Mixing RAM Speeds

[TheGuyFromThere]

Hi.

 

I have 6gb of KINGSTON HYPER-X T1 TRI-DDR3 2000 XMP and am looking to add to this, however; I cannot find this RAM anywhere (It's about 2-3 years old now)

 

What happens if I buy 1600mhz RAM and put it in with this? What about different companies being mixmatched?

 

What's the best way to do this?

 

Thanks

[Shoumaker]

There are two things that can happen depending on the specific RAM modules.

 

1. The two modules will work effectively at the lower speed, this is safe and will only make you lose the speed edge of the faster module.

 

2. The modules will not be acceptable by your board together and it will declare memory failure.

 

I suggest if you want to add to your ram you either buy another kit since you can't find this one anymore or I suggest you just stick with this as it is. Why do you feel you need to increase the RAM? Plus you don't need 2000 Mhz Ram in the first place as the performance difference is minimal between different frequencies.

 

Edit:

 

This 8 GB module you can consider. Link!

 

This 8 GB kit you could consider. Link!

Edited May 2, 2013 by shoumic

[TheGuyFromThere]

 

There are two things that can happen depending on the specific RAM modules.

 

1. The two modules will work effectively at the lower speed, this is safe and will only make you lose the speed edge of the faster module.

 

2. The modules will not be acceptable by your board together and it will declare memory failure.

 

I suggest if you want to add to your ram you either buy another kit since you can't find this one anymore or I suggest you just stick with this as it is. Why do you feel you need to increase the RAM? Plus you don't need 2000 Mhz Ram in the first place as the performance difference is minimal between different frequencies. 

 

Edit:

 

This 8 GB module you can consider. Link!

 

This 8 GB kit you could consider. Link!

Thanks for your reply and also sending the links in German, nice attention to detail

 

As for wishing to overclock, I'm about to get a new motherboard on account of the old one bursting into flames, and figured some new RAM wouldn't go a miss with the Insurance payout, assuming I buy an equally powered mobo (was an Asus P6X58D-E -- the wireless card went on fire).

 

EDIT: This Seems pretty good. I assume if I slotted this in beside my 6gb, then I will total 10gb and it won't pose any issues?

 

NB, I live in the UK

Edited May 2, 2013 by Dom0803

[Shoumaker]

When it comes to memory things can get fairly complicated. Life's going to be easier for you by purchasing the exact same model as you are currently using in your system but since that's not an option for you let's look into this then. While purchasing RAM you MUST make sure each stick has the same cas latency, timings and voltage. Even though these settings can be tweaked the BIOS to make the two sticks match this can get fairly complicated. There's a slight chance you might get a Blue screen of death if your motherboard doesn't like one of the DIMM's or if the Ram's don't favor each other.

 

With that being said. I'd recommend you getting the exact type of RAM you already have installed or what I have suggested above. Since memory is fairly cheap these days for the best performance.

 

To answer your question. I don't think adding this kit to your 6 Gigs already will pose any issues since they're very similar in specs but I doubt you will see any noticeable improve in performance to be completely honest. Your computer won't even be able to utilize the 10 gigs of RAM.

[Ryan]

Don't get that 4GB of kit. You'll only be running in dual channel, not triple. The X58 chipset is designed to run on triple channel memory, meaning that for best performance, you either use three sticks of RAM or six sticks of RAM. Running five might or might not work depending upon the RAM types and how fussy the motherboard is. If you want to upgrade to more RAM, the best way would to just buy a new 12GB (3x4GB) kit rather than mixing and matching different types.

[TheGuyFromThere]

Thanks all

[TheGuyFromThere]

UPDATE:

 

Got an offer of some RAM from Gumtree and I want to make certain before I take it up that I'm not buying something that's useless.

 

My RAM: 6GB Kingston Hyper-X DDR3 2000mhz

His RAM: 3x2GB of G.Skill Perfect Storm- PC3-2000 8-8-8 ---- or alternatively he also has, but more expensive ---- ; 3x2GB of Corsair Dominator GT

 

I'd just like to get the opinion of people whom have a better knowledge of this than I.

 

Thanks.

 

I'm pretty sure they'll both work, being the same voltage and the timings can be adjusted in bios to match..?

Edited May 6, 2013 by Dom0803

[sivispacem]

I would advise against mixing brands of RAM. Even if they're the same speed and timing, it can cause all sorts of compatibility issues and unexplained crashes. 6GB should be fine at the moment anyway; if not, just buy a 12GB set as Ryan already suggested.

[yoječ]

Compatibility problems are unlikely, albeit possible.