Can i combine ram

[bilbert]

I am building my mom a computer and I accidentally ordered her a 8gb kit 2 4b dims, she only needs 4 as the system is just going to  be using Firefox and such. and I am going to pay for half the kit as its my fault for ordering it. here is the question, can I use the other 4gb dim with my 2 4gb dims, so that i have 12 gb of ram? heres the ram i ordered her:

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004I763AW/?tag=pcpapi-20

 

my system ram:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A3VOA3O?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

 

my system motherboard:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K2RQAQY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

 

her system motherboard:

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-970-GAMING-DDR3-Motherboard/dp/B00LUY72F6/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1442247303&sr=1-1&keywords=msi+gaming+970

[pwn_intended]

Yes you can, it will not run dual channel though.

[bilbert]

Yes you can, it will not run dual channel though.

will it decrease my systems preformace?

[givingtnt]

will it decrease my systems preformace?

not by muche. barely noticable but a bit slower

[bilbert]

not by muche. barely noticable but a bit slower

alright, will her system post with only one 4gb ram dim in it, 4gb of ram is all she needs

[givingtnt]

alright, will her system post with only one 4gb ram dim in it, 4gb of ram is all she needs

yes. it could post with 4. but I highly suggest you let her use the 8gb. do you really need 12gb ?

4gb is very limited. but its up to you, since you payed for it. 

[bilbert]

yes. it could post with 4. but I highly suggest you get at least 8

is there a reason behind it, the work that she does she really dosent need 8gb of ram, her system will be running xbuntu and all she does is cheek emails and such

[givingtnt]

is there a reason behind it, the work that she does she really dosent need 8gb of ram, her system will be running xbuntu and all she does is cheek emails and such

oh ok then. and if she uses linux, then 4gb is ok. 

[bilbert]

oh ok then. and if she uses linux, then 4gb is ok. 

if i throw the other 4gb in to my system which has 8gb already in it it shouldn't cause any issues right? I do a lot of work with vmware so i need more ram. my concern is there from different brands. they are both 1600mhz though so the timing match up.

[givingtnt]

if i throw the other 4gb in to my system which has 8gb already in it it shouldn't cause any issues right? I do a lot of work with vmware so i need more ram. my concern is there from different brands. they are both 1600mhz though so the timing match up.

its going to be fine. you can put the ram in your system. there won't be any problems

[bilbert]

its going to be fine. you can put the ram in your system. there won't be any problems

alrighty thanks

[harrynowl]

Yea it's fine, but if you have faster RAM you will need to run it at the speed of the slowest kit (so if you had 2x4gb that run at 2133 and the new one is 1600 you will need to run 1600 on all).

 

And you wont get dual channel which is a small performance hit but you probably wont be able to tell.