RAM upgrade recommendations?

Hey, I need some help sorting out my RAM.

So here's the deal: my motherboard has four slots, but right now I'm just running a single 8GB stick—pretty sure it's DDR4. Long story short, the stick finally kicked the bucket on me, so I've gotta replace it.

How do I figure out exactly which specific RAM sticks I have so I don't buy the wrong thing? I might just grab another 8GB, but if the price is right, I might upgrade to something bigger.

Every RAM module should come with a sticker detailing its specs—type, capacity, frequency, and latency. Honestly, you’re probably better off just digging through your motherboard's manual to check the specifics, since the chipset and BIOS usually dictate both the maximum capacity per slot and the ideal configuration for dual-channel performance.

what motherboard are you running?
how can you tell if the RAM's actually dead?