Mixing memory speeds

[aiden_mcmeme]

Hey there! 

So I got a Ryzen 2600x and some hand-me-down RAM but I want to go out and buy faster RAM to eek out some more performance.

My current RAM is 2666 (8x2)

Prospective RAM is 3200 (8x2)

 

Is mixing RAM speeds still frowned upon? Should I just sell the old RAM?

 

Thanks for the help!

[Madster]

It probably wont post if the speeds dont match up.

[Jurrunio]

if you mix memory speeds, you might not be able to get the speed of the high speed kit because the low speed one can't go as fast even if you overclock yourself.

[HoneyBadger84]

I would recommend selling the old kit when you get the new one. Unless you do tasks that actually need more than 16GB of RAM, the hassle you're going to go through trying to get settings that will make the two sets work better together will probably not be worth it. 

 

Mixing kits at best will make the system default to the lower speed kit's settings. At worst it won't boot until you clear CMOS and set timings manually that both sticks can run at the same speed at. 

[Eastman51]

The motherboard will attempt to match speeds of all the sticks installed.

 

I'd presume you are running at 2666Mhz right now. So when you add the 3200MHz, they will get clocked at 2666Mhz. You could attempt to raise the clock speed, but you would be exceeding the rated speed of your old RAM and would have no guaranteed success with those sticks.

 

You have a few options:

-Take the extra RAM and run at 2666Mhz

-Take the extra RAM and attempt a slight OC on the slower RAM (try like 2800Mhz)

-Sell the old RAM and run the new kit at 3200Mhz, saving the money you got from the RAM for a game or other upgrade in the future

-Sell the old RAM and purchase a new 3200Mhz kit, therefore having more RAM than before and having matched up speeds

[aiden_mcmeme]

Okay! thanks everyone, I will save up and sell the extra ram after I get that fast RAM