional harm to your computer’s sensitive internal components.
Remove your present RAM modules gently. If your computer makes use of clips to secure the RAM modules, move them to the side. This should also elevate the RAM module, allowing for easier removal.
Insert your new RAM modules carefully by inserting the module’s edge with the gold connectors into the RAM slot and pulling it into position. Align the RAM module’s notch properly so that it slides completely into the slot. Only touch the borders and edges of your RAM modules – never the tops — and never the gold connectors!
Replace the case on your computer.
Reconnect all cords and connectors.

How can I upgrade my laptop’s RAM?

Is it possible to increase the RAM on a laptop? Yes, as long as you have not exceeded your system’s maximum RAM capacity. The same factors that determine how much RAM your desktop computer can handle also affect how much RAM your laptop can handle.
Additionally, some laptops may be ineligible for RAM upgrades entirely. Occasionally, RAM modules are soldered directly to the motherboard, rendering them unremovable. Consult the manufacturer’s website to determine whether your laptop’s RAM is changeable.
Assuming your laptop is capable of adding additional RAM, the procedure is as follows:
Turn off your laptop, close it, and allow it to cool.
Ensure that all cords, cables, and accessories are unplugged.
It should now be face-down on your work surface.
Remove the bottom casing or the piece of the shell that covers your RAM. The specifications here will vary according to the model of laptop you own. If you need to disassemble the casing, keep track of which screws go into which holes, as screw sizes vary.
To discharge static energy from your body, touch an unpainted metal surface on your laptop. This helps safeguard the sensitive interior components of your laptop.
Gently pry apart the clips that secure your current RAM modules. Each RAM module should be angled when it pops up and out. After that, you can remove it from the RAM slot.
Take hold of your fresh RAM modules by their edges or corners. Avoid touching the gold connections or any components that are affixed to the module’s top!
Align the notch on the new RAM module with the RAM slot on the motherboard, and then install it. When it’s all the way down, push it all the way in.
Make sure the RAM module is flat within your laptop by pressing down on it firmly. The clips should return to their original positions.
After you’ve reinstalled the laptop’s cover and turned it over, reconnect all of the cables and cords.

When Do You Need to Update Your Drivers on your PC?

Drivers are software programmes that enable Windows and other software programmes to communicate with hardware devices. In order to use all the functions of your video card, you’ll need a driver installed on your computer. Drivers contain updates and service packs to address bugs and add new functionality, just like computer applications.

Consider updating the drivers if you have an issue with a device. The latest version of your computer’s drivers isn’t a miraculous speed enhancer that eliminates the need to update a slow PC.

Upgrading a driver usually only results in minor performance improvements and bug fixes that apply to a narrow range of use cases and hardware configurations. For the most part, you can avoid driver updates if your PC is in good working order and you don’t want to risk destroying anything.

Of course, there’s an important exception to this rule. Make sure your video card drivers are updated using the manufacturer’s drivers, as well as your chipset, networking, and sound card drivers, if you’re attempting to squeeze every last ounce of performance out of your system. If you’re using a video card with a built-in Windows driver, switching to official NVidia or ATI/AMD drivers can make a tremendous difference in performance.

The best time to switch drivers if you have an AMD/ATI or NVidia video card is while you’re using the built-in Windows drivers. Otherwise, the step can be skipped by the majority of people.

What is FCLK Frequency?
What Is D-Ram Frequency? and How to Change It?

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What to Do After Upgrading RAM?

RAM is perhaps one component that we have all thought about upgrading as the first line in boosting the performance of our PC. As such those who are new often wonder, what to do after upgrading RAM? Do you have to install drivers, update your PC etc?

Fortunately though, once you have installed a new RAM module into your PC, then there is generally nothing more that you need to do.

RAM sticks are plug and play components. So long as you have the RAM module type that is compatible with your motherboard you do not need to worry about anything else.

You do not need to install drivers or update your operating system in order to detect or run the RAM modules.

However, for optimal performance, there are a few checks that you can make and I will talk in detail about those below.

So What to Do After Upgrading RAM?

Again, RAM modules are plug and play and you generally do not need to worry about making them.

However, I recommend performing the following checks in order to make sure the newly installed RAM is working optimally:

Check if RAM is detected in the first place
Enable XMP (If supported by the motherboard and RAM)
Check if RAM is working in Dual Channel mode
Check the Frequency of Upgraded RAM
Benchmark Your RAM

1. Check if RAM is Detected

So this is obviously the most obvious check that you must perform after upgrading RAM.

