Using RAM at different speeds?

WILL.I.AMS · August 9, 2020

Hey everyone!

Just a quick one. I’m looking to buy some more RAM as a temporary solution until I buy my new motherboard and CPU next year. My board is a Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2PV and thus only supports DDR3.

I want to buy an 8GB stick of Kingston Hyper-X Fury DDR3. The 1600MHz and 1866MHz variants are the exact same price. My current module is also Kingston, but not H-X, rated at 1600MHz. There’s also a Corsair module at 1600MHz which is on special, so it’s about $10 cheaper.

Which stick would you recommend? H-X 1600 or 1866; or the Corsair one? Even though the 1866 will scale down to my other stick’s speed, will I otherwise see no benefit?

Thanks, and stay safe!

Haro · August 9, 2020

Well all will run at the speeds of the slowest one.

So if you go with the 1866 kit. It will he clocked down to 1600.

But do note than mix and matching sticks could and could not work. It could also be iffy in some areas like xmp. But it should technically work.

WILL.I.AMS · August 9, 2020

Thanks for the reply! So if I buy the Kingston Hyper-X Fury module at 1866MHz, would it be better than buying a different brand? I know they’re different sticks and if need be, I can buy another stick.

Haro · August 9, 2020

6 minutes ago, WILL.I.AMS said:

1866MHz, would it be better than buying a different brand?

No it's just in general mix and matching sticks could and couldn't work.

Not really guaranteed, but buying an 1866 stick wouldn't make a difference as it will work at 1600 either way. For the most part it should technically work but it's not 100% guaranteed.

WILL.I.AMS · August 9, 2020

Just now, TofuHaroto said:

No it's just in general mix and matching sticks could and couldn't work.

Not really guaranteed, but buying an 1866 stick wouldn't make a difference as it will work at 1600 either way. For the most part it should technically work but it's not 100© guaranteed.

Okay thank you very much, I might just buy a dual channel 16GB kit then!