RAM mixing with same MHz, Size and DDR.

[CrimsonCR]

Hello!

 

I am getting some RAM because I currently have 8gb and saw a good deal on CEX (A UK second hand shop for all different computer stuff that i've used from a very young age) I have been meaning to get some more RAM for a while now.

 

I am getting 4 sticks of RAM, but I dont know which brands I'm getting at all. All I do know is that all four sticks are 8gb, 1600 MHz and DDR3 (which my motherboard can take).

 

Now in the event that I indeed DO get different brands, will this impact my performance in games etc? And is there anything I should bear in mind when installing it?

 

Many Thanks.

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

It's not very useful to speculate since there are a lot of possibilities. Come back when you have the RAM in hand, and we can help you figure out how best to configure it.

[CrimsonCR]

1 minute ago, Hairless Monkey Boy said:

It's not very useful to speculate since there are a lot of possibilities. Come back when you have the RAM in hand, and we can help you figure out how best to configure it.

Alrightie! Cheers mate.

[emosun]

3 minutes ago, Hairless Monkey Boy said:

It's not very useful to speculate since there are a lot of possibilities. Come back when you have the RAM in hand, and we can help you figure out how best to configure it.

if its ddr3 then the brands/model would have to be the same to take advantage of multichannel. I think ddr4 is much more loose with matching sticks for multichannel support

[CrimsonCR]

2 minutes ago, emosun said:

if its ddr3 then the brands/model would have to be the same to take advantage of multichannel. I think ddr4 is much more loose with matching sticks for multichannel support

It would still work though right? aslong as its better than my 2x4gb that are also different brands bear in mind. Cheers!

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

2 minutes ago, emosun said:

if its ddr3 then the brands/model would have to be the same to take advantage of multichannel.

I've mixed DDR2 and DDR3 models/brands/capacities with success. Just like with DDR4, it can work just fine but needs to be done with attention and care.

[freeagent]

You could put the dimms with the loosest timings in the primary slots and the tighter ones in the secondary slots to minimize problems. Be sure to pull your battery and clear your cmos as well when you have no sticks installed. Get them all plugged in and then plug in your battery.. it might work.. it might not.. its one of those hope for the best expect the worst kind of things..

[emosun]

5 minutes ago, Hairless Monkey Boy said:

I've mixed DDR2 and DDR3 models/brands/capacities with success. Just like with DDR4, it can work just fine but needs to be done with attention and care.

again I'm not so sure ddr2 or 3 boards had widespread support for mismatched stick multichannel and was more strict. I think it would be almost 95% of boards not supporting it unless the two sticks spd matched. In terms of just capacity and not multichannel.... yeah you can mix and match anything with ddr 2 and 3.

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

14 minutes ago, emosun said:

again I'm not so sure ddr2 or 3 boards had widespread support for mismatched stick multichannel and was more strict. I think it would be almost 95% of board not supporting it unless the two sticks spd matched. In terms of just capacity and not multichannel.... yeah you can mix and match anything with ddr 2 and 3.

Well as far as my mix matching experience goes, I've always been able to get multichannel working in the way that I expected.

 

With DDR2 I had a Biostar P45 motherboard with 2X 2GB sticks of OCZ DDR2-800 5-5-5-15 mixed with 2X 1GB sticks of HyperX DDR2-800 4-4-4-12. I had them running at 900Mhz at something like 5-5-5-12.

 

With DDR3 on an Asus Z97-A I had 2X 8GB sticks of G.Skill DDR3-2133 10-12-12-31 with 2X 4GB sticks of G.Skill DDR3-2133 9-11-10-28. I had those running at 2200Mhz at something like 10-11-12-24.

 

There were other mixes and matches along the way, but those are the two that stick out most in my memory. Anyway, it can work and if you know what you are doing, have proper expectations, and take proper care, it can work quite well.

[emosun]

3 minutes ago, Hairless Monkey Boy said:

With DDR2 I had a Biostar P45 motherboard with 2X 2GB sticks of OCZ DDR2-800 5-5-5-15 mixed with 2X 1GB sticks of HyperX DDR2-800 4-4-4-12. I had them running at 900Mhz at something like 5-5-5-12.

 

With DDR3 on an Asus Z97-A I had 2X 8GB sticks of G.Skill DDR3-2133 10-12-12-31 with 2X 4GB sticks of G.Skill DDR3-2133 9-11-10-28. I had those running at 2200Mhz at something like 10-11-12-24.

Yeah but that would mean both machines had paired matching sticks and not just 4 random sticks. Running two different matched pairs would obviously work fine , it's running 4 entirely unmatched sticks in multichannel that the boards really don't support.

[YoungBlade]

I was able to run two different 2x4GB DDR3-1600 sticks on my Lenovo K450 computer without issues. The only issue with it was that as an OEM system, I had no control over speed and timings. Luckily, the 1600 speed worked, but the timings defaulted to the looser of the two kits.

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

4 minutes ago, emosun said:

Yeah but that would mean both machines had paired matching sticks and not just 4 random sticks. Running two different matched pairs would obviously work fine , it's running 4 entirely unmatched sticks in multichannel that the boards really don't support.

Yeah, if the 4 SPDs are all very different, then you could have a pretty hard time getting them working. But I'm sure that it's possible to get some combination of 4 different sticks that would run just fine in multi channel mode. I suppose it's just a matter of luck that you get compatible sticks.