Trying to max out a pc I inherited to give to another family member but having problems trying to confirm what memory I should purchase and trying to work my way through it but just need some clarifications or maybe I’m missing something. (trying to make this purchase and “finish” this pc to it’s max capabilities before prices start to spike)
The pc in question is the HP 280 G3 Microtower. Originally I got the tag FX-ISL-4 off of the MoBo but couldn’t find specs so with CPU-X it pulled up a HP 8350 (1) MoBo that I could get specs from (am I missing the 8350 on the board or is cpu-x style programs the only way to get the info?). H110 intel chipset LPC/eSPI controller.
Has an Intel Core i3-7100 (2) with integrated Intel Mesa HD Graphics 630.
Currently it’s running 2 - 4GB ddr4-2400Mhz. This all started with trying to figure out the right CAS latency to get as a site listed different ones and I wanted to make sure the more-expensive/low-latency one would even be worth it or would be reduced and ineffective to get the better one. All of the sites also suggest a 32GB kit with 2 - 16GB ddr4-2400/2666/3200 (newegg,kingston,crucial) with the CAS Latency all over the place (I know it’s a formula, gonna have to go back and refresh my mind on that I think).
When I ran into the Mobo datasheet (1) it states “Supports up to PC4-21300 (DDR4 2666), Supports 4 GB and 8 GB DDR4 UDIMMs” (making only 16gb total possible). The cpu (2) says ddr4 with “Rated Speed: 2400 MT/s” making all of the other ram recommendations overpowered.
I know from a previous Mac Book pro upgrade the manufacturer specified only 8gb but you could actually install 16gb with updates and changes. I can’t find any documentation or articles but the memory sites are very adamant I can install 32GB worth on the HP and I’m very tempted to pull the trigger on that with the lowest CL I can find.
Any suggestions or steps I’m doing wrong? Really want to be confident with identifying my parts, understanding the specs and interactions, and being able to be confident that the parts are compatible. I have a bunch of others I’ve been staring at to work on similarly but I always hesitate, helps when it’s not going to be your computer to actually do the thing.
You are overthinking this way too much. But there is also practical things you should consider before getting too deep on the spec sheets.
How much RAM do you realistically need? If it is just a regular PC for browsing, multimedia and office tasks, then you don’t need much. If you don’t know how much memory you need, you probably don’t need more than 16GB. So get a 2x8 kit, to use both channels.
The higher you go in capacity the harder it is on the memory controller. Dual rank (not channel) DIMMs (the higher capacity ones) won’t run at the same speeds as a single rank kit for example.
The MOBO QVLs aren’t exhaustive, it’s only the list of parts they have verified. In case of memory, they tend to be conservative and also subject to BIOS revisions, so check those too. (Although, this is a very locked down CPU, so you can’t go above its spec anyway.)
Similarly for the CPU support, HP only lists the ones that they sell, but other chips with the same socket and architecture will 99% work (assuming you stay within the 65W power envelope). If you want to be absolutely sure (as the could always BIOS lock different CPUs theoretically), stick to the ones they list.
If you just want a project PC to tinker with, you can pick up bare bones X99 systems on aliexpress with Xeon E5 2650 V4 CPUs, 16GB RAM for dirt cheap, like 60 euros.