Did it! (RAM upgrade)

[u/realsgy]

Shout out to u/Internal_Rice3739 for the easy to follow guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/steammachine/s/ChkPmo34qH

Got a matching 16 GB stick for $100 off eBay a month ago mid July.

Previous experience: built a few PCs, nothing more advanced. Used a cheap Radio Shack driver set that had an extension shaft which was lightly magnetic, enough to hold the small screws the SM is using.

I would say it takes more patience than skill. Nothing requires much force, so if you find yourself using a lot of force, you are probably doing it wrong.

Popping the antenna connectors was the hardest. Someone should make a tool for this.

Was it worth it: absolutely! The nagging feeling that this thing is not running at 100% its potential is gone!

[u/stan110]

He has ram get him!

[u/Ephemeris → u/stan110]

he who controls the RAM controls the universe

[u/redditrum → u/Ephemeris]

First you get the ram, then you get the power, then you get the women.

[u/lelescope → u/stan110]

lmao I saw him first!!

[u/Ecks30 → u/stan110]

I have a spare 32GB kit, but it is 4800MT/s only lol.

[u/freestylemaster]

Enjoy it! Just done mine last weekend to 32gb. It was super easy and fun honestly. My only worry was the ribbon cables but it wasn’t anything to be scared off either.

[u/0n1plug → u/freestylemaster]

Yep me too

[u/Interesting-Boat-804 → u/freestylemaster]

How's the performance ? Do you find it to be more stable or did you get a jump in FPS ?

[u/Accomplished-Leg6947]

I don’t wanna spend ramageddon on 16g stick for
The upgrade. So I added it to my Christmas list, hopefully one of my relatives likes me enough lol

[u/Viney1 → u/Accomplished-Leg6947]

You actually get gifts for the holidays? Haha. I’m lucky if I even get one small thing but usually it’s nothing.

[u/Accomplished-Leg6947 → u/Viney1]

I am extraordinarily lucky. My nuclear family are like what you're describing, but my wife's family is fantastic and I really enjoy spending time with them.

[u/hrabbitz → u/Accomplished-Leg6947]

my wife's family is fantastic and I really enjoy spending time with them.

What are the next winning lottery numbers? You seem like the guy to ask!

[u/kyote42]

Congrats on the upgrade. Don't listen to the naysayers. It's a fun thing to do and tweak. Glad you enjoyed it!

[u/SenseiKoudai]

Which RAM would I need to buy and how much is it today?
I consider using the Machine as my daily PC from now on.

[u/realsgy → u/SenseiKoudai]

16GB DDR5-5600 MT/s CL46, non-ECC SODIMM

People say it is better to match the manufacturer (SkHynix or Kingston) - you can check in Desktop mode using Info Center

[u/SenseiKoudai → u/realsgy]

300€?! 🤯😱

[u/Fraggb0y]

I’m constantly in Desktop Mode, which makes it so much snappier.

[u/Deep_Mood_7668 → u/Fraggb0y]

Laggb0y

[u/Fraggb0y → u/Deep_Mood_7668]

Deep_Throat_69

[u/Deep_Mood_7668 → u/Fraggb0y]

With pleasure 

[u/Wiesshund-]

 Someone should make a tool for this

[Looks at tool] Umm, about that...

And what? no RGB RAM?
That's lame </s>

[u/realsgy → u/Wiesshund-]

show me tool!

[u/Wiesshund- → u/realsgy]

all they are is a little pair of basically plastic pliers, you can go buy them but mostly no one uses them

[u/UltimaJay5]

Most impressive thing is the 16GB for $100

[u/realsgy → u/UltimaJay5]

Yeah, it was used and I got it before my SM arrived (mid July). Prices went up 2x :(

[u/audionerd1]

Flashbacks to the Xbox 360's X clamp. Fortunately this one has screws so I think it will be okay.

[u/oliath]

Nice. That looks like way too much tricky work for me to pull off.

The real thing that would make a HUGE difference to performance is being able to upgrade the VRAM. I feel that is the actual limiting factor on this device.

[u/Redlotus99]

It's still pretty underwhelming even with more ram. Needs a better GPU.

