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What are the rules on using different rams.

So I am planning on buying a new computer it’s great but only comes with 8GB of ram, I am looking to upgrade that but the only issue is the one my computer comes with is 2400Mhz and the one I want to buy may be more or less. Does this matter. And does the voltage matter cause the place I’m buying my computer doesn’t say what the voltage of the ram is. If you can help me I would appreciate it. (PS: I have 2 4GB of ram in my house they are 2800mhz and 1.2v. I was gonna use these and are the main reason I’m marking this post)

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All RAM in your system will run at the speed of the slowest sticks, so it does matter to an extent. Also, you don't say if the 8GB in your new computer is one stick or two: if it's one 8GB-stick and you whack in two 4GB-sticks, you won't get to take advantage of dual-channel.

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1 minute ago, WereCatf said:

All RAM in your system will run at the speed of the slowest sticks, so it does matter to an extent. Also, you don't say if the 8GB in your new computer is one stick or two: if it's one 8GB-stick and you whack in two 4GB-sticks, you won't get to take advantage of dual-channel.

You still get dual channel with 3x modules.

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8 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

All RAM in your system will run at the speed of the slowest sticks, so it does matter to an extent. Also, you don't say if the 8GB in your new computer is one stick or two: if it's one 8GB-stick and you whack in two 4GB-sticks, you won't get to take advantage of dual-channel.

It is a single 8GB. And I had to edit my post cause I don’t even think the motherboard supports anything above 2666 MHz. The mother board is an ASUS PRIME B350-PLUS

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3 hours ago, KarathKasun said:

Mixing speed/timing ratings is asking for trouble.

What troubles would I encounter. 

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30 minutes ago, MaxTGG said:

What troubles would I encounter. 

A system that is so unstable that you cant use it.

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6 hours ago, KarathKasun said:

A system that is so unstable that you cant use it.

Well after you said this I did some more research and that is only if you don’t match the important stuff. So the things that cause issues are different CAS latency, different voltage, and by mixing different types like ddr4 and ddr3. I learned this after making the post.

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5 minutes ago, MaxTGG said:

Well after you said this I did some more research and that is only if you don’t match the important stuff. So the things that cause issues are different CAS latency, different voltage, and by mixing different types like ddr4 and ddr3. I learned this after making the post.

One of the major timings that breaks mismatched ram would be tRFC, which is usually not an advertised timing.

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On 11/12/2018 at 8:49 PM, KarathKasun said:

One of the major timings that breaks mismatched ram would be tRFC, which is usually not an advertised timing.

How do you find this on the ram to make sure they match?

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8 minutes ago, MaxTGG said:

How do you find this on the ram to make sure they match?

DDR4 wise as long as you're fine running it at JEDEC's 2133mhz default any thing should work in 99% of the time, as in any mixing.

Obvious reason why you shouldn't is the lower performance compared to doing it right.

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@MaxTGG  The rule is to run both sticks with the settings of the weakest kit.  So that means run all sticks at the speed of the slowest stick and set the timings to what the slowest stick is also.  For voltage you could probably just set it to 1.35V and then reduce it until it becomes unstable then setting it to the previous voltage that was stable.  

 

Edit:

I just realized you're talking about a pre-built system.  That may mean you can't adjust your RAM settings at all.  If that's the case you want to find out what the settings are for your system's RAM and then buy a stick that matches it as closely as possible.  Or you you could just hope the BIOS will run the new stick with matched settings because it's all it knows.  

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