# Motherboard question



## gokorahn (Jan 17, 2012)

This is going to be a rather stupid question, but I'm new at building computers. Well, I am building myself a budget pc, and the motherboard says it can only support 8GB of RAM, which is more than enough for me, but it has four slots for RAM sticks. Now, here is the stupid question, can I get 16GB out of it if I used four, 4GB RAM sticks?

Here is the motherboard too: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157204


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## ArielMT (Jan 18, 2012)

No.  According to the motherboard manual, the four memory slots are actually two DDR2 and two DDR3 slots, and the motherboard supports only one or the other.  You cannot use all four slots at the same time.

Source: ASRock N68C-S UCC motherboard manual, pages 6, 8, 9, 11, and 16, downloaded from http://www.asrock.com/MB/manual.asp?Model=N68C-S UCC


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## Lobar (Jan 18, 2012)

ArielMT said:


> No.  According to the motherboard manual, the four memory slots are actually two DDR2 and two DDR3 slots, and the motherboard supports only one or the other.  You cannot use all four slots at the same time.
> 
> Source: ASRock N68C-S UCC motherboard manual, pages 6, 8, 9, 11, and 16, downloaded from http://www.asrock.com/MB/manual.asp?Model=N68C-S UCC



Whoa, that's a weird fuckin' board, never seen two memory standards on the same board before.  What a waste of space.

Still, OP, no budget build is probably ever gonna need 16GB of RAM.  Go for a decent quality board and processor first and just get one stick of ordinary DDR3 RAM to start, no flashy spiky heat spreaders.  That will maximize the machine's life as you're able to afford more ram and a decent GPU.  If it's not out of your range, everyone's building with an i5-2500K CPU, otherwise this chip is probably your best bet (make sure to get a heat sink!) and I'd go with this board instead.


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## shteev (Jan 18, 2012)

Also, if you're going to use DDR3 you have to use an AM3 processor.


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## gokorahn (Jan 18, 2012)

I already have my other parts picked out and ordered >////>

Well, I think i'll link them, and get opinions on it, though I have a feeling I should have asked you all before ordering them

CPU
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0056D5AMY/ref=oh_o01_s02_i03_details

PSU:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W2T2UQ/ref=oh_o01_s02_i02_details

RAM:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QBUL1C/ref=oh_o01_s02_i01_details

GPU:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005KSAXLI/ref=oh_o01_s01_i00_details

Case:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YVJJ5Y/ref=oh_o02_s00_i00_details

Thank you all for the help, especially for answering my 1st question.

Edit: I have a DVD Drive and HDD, but figured I didn't need to link them


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## shteev (Jan 18, 2012)

Eh, I recommend not getting a fanless GPU setup, it may overheat.


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## gokorahn (Jan 18, 2012)

>.< damn it

I wish Newegg would have just taken my sisters credit card, cause I had one with a fan picked out on there, and I thought this was the exact same one. Guess I'll have to return it. Thank you for pointing out my mistake


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## AshleyAshes (Jan 18, 2012)

gokorahn said:


> I already have my other parts picked out and ordered >////>
> 
> Well, I think i'll link them, and get opinions on it, though I have a feeling I should have asked you all before ordering them
> 
> ...



If you're getting an AM3 processor, why get that mobo that can take DDR3?  Get a cheap one that takes only DDR3, you can get 8GB of DDR3 ram for under $40 easily right now.  DDR2 on the other hand is kinda expensive.



shteev said:


> Eh, I recommend not getting a fanless GPU setup, it may overheat.



No, a fanless GPU is NOT going to overheat.  The companies make sure of that.  However, a fanless GPU will be fairly underpowered for the sake of keeping it from overheating, so it's likely not a good buy just in the 'bang for your buck' catagory.


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## Lobar (Jan 18, 2012)

Since you picked out Vengeance RAM make sure to read the motherboard reviews to make sure the RAM slots aren't so close to the processor socket that your heat sink will collide with the RAM's heat spreaders.  That's most likely to be a problem on these older AM3/AM2+/AM2 boards.  Go with Asus, Gigabyte or MSI as well to make sure you get a sturdy, well-made board that has solid capacitors that won't fall off and such.

edit: A quality board will help you take your overclock a little higher too, since you got a chip with an unlocked multiplier.  It's also the most difficult thing to upgrade later (usually it means a whole new system) so make sure you get the right board now.


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## ArielMT (Jan 18, 2012)

Lobar said:


> Whoa, that's a weird fuckin' board, never seen two memory standards on the same board before.  What a waste of space.



I have, but most often on underpowered boards that didn't brand themselves as budget boards.


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## gokorahn (Jan 18, 2012)

Well, I already ordered everything, so unless I send it back and get the better option, I am kinda stuck with what I got. Should I send back that gpu, and get the one I found on newegg that I was unable to buy due to it not liking my credit card, and try the one that works?


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## Lobar (Jan 18, 2012)

That GPU's not entirely useless, any discrete GPU is better than an integrated solution, it'll handle Source games and some other older stuff just fine.  Still, I'd recommend returning it for a full refund if you can and getting at least an HD 6750.


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## gokorahn (Jan 18, 2012)

I'm trying to keep in cheap, but that one isn't too much more, but will it be compatible with all my other parts? including the strange motherboard?


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## Lobar (Jan 18, 2012)

I've never heard of a mobo being incompatable with a video card ever, save for abandoning old interface standards like AGP.  Any video card you pick should be fine, though pick a reliable manufacturer: Asus, Gigabyte or MSI again, and Sapphire and HIS are good too.


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## gokorahn (Jan 18, 2012)

Alright, Ill look into sending my current card back, and order a new one. Ill run off integrated for a bit till I get it. Thank you very much for the help.

Edit: $100 is a little bit out of my price range at the moment, and I am unsure if i can return my gpu, cause i opened it already to look at it, seeing if it had a fan or not


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## Lobar (Jan 19, 2012)

gokorahn said:


> Alright, Ill look into sending my current card back, and order a new one. Ill run off integrated for a bit till I get it. Thank you very much for the help.
> 
> Edit: $100 is a little bit out of my price range at the moment, and I am unsure if i can return my gpu, cause i opened it already to look at it, seeing if it had a fan or not



Probably still returnable, though there may be a restocking fee, depending on where you got it.  Amazon is great with customer service.

The thing with the low end of video cards is that you have pretty significant differences in performance tiers that are only ~$20 apart, that you end up sacrificing a lot to only save about a third of the cost of the card.  Depending on if you have any disposable income coming in, you may want to just return it and wait for a little while until you can afford a card that actually gives you decent bang for your buck.  The price/performance sweet spot right now is honestly probably a 1GB 6850.


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## gokorahn (Jan 19, 2012)

Now, I have all my parts, and I can return the gpu and get a better one, but I'm unsure if I should try building it myself, or get my cousin to do it when he is able too. Is it hard to build it myself?


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## AshleyAshes (Jan 19, 2012)

gokorahn said:


> Now, I have all my parts, and I can return the gpu and get a better one, but I'm unsure if I should try building it myself, or get my cousin to do it when he is able too. Is it hard to build it myself?



It's all pretty straight forward really, just double read the instructions when installing the CPU.


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## gokorahn (Jan 19, 2012)

Alright, i'll give it a shot tomorrow, just need to find my disc for windows then i'm set, hopefully


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