Difference between these RAM sticks?

verycoolguy · January 5, 2019

So a while back when I was first building my PC I was a bit short on money, and because my motherboard only had two DIMMs, ended up buying one 8GB stick and planned to add another later. So now I have enough money, but I now see two sticks which appear the same. Here is the one I currently have in my PC:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UFBZOVE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

And here is another one I found, also gray and from Ballistix, but at 3000 MHz instead of 2400 MHz.

https://www.amazon.com/Ballistix-Single-PC4-19200-288-Pin-Memory/dp/B07HP8PVVH/ref=dp_ob_title_ce?th=1

At first glance they appear the same. However, the second is at a higher speed. However, I can easily just drop back down to the 2400 MHz model which is like 3 dollars cheaper (not worth it imo). I also noticed the first one is "dual rank" and this is "single rank". So could I mix and match these two, or would I have to buy the first stick again?

Edited January 5, 2019 by verycoolguy
fixed typo

Injoker · January 5, 2019

The more expensive one is 2400 MT/S, while the less expensive one is 3000 MT/S. The 2400 MT/S one is from 2015, while the 3000MT/S one is from 2018.

You can theoretically use either one, however mixing different types of RAM isn't recommended at all. If you really don't want to spend the extra $3 on the 2400 MT/S one, the ram will run at the lowest speed. (If you use one 2400 and one 3000, the 3000 will run at 2400, assuming it even works in the first place).

I would say not to risk it and spend the extra $3 on the one you already have.