You have to make sure that upgraded RAM has been detected by your PC.

Check Using About This PC

A very simple way is to go to the “Properties” or the “About This PC” utility in Windows.

On Windows 10 Right Click on “This PC”
Select Properties
This should open a new Window
Look for the field labelled as “Installed RAM”
Check if the upgraded RAM has been added to total

Check for the total amount of RAM in your PC

Alternatively, you can also type “About This PC” in the Windows Search bar.

Check Using Command Prompt

Another neat way to check not just the total amount of RAM in your PC but also the amount of RAM installed in EACH slot is using Command Prompt.

Head over to Windows Search function
Type Command Prompt
Open the application

Command Prompt search

With the Command Prompt open, type in the following code

wmic MemoryChip get DeviceLocator, Manufacturer, PartNumber, capacity

Checking RAM Detail in Command Prompt

Note that the capacity is written in BITS. So 8589934592 equals 8 GB of RAM.

As such, when you have upgraded your RAM, it can be worthwhile to check if it has actually been detected in its respective slot.

2. Enable XMP (if Supported)

If your motherboard and your RAM modules support the Intel XMP or Intel Extreme Memory Profiles then make sure you enable them through the BIOS.

XMP profiles are basically settings that boost the performance of the RAM modules. These are installed by the manufacturers themselves onto a small chip located on the RAM sticks.

Chip where the XMP profiles are saved.

These profiles are added onto RAM sticks if RAM sticks are intended to be operated at higher than their base frequency.

By default both the motherboard and the RAM modules DO NOT have the XMP mode enabled.

You have to enable the XMP profile mode manually through BIOS.

Source: MSI

It is not necessary for all RAM modules to have the XMP profile or for all the motherboards to support XMP. Therefore, you must check the specs of your RAM and your motherboard to check if XMP is supported.

3. Check if RAM is in Dual Channel Mode

Another important aspect to make sure, if you have two or more RAM modules, is that it is working in Dual Channel mode.

Dual Channel is a technology that doubles the amount of buses that the CPU can use to access the RAM. In doing so it allows for a faster transfer of data between the CPU and the memory.

In order for Dual Channel to work, you need to:

Have TWO RAM sticks
Place the RAM sticks in the correct slots.

Memory Configuration for ROG Crosshair VII Hero. Source: ASUS

If you have four memory slots on your motherboard and two RAM sticks, then generally you have to put the RAM stick in the second and the fourth slot to enable dual channel.

Read in Detail Here: Which RAM Slot to Use?

Checking if Dual Channel Mode is Enable in CPU-Z

So to check if your memory is working in dual channel or not you can use a simple and free third party utility called CPU-Z.

Download and Install CPU-Z
Run the Utility
Head over to the Memory tab
Look for the field labelled as Channel #

Checking if RAM is in Dual Channel or not in CPU-Z

Again, if you only have a single RAM stick, then you will not see dual channel mode.

However, if you have added an additional RAM stick, then it is worth it to leverage the Dual Channel technology.

According to GamersNexus.net, leveraging Dual Channel can give you a sweet performance boost of upto 30%.

Single and Dual Channel Memory Performance Benchmark. Source: GamersNexus.net

Also Read: How to Check if RAM is Dual Chanel?

4. Check the Frequency of the RAM

Another important parameter to check is whether your upgraded RAM is working at the rated frequency or not.

Besides the rated frequency, if you have enable XMP then it is also important to make sure that the RAM is working at your desired XMP frequency.

To check the frequency, you can again use CPU-Z.

Download and Install CPU-Z
Run the Utility
Head over to the Memory Tab
Look for the field DRAM frequency
If your RAM is operating in dual channel, then the actual frequency is double what it shows in the DRAM frequency field.

For instance, I have two 8 GB DDR-2400 sticks installed in my PC. Here is what it shows in CPU-Z:

Checking if RAM frequency is correct in CPU-Z

Here you can see that it reads 1196. 8 MHz. Since the RAM is in Dual Channel mode, if I double it, I get 2393.6 MHz which is very close to 2400 MHz and within the margin of error.

Hence, for me the RAM frequency checks out.

Often when you install new RAM modules there can be frequency mismatch.

