RAM Upgrade: already maxed or up to 32GB?

[NightAire]

I'm the new owner of a refurbished HP Slim Desktop 290-p0056.  It came with 8GB of RAM on one stick.  There are two slots available for RAM inside.

HP says "Supports up to 8 GB (unbuffered) on 64-bit computers."  However, MemoryStock claims you can upgrade to a maximum of 32GB.  (Windows 10 64 bit Home can handle 128GB and Windows 10 64 bit Pro which is what I'm using can use up to an astounding 512GB!)

I'm wanting to upgrade the RAM to as high as possible to give as much memory as possible to the Intel UHD Graphics 630.  (I've found it can use up to 50% of the RAM, but I haven't been able to find a maximum number it can access.)

Am I already maxed out in RAM at 8GB, or can I got to 32GB...  or higher?  Does that "unbuffered" comment come into play with this?

Thanks in advance for any clarification you can offer!  I don't understand why a company would guarantee RAM that's not going to work with a computer.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

The memory limit of Windows is completely dependent on how much memory your PC's hardware can support.

If you have read someplace that you can install 2 x 16 GB of memory, you can do this to confirm...

1. In the search box, search for cmd and click Run as administrator. This will open the command prompt.

2. Once command prompt is opened, type wmic memphysical get maxcapacity and hit enter. There, it will show the maximum RAM capacity your PC's motherboard can support.

The capacity is shown as Kilobytes, so you have to convert it to Gigabytes by dividing the number provided in the report by 1,048,576.

The Crucial memory report for your PC also indicates that you can install 2 x 16 GB of memory.

Memory RAM & SSD Upgrades | hp - compaq | hp slimline series | HP Slimline 290-p0056 | Crucial.com

Unbuffered memory is the type of memory. It normally has nothing to do with how much memory you can install, except in the most high end business class workstations.

There is ECC-Buffered, and non-ECC-unbuffered, and all HP consumer class PCs use non-ECC-unbuffered memory.

[Prométhée]

hi

"I'm wanting to upgrade the RAM to as high as possible to give as much memory as possible to the Intel UHD Graphics 630. (I've found it can use up to 50% of the RAM, but I haven't been able to find a maximum number it can access.) "
https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-slim-290-p0000-desktop-pc-series/19390524/document/c06001408

Are you making the right choice?
Even if you upgrade to 32gb, and the built-in Intel has a little more memory, that won't make it a better graphics card!
Why don't you consider installing a graphics card, with its own dedicated memory instead.

[NightAire]

I believe I am making the right decision, for three reasons:

1)  Good video cards tend to be expensive.  As the UHD Graphics 630 isn't terrible, I suspect I would have to spend significantly more on a good GPU to see any real improvement in performance.

2)  This Slim Desktop is truly a small case.  The better GPUs would be too big to fit in the case and even if I found one that would fit, it would be generating a tremendous amount of heat in very cramped quarters.

3)  The RAM will have more use than just supporting the onboard graphics (although I expect that to help).  I use this computer for both personal and work, and am constantly multitasking.  I have two monitors currently hooked up, and will often have a video chat program going on one screen and be presenting from the other.  So, while I am looking to make sure the graphics are as smooth as possible, I'm also wanting to make sure I can have multiple browsers, Zoom, Google Meet, etc. all up at once and running smoothly.

My understanding is that the 630 is limited to taking just under 50% of my RAM.  At 8 GB of RAM that only left me with 4 GB to run Windows, etc.  At 32GB, well first it's hard to imagine what I'm doing needing 16 GB of RAM for the GPU but also it's a full 16 GB left over for the OS... and that should allow everything to run effortlessly.

Thanks for your feedback!