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I have servers running VMWare. The server is a Intel Xeon with 96 Gio of RAM. We need to increase the RAM on the server (assume with the same memory model). Somebody told me adding more memory to a computer can slow it because there's more address space to look after.

I'm pretty sure it's bullshit and I can't find any paper that confirm that adding memory can slow down a computer. Instead, I have only documentation that confirm that it can speed it because it can have a bigger swap.

So my question is : Can adding RAM to a server can make it slower? If so, is it perceptible? Do you have any documentation on the subject?

MadHatter
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efficks
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    My strong inclination is that your colleague is talking rubbish, but proving a negative is hard (ie, impossible). Politely ask your colleague to state his references; those we can check much more easily. – MadHatter Nov 07 '17 at 13:14
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    `I have servers running VMWare` - No you don't. You have a server running a VMware product. Knowing which product and version would be immensely helpful in determining if there are any memory related known issues. `The server is a Intel Xeon` - Again, details matter. Knowing exactly which processor would go a long way to determining if there are known issues. – joeqwerty Nov 07 '17 at 13:22

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Adding more RAM to a server will probably make the boot process (or more specifically the POST) slower, because that normally includes a some level of memory checking.

I've never heard anyone claiming that adding more RAM will slow down a server once it's running through (unless you have mismatched RAM, or there's an issue with the specific board/chipset).

rbsec
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    Adding more memory modules to a channel can alter the memory bus speed. For example the [Dell R710's user manual](http://downloads.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_ser_stor_net/esuprt_poweredge/poweredge-r710_Owner's%20Manual_en-us.pdf) page 130 states the memory modules run slower with additional modules added. So in theory it can run slower. – drg Nov 07 '17 at 15:05