For instance, if you have a DDR4-2400 MHz stick originally installed in your PC and then you upgrade your total RAM with an additional DDR4-3000 MHz RAM module, then you have created a frequency mismatch.

This is not an issue and your PC will work just fine. However, the DDR4-3000 MHz RAM will be clocked down to 2400 MHz frequency to match the weaker RAM already installed. As such, the full potential of the more expensive DDR4-3000 MHz stick would go to waste.

5. Benchmark Your RAM

Benchmarking your installed RAM is a bit more advanced for average users, but this can give you a definitive details regarding how well your RAM is performing.

There are various RAM benchmarking utilities out there. I recommend using the Maxxmem2 for its simplicity or the UserBenhcmark.

Maxxmem2 is fairly simply to use.

Download the benchmark
Run utility
Press the “Start Bench” button
Wait for the benchmark test to complete
Check out the results

MaxxMem2 RAM Test

These tools test the RAM read, write and latency of your RAM.

Benchmarking is particularly great for enthusiasts and overclockers who wish to tweak the settings of their RAM modules.

Benchmarking can tell you:

The before and after performance results with XMP disable and enabled.
How your RAM modules compares to the rest of RAM modules with similar specs out there.
Help you detect issues with performance.

Other popular benchmarks for testing RAM performance include AIDA64 and Geekbench.

Final Words

Here I talked comprehensively about what to do after upgrading RAM, however, you generally do not have to worry much at all.

If you have made sure that the RAM is compatible with your system and you have upgraded the RAM with the corrects specs, then you should face no issues at all.

However, for verification and to make certain that the RAM is working properly, you can perform the checks mentioned above.

Do I need a driver for RAM?

Hello

Do you need a driver for RAM? No, you don’t need to install a driver for RAM, never (regardless of the type of memory).

Understanding

RAM drivers DO NOT need to be installed. At all. No one ever puts drivers on the RAM. All drivers for devices such as RAM, processor, network card, bluetooth or Wi-Fi module are already in the operating system itself in 99% of cases.

The only thing is that you can install drivers from the manufacturer for bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and for only one reason — they come with proprietary software for configuring / controlling the operation of the device.

If you plan to replace the RAM or install an additional bar or two — just install it and that’s it, no drivers are needed, right after installing the BIOS it will already start to see the new memory. Another thing is that the strips must correspond to the type of memory (for example, DDR2, DDR3, DDR4), frequency, and it is desirable that they be from the same manufacturer. It is also worth considering that if you set a new bar, the frequency of which is lower than those that are already set, then all the memory will work at this low frequency. In other words, if you have 1600 MHz sticks, and you put another one at 1066 MHz, then all the memory will eventually run at 1066 MHz.

The total amount of RAM is not visible

This is another question that does not concern the driver for the RAM. It’s not about that.

The main reasons why the entire amount of RAM is invisible:

Check that the bars are correctly installed. Please note that there may be special mechanical latches on the motherboard.
Try cleaning the contacts with an eraser or cloth, but not damp. Visually check that they are intact and that they are not dirty.
If there was overclocking of the RAM, reset it.
Swap the planks.
Test each bar with TestMem5.
Rarely, but it happens that the brackets are incompatible with the motherboard. But at the same time, they can work separately. There’s nothing you can do about it — you need to change the wrong memory. If possible, you should take proven memory modules that are listed in the QVL-list of the motherboard (can be found on the website of the motherboard manufacturer).
Perhaps you have a 32-bit operating system, it supports a maximum of 4 gigabytes of RAM. And it can’t be fixed. You need to install a 64-bit OS, it supports 64 gigs and more. However, there is a certain driver on the Internet, under Windows XP, which allowed 32-bit XP to see 4 gigs or more of RAM. Perhaps there is such a driver for modern operating systems, but remember that the stability and reliability of such a driver is in question. Officially, 32-bit operating systems cannot see more than 4 gigabytes, this limitation is not taken from the ceiling.
It is also worth remembering that part of the installed memory is reserved for the needs of the integrated graphics core in the processor. How much you need to reserve — the system determines itself, but in theory it can take up to 2 gigs of RAM. How much to reserve maximum — this can be configured in the BIOS (personally, I have never backed up 2 GB, a maximum of 250 MB, you can see it in the task manager).
Rarely, but sometimes all the memory is not seen due to the old BIOS version or chipset drivers.
There is an option in the BIOS that may be the reason why the entire amount of RAM is not visible. Variants of the name of this feature: Memory Remap Feature, DRAM Over 4G Remapping, H/W DRAM Over 4GB Remapping, H/W Memory Hole, Hardware Memory Hole, Memory Remapping, Memory Hole Remapping. If you find it, great, you need to set the Enable value in the function.
Also check the following settings: hold Win + R > paste msconfig, click OK > the System Configuration window will appear > activate the Boot tab > click Advanced options > check that the box next to Maximum memory is unchecked.

