Different amount RAM sticks?

[waterjug]

I have 2 sticks of 4GB hyperx fury, so 8GB of ram in my system. If I was to add more ram, do I need the EXACT same RAM. I know you shouldn't cross brands of ram, but does it matter if you cross different amount of ram sticks? (ex. 2 4GB, 1 8GB, would that be ok?) Also does all the ram have to be clocked at the same frequency?

[Electronics Wizardy]

You can mix and match sticks.

[waterjug]

2 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

You can mix and match sticks.

does it have to be at the same frequency?

[manikyath]

it is *preferred* to go as identical as you can, but if you can match speed and latency, i've never heard of the different capacity being an issue.

 

and if you cant find the exact same speed and latency, try to go as close as you can, in the great majority of time it's all a-okay.

--

in essence, mix/match generally works, going closer to "identical" just decreases the already very small chance something goes wrong. but the chance of oddities is so low it's not uncommon to see prebuilts with the most ungodly frankenstein setup you can imagine

[waterjug]

2 minutes ago, manikyath said:

it is *preferred* to go as identical as you can, but if you can match speed and latency, i've never heard of the different capacity being an issue.

 

and if you cant find the exact same speed and latency, try to go as close as you can, in the great majority of time it's all a-okay.

--

in essence, mix/match generally works, going closer to "identical" just decreases the already very small chance something goes wrong. but the chance of oddities is so low it's not uncommon to see prebuilts with the most ungodly frankenstein setup you can imagine

thanks! much help! So adding an 8gb stick to my current setup would be fine then right?

[Sakkura]

2 minutes ago, wii8cookies said:

does it have to be at the same frequency?

It will have to be set at the same speed, but it's okay if one kit is rated for a higher speed than the other. RAM doesn't mind being run slower.

 

(running memory that isn't matched always has some risk of compatibility issues, but usually works)

 

If you have 2x4 + 1x8, you'll want to put the 8GB stick in one channel and the 2x4GB in the other. That should give you dual channel operation across the full 16GB capacity.

[ARikozuM]

RAM speed will be the lowest of the sticks and CAS will change within the channels. Capacity will not be an issue unless your motherboard/chipset only allows a certain max capacity.

[ARikozuM]

7 minutes ago, Sakkura said:

If you have 2x4 + 1x8, you'll want to put the 8GB stick in one channel and the 2x4GB in the other. That should give you dual channel operation across the full 16GB capacity.

He'll be in dual-channel only for the 2x4GB. The single stick will operate in single-channel independently, though there is a exception if he were to mix a 4GB and 8GB in the same channel.

[Sakkura]

4 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

He'll be in dual-channel only for the 2x4GB. The single stick will operate in single-channel independently, though there is a exception if he were to mix a 4GB and 8GB in the same channel.

If you put 1x8GB in one channel and 2x4GB in the other channel, the 8GB will be matched against the combined 8GB for dual channel operation across the full 16GB capacity. It's comparable to the "dual channel with three DIMMs" mode detailed here. Just with 4GB and 8GB sticks instead of 2GB and 4GB.

 

Barring compatibility issues, of course.