Laptop ram help.

[lizziemc12]

I have 2 sticks of 8gb DDR 4 2400mhz sodimm CL17 1.2v laptop ram that are from different brands, one is Kingston and the other is crucial. Is it ok to mix brands when all the specs are the same and the only thing different are the brands. 

[y0ur5h4d0w]

1 hour ago, lizziemc12 said:

I have 2 sticks of 8gb DDR 4 2400mhz sodimm CL17 1.2v laptop ram that are from different brands, one is Kingston and the other is crucial. Is it ok to mix brands when all the specs are the same and the only thing different are the brands. 

it's fine, you will have probably zero issues at all, just keep in mind that if there is some minor differences you will still use the slowest speed between both RAM, but it's no issues at all don't worry, laptop are less "affected" by the mix and match then a classic computer in my experience, don't worry

[Tech Reprise]

1 hour ago, lizziemc12 said:

I have 2 sticks of 8gb DDR 4 2400mhz sodimm CL17 1.2v laptop ram that are from different brands, one is Kingston and the other is crucial. Is it ok to mix brands when all the specs are the same and the only thing different are the brands. 

Well, generally you should never mix memory from different manufacturers or even memory from same manufacturer in a different lot. 
You can install it and it should work, the worst that can happen is that you won't get a boot and the screen will remain black. 
Also before install make sure to remove the main battery connector from the board.

[porina]

6 hours ago, lizziemc12 said:

I have 2 sticks of 8gb DDR 4 2400mhz sodimm CL17 1.2v laptop ram that are from different brands, one is Kingston and the other is crucial. Is it ok to mix brands when all the specs are the same and the only thing different are the brands. 

It'll almost certainly be fine, assuming the modules aren't faulty or otherwise incompatible. Almost all laptops use standard ram and you can mix and match. This is not like XMP/EXPO which is never guaranteed to work at their claimed speeds.

 

4 hours ago, Tech Reprise said:

Well, generally you should never mix memory from different manufacturers or even memory from same manufacturer in a different lot. 

"Never" is too strong. It is perfectly fine to mix and match. The main reasons not to are: you want best performance, or you want to overclock the ram. With laptops using standard ram, there is usually no difference from doing so as long as they are same general spec.

 

4 hours ago, Tech Reprise said:

Also before install make sure to remove the main battery connector from the board.

Might not even be easily done in many modern laptops, in which case I wouldn't try to do so. 

[lizziemc12]

4 hours ago, y0ur5h4d0w said:

it's fine, you will have probably zero issues at all, just keep in mind that if there is some minor differences you will still use the slowest speed between both RAM, but it's no issues at all don't worry, laptop are less "affected" by the mix and match then a classic computer in my experience, don't worry

But they are both 2400mhz and 1.2v so what slower speed would they run at. 

[y0ur5h4d0w]

5 minutes ago, lizziemc12 said:

But they are both 2400mhz and 1.2v so what slower speed would they run at. 

the speed is the same, however you might have different timings, but it will be for sure impossible to notice plus i don't even think that laptops actually have "non standard" timings as in normal computers

[lizziemc12]

On 9/29/2025 at 9:44 PM, y0ur5h4d0w said:

the speed is the same, however you might have different timings, but it will be for sure impossible to notice plus i don't even think that laptops actually have "non standard" timings as in normal computers

They are both Cl 17 timings so I don't think they will be much of a difference 

[starsmine]

On 9/29/2025 at 2:37 AM, Tech Reprise said:

Well, generally you should never mix memory from different manufacturers or even memory from same manufacturer in a different lot. 
You can install it and it should work, the worst that can happen is that you won't get a boot and the screen will remain black. 
Also before install make sure to remove the main battery connector from the board.

in general it works 95% of the time. 

its the 5% people dont recomend it because then they come back and blame the person who said it might work is the fear, also none of us want to hand hold someone troubleshooting ram. 

I just tell people to send it at this point. if it works it works. 

[y0ur5h4d0w]

10 hours ago, lizziemc12 said:

They are both Cl 17 timings so I don't think they will be much of a difference 

you're 100% fine than, laptops are not that "vendor locked" in terms of RAM

[lizziemc12]

On 10/1/2025 at 8:28 PM, y0ur5h4d0w said:

you're 100% fine than, laptops are not that "vendor locked" in terms of RAM

thanks for the great advice. If its all the same specs than the brand is nothing but a name.