Good luck and good, see you soon friends

To home!

01/28/2022

Ctrl+C Ctrl+V — what does it mean? (control+c control+v)
Grizzly folder — what is it?
Mb3install — what folder?
PORT. IN on the music center — what is it?
Windows10UpgraderApp — what is it?
scoped_dir — what is this folder?
Windows10Upgrade — can it be uninstalled?
im_temp — what folder?

How to properly install RAM in a computer and laptop?

How much memory do you need?

Without going into details, we can say that in 2021, after the release of the new generation of consoles, the minimum amount of memory in a gaming PC has increased from the recommended 8 Gb to a minimum of 16 Gb. To understand the reason for such a dramatic increase in gaming requirements, you need to understand how games are developed.

We do not take into account lamp toys for the soul, gaming computers are bought for AAA projects. And they are made to make money. And the modern target audience, oddly enough, is the console players: PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, as well as their direct competitors Xbox One and S/X.

It would seem that everyone has a computer, the audience cannot be wider. But a computer is different for a computer, gaming PCs are quite expensive, the simplest assembly of a gaming PC costs around $ 1500, if you really save on everything, then $ 1000-1200. And you still need to buy a monitor, as well as all the peripherals like a mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc. At the same time, you will get a computer that will run games in FullHD at maximum graphics settings, but without RTX and DLSS 2.0 — this is the lot of top solutions.

The prefix is much cheaper today. At the same time, you get the top-end progressive hardware that pulls 4K resolution. And a computer that will run 4K games at maximum settings will cost the user 3-4 thousand dollars. Therefore, whatever one may say, games in the near future will be developed for consoles. For this reason, computer owners need to adapt to the trends of game development. And they are as follows — top consoles have 16 Gb of memory in stock, which means that any gaming PC should have no less.

How much RAM do top games need

Here is a list of the most demanding AAA games of recent years with cool graphics. To better understand how much memory you need, compare the consumption of the reference RAM eaters. The results are shown for 4K, the graphics settings are maximum, where possible — Vulkan and RTX are included.

	Need RAM if there is not enough video card memory	Need RAM if video memory is enough
Red Dead Redemption 2	10 Gb	8.4 Gb
Metro Exodus: Sam’s Story	8.2 Gb	6.5 Gb
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	11.7 Gb	8 Gb
CoD MW 2 Remastered	9. 9 Gb	9.5 Gb
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order	6.9 Gb	6.6 Gb
Borderlands 3	10.7 Gb	8 Gb
Detroit Become Human	9.7 Gb	8 Gb
Ghost Recon Breakpoint	15.3 Gb	8.5 Gb
Need for Speed Heat	10 Gb	7.4 Gb
Total War THREE KINGDOMS	8.7 Gb	6.7 Gb
Microsoft Flight Simulator	14 Gb	10.9 Gb
Watch Dogs Legion	13.2 Gb	9.1-10 Gb
Cyberpunk 2077	13.3 Gb	8.1 Gb
HITMAN 3	9.7 Gb	7.4 Gb
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla	13.3 Gb	9.6 Gb
Anno 1800	11 Gb	10.3 Gb
Aquanox Deep Descent	10. 4 Gb	8 Gb
Star Citizen	15.9 Gb	14.6 Gb

As you can see, the computer uses more RAM when it lacks the capabilities of the video card. For example, the same Watch Dogs Legion consumes 14.5 Gb only if the system has an RTX 2060 installed, which has a reserve of 6 Gb of video memory, and if the test is carried out on an RTX 2080 Ti with 11 GB, then the consumption drops sharply to 9 GB.

But even with a lack of video memory, games fit perfectly in 16 Gb of RAM, so the new standard can be seen in action today. If you are counting on a 2K or FullHD build, then the consumption of RAM by games at such resolutions is only 3-5% lower than at 4K. Monitor resolution is not the parameter that greatly affects the amount of RAM. It rather affects the number of objects that fall into the frame when passing games, and the difference in the number of objects is only 3-5%.