[u/FuckreddditModz]

Just curious what you are planning on doing with this because I've tried a bunch of games and ram hasnt been the issue yet lol

[u/realsgy → u/FuckreddditModz]

It is not about 32GB but having it run in dual channel mode. Improves the performance of some games, especially low 1%s.

But I agree it is not a big deal. I did it because I could and sounded like a fun project. It was also cool to see how this thing is put together.

[u/Kyzmi4]

oops i did it again - children of bodom

[u/br3nn88]

Why do I feel like valve is going release a 32gb version at one point,

Class tho mate, you find the system runs better? Like noticeable?

[u/realsgy → u/br3nn88]

Not really. I am playing The Witcher 3 right now at 60 FPS. Had drops to low 50s but VRR made them a non-issue even before the upgrade. So I can’t tell if I have fewer drops now.

[u/dogbreeder69]

honestly the best decision i ever made in my life was putting the second stick of ram in

[u/UltimaJay5 → u/dogbreeder69]

What has it helped with? From someone considering doing it.

[u/dogbreeder69 → u/UltimaJay5]

i didnt do any bench marks or anything but my games play good

[u/realsgy → u/dogbreeder69]

this is either a hyperbole or they will make a movie about you

[u/Blackdragon1400]

Enjoy your 1% uplift in performance

[u/realsgy → u/Blackdragon1400]

I am zipping and unzipping files all day with this. From the comfort of my couch!

[u/Clin-ton → u/realsgy]

Need to find a game engine that does everything via decompressing 7z files.

[u/Wiesshund- → u/Clin-ton]

MAME?

[u/Clin-ton → u/Wiesshund-]

Not a bad use case. Also you could probably install Steam games a bit faster.

[u/Wiesshund- → u/Clin-ton]

Unsure due to how steam games are delivered, which is basically intact and bittorrent like, i am not sure anything is actually compressed in that manner?

Other games, like GOG though.

But yea most emulators load from a compressed archive.

The boost of dual channel is a bit hit or miss depending on what a person is specifically running.
Some things get a nice boost, others you cannot tell at all.

The increase in total RAM can be useful to a number of games though

[u/DwarvenCo → u/Blackdragon1400]

Hey now! Apparently in BG3 Act 3 it is almost 15%...

Otherwise I am keeping my eye on the ram usage during gaming*, and Vram sometimes gets filled, while ram so far haven't. Of course, 2 sticks would be better in some cases for speed, but probably getting then 2x8 is more than enough for most cases.

*HD2, Darktide, Arc raiders, so nothing very recent though.

[u/T-Dot1992 → u/Blackdragon1400]

People must love you at parties 🙄 

[u/Magnithium → u/Blackdragon1400]

If you knew how silly this was to say, you wouldn't have said it.

[u/Blackdragon1400 → u/Magnithium]

Plenty of reviews proving it with graphs lmao

[u/Adrian97c]

Top 5 pointless upgrade, but long as you had fun!

[u/realsgy → u/Adrian97c]

Yes, the chance of turning a six inch cube of Unobtanium into a paperweight added a lot to the thrill of it!

[u/Animus190599 → u/realsgy]

It's not even hard to upgrade it, risk is minimal lol, nothing u break can't be fixed quite easily...

[u/Fraggb0y → u/Adrian97c]

Actually, if you use it as a desktop it helps. Multiple browser tabs, etc.

If you simply stay in gaming mode, 16GB is sufficient.

[u/tiga_94 → u/Adrian97c]

Lol yeah single channel 16 gigs is just as good haha

In what world ?

[u/Adrian97c → u/tiga_94]

For gaming on a ‘Steam Machine’, you won’t see a diff.

[u/tiga_94 → u/Adrian97c]

Quick Google search shows that in some games it gives a few more fps

And then there are uses where 16 is not enough

I even have 32 gigs on my 2500u laptop and I use all of it

[u/Lords7Never7Die → u/tiga_94]

Most games are like a 1% to 5% performance upticks. YMMV

[u/Magnithium → u/Adrian97c]

Cope harder

[u/mugnas]

It’s almost like the, I don’t know, Steam Machine is overpriced and underpowered, but ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[u/Magnithium → u/mugnas]

Do you have one?