But if you're confused just install 1 RAM into slot 2 (the second RAM slot furthest away from your CPU) and slot 4 (4th slot furthest away, the last one). So thus get a single 8GB stick for upgrading RAM since you already have an 8GB stick.Īlso read your motherboard's manual to determine which DIMM slots to install your RAM sticks, you can't just install them next to each other, your manual will tell you which slots are best to install them in. Having 1 or 3 RAM sticks disrupts this even distribution and can slow down performance. When upgrading RAM it's best to have pairs instead of lone or uneven set of sticks, this is because dual RAM sticks utilize what's called dual-channel memory, this is when the CPU utilizes both RAM sticks evenly and efficiently. If you already have an 8GB 1600MHz RAM stick installed, then it would be best to get another single 8GB 1600MHz stick, preferably one of the same exact model, though not mandatory.

RAM and PCIe do not affect each other, they have their own lanes/communication to the CPU and the CPU controls all the the data going to it.

RAM does NOT use PCIe, it has its own connection, you see the 4 slots bunched up together where your current RAM is installed? That's the RAM slots, they're called DIMM slots (Dual in-line memory module).

Which dimm slot for single ram