How much memory do you need for video editing and streaming

When it comes to gaming computers, blogging should not be overlooked. For video processing in 4K, the optimal amount of memory is 32 Gb, in extreme cases, you can use 16 Gb, but comfort is clearly lower, all background processes of the application will have to be closed.

Support for video streaming (streaming) does not require any special amount of memory, it is usually performed by the hardware of the video card, this approach is implemented in the latest lines of NVIDIA and ATI Radeon. So for streaming in 2021, you need at least 16 Gb, better — 32 Gb.

Frequency and timings

The very concept of RAM (Random Access Memory) means that it is memory with the ability to access any block at the moment when it is needed. Information in RAM is stored only while voltage is applied to it, as soon as you turn off the computer, it immediately disappears. That is why it takes time for the computer to turn off, it must store the necessary data in long-term memory. This technology allows you to write and read data very quickly.

Frequency is the number of cycles, that is, the number of valid accesses per second to a specific memory cell, and hence the rewriting cycles. 2800 MHz equals 2.8 billion cycles per second. It is clear that the more such cycles, the faster the memory, but there is one «but» — timings.

Memory timing or CAS timings is the delay with which a cell responds to a request, they are usually written as four digits with a hyphen between them. The higher the timing, the longer the cell responds to a specific request. With an increase in frequency, timings also increase, so with poor-quality overclocking, we gain nothing, the frequency becomes higher, and the delay is longer.

The principle behind the choice of RAM is why the brand of the RAM decides so much more than the same label on the motherboard or graphics card. This is if it’s simple. And if you go deeper, then the speed of rewriting depends on the balance between three indicators — voltage, frequency and timings. An over-frequency with corrupted timings will not give any increase in power.

You can deal with timings, try to overclock the non-overclockable, choosing the values of delays and voltage, or you can trust the brand. At the moment, the market has been captured by HyperX, a division of Kingston Technology, which focuses its products on gamers. Among the worthy competitors are Corsair, G. Skill, Samsung, but so far they are behind.

HyperX is represented on the market by three lines of RAM:

Fury — a standard line of memory with and without heatsinks, depending on the model. Supports XPM technology, fully compatible with the latest Ryzen series and the new 11th Gen Intel i5, i7 and i9 models.
Predator is a specialized gaming memory with top frequencies up to 4600 MHz, it is this memory that is used in almost all HYPERPC computers. At such high frequencies, the timings are kept at a fairly low level, CL15 — CL19. Of course, during operation and overclocking, they can change, but there are boards with already high frequencies and the same timings “from the factory”. If you choose the standard frequency already for your processor with the motherboard, then you can achieve good results.
Impact is a compact memory for laptops and mini-computers. It doesn’t feature any heat sinks, but it also supports XPM and is compatible with the latest processors from both manufacturers.

What is XPM 9 technology0077

XPM technology allows you not to go into BIOS settings at all after installing memory sticks. Whatever the performance of the dice initially, they will adjust their frequency to the maximum possible, based on data from the same BIOS, which contains the upper permissible memory frequency threshold on the processor and motherboard.

Today it seems commonplace, you will not surprise anyone with the Plug-and-Play principle, but without this technology you would have to go into the BIOS and adjust the frequencies, and then select the necessary voltage and timings for stable memory operation. And after several hours of tweaking the settings, you could log into the system, start the game, the boards would warm up a bit and give a blue screen of death (BSOD), since everything is not configured correctly. The agony of choosing the right configuration for your memory sticks is not something you want to do for the next few days after buying a new memory.

Cooling

Even 3-4 years ago it could be said that any heatsink on a memory bar is just a decoration, it doesn’t need cooling. Now, when everyone is actively using DDR4 at high frequencies, it becomes clear that overheating of chips can be critical at high loads. Recall that the processor has a critical overheating temperature in the region of 92-100 ° C, for video cards the same temperature range is critical. Memory does not withstand more than 70 ° C.

The plastic case of the chips, unlike the processor and video card, does not provide proper heat dissipation inside. Overheating is not a problem in games, since games usually do not drive gigabytes of data through memory for a long time. But if you started the render, then your memory will have to sweat.

Rendering tests your computer every time. Data is downloaded and uploaded in gigabytes, especially if the processor or video card is powerful. Although a lot depends on what you are doing this same render on — on the GPU or on the CPU. If you use the GPU for rendering, you can breathe a sigh of relief — this process uses video memory, which is several times faster than regular RAM.

Aesthetics

A beautiful large case with a glass cover and gaming hardware with blinking lights make your computer a real beauty. It may not be the kind of thing that anyone will see (or see if you’re a streamer), but you’ll be pleased every time you approach it with the feeling that everything is perfect in it. The illumination of the RAM complements the illumination of other modules. Infrared Sync technology will help you synchronize memory LEDs with other LEDs on the motherboard, case, etc.

Large aluminum radiators, despite their usefulness in cooling, in this case, perform a mostly decorative function. An important point — the operating board is often located close to the processor. Too high RAM heatsinks can prevent you from installing large dual-cooler air-cooling heatsinks on the processor. Try on and check the dimensions of the components.

Not all scarves have independent RGB backlighting. To reduce the cost of their product, manufacturers sometimes install diodes of one or more colors and use LED modules without a driver, that is, not controlled. If you’re lucky, they will be dimmable. Such boards can be used, but remember that you cannot change the color of the backlight, make sure it matches the style of other modules in the system.

HyperX’s Infrared Sync Technology

It allows you to synchronize the glow of the LED backlight without connecting extra wires. RGB backlit plates have all independent diodes, and they have a variety of backlight modes — from classic single-color to mind-blowing effects. LEDs and the backlight itself are on powerful aluminum radiators, which provide efficient heat dissipation.

Memory channels and version

Memory version — DDR3 or DDR4 — partly related to frequency. DDR3 supports frequencies up to 2133 MHz, and DDR4 up to 3200 MHz and even up to 4600 MHz, but only in theory — there is still no equipment that would support such a frequency. So far, modern desktop solutions have hit the 3200 MHz border, which is generally not bad.

Now we need to mention the form factor and compatibility. DDR3 and DDR4 are incompatible, you can’t even physically insert someone else’s board into the slot. It provides «fool protection», technological jumper will not let you confuse the board. Structurally, they differ only in the jumper and the number of pins, for DDR3 — 240 Pin, for DDR4 288 Pin.

It’s also worth mentioning that the motherboard usually supports only one type of memory, just like the processor. And unless you have an antediluvian CPU model, then you are most likely using DDR4 right now.

As far as channels are concerned, most processors work with memory in dual channel mode. That is, there are two channels, two buses, through which the processor exchanges data with RAM. If you put all the dice on one channel, you will lose performance, since the access speed will be exactly two times lower than if you spread the memory dice over different channels.

Therefore, it is better to use planks with a smaller volume, but in a larger quantity. The only exception to this rule is the upgrade stock. If you now want to put 16Gb in order to expand the volume in the future, then it is better to buy 2x8Gb than 4x4Gb.

Slots

Usually the motherboard has 4 slots, there are exceptions, but rarely, a gaming computer simply does not need so much RAM. Slots are marked with their color depending on the channel. So you can easily recognize the desired channel number in them.

Top-level processors have 4 memory channels, and on such motherboards 8 slots for RAM are already installed. These processors include the Ryzen Threadripper on socket xTR4 and the latest Intel X-series on socket 2066. Using more memory on more channels is the ability to install a lot of RAM and make it run fast.

There are fewer memory slots in laptops, in budget models there is even one, but most often manufacturers try to install two memory slots, laying the possibility for an upgrade in the future. If you have one slot in a laptop, then you can only replace the already installed memory bar with a more capacious one, if there are two slots, you can deliver the corresponding bar.

The «corresponding» bar is the one that matches the version, frequency and preferably the manufacturer to the one that already stands. Notebook RAM sticks are smaller than desktop RAM sticks and have 204 Pins for DDR3 and 260 Pins for DDR4. Be sure to have the marking SODIMM. There are also two types of slats — standard and low-power, they have the prefix «L» at the end.

You can install a low-voltage bar in any laptop, theoretically they are compatible with any equipment, as long as the version matches. But just in case, check the compatibility on the website of the manufacturer of the memory bar or the laptop itself. In extreme cases, call the service center and check this information with them.

Replacing RAM on a laptop

To replace memory bars on a laptop or add another module to a free slot, you need to unscrew the quick access cover from the bottom of the laptop, usually it is held on by one or a pair of screws.