Right now my rig is running on corsair vengeance 8gb ddr3 @1866mhz (cas: 9-10-9-27), but I have (apparently) an extra stick (from another brand, Gskill ripjaws). this stick is made to be clocked at 1600mhz (9-9-9-24). but suppose I wanted to add this stick to my system and clock it to 1866mhz, is that possible (and with possible, I mean will it give me any problems)? (I'm running on a asus maximus v formula btw)
I've never used miss-matched RAM before but, I would assume if it is possible, you would have to tune all of them down to the lesser stick.
(why does that almost sound preverse to me?)
ahh...dammit, I don't wanna do that...never mind, 8gb it is and 8gb it stays. thanks.
Even though I know not everyone has the money laying around, it's always best to get as much of the right RAM as possible. Also pay attention to what your board supports. Dual or Quad channel and purchase the RAM that matches. RAM is so cheap now, for the last three builds I've done I found no reason to not go ahead and install 16G.
If you are worried about waisting the RAM you already have, I always keep any extra RAM for emergency or even to upgrade friends' computers for cheap. It will always get used one day or another. Same goes for any parts, every few months I can usually do a "Junk Yard build" to sell for cheap on craigslist or to just give to someone.
Couldnt you just... try? see if your system automatically downclocks it?
It's going to cause lesser instability issues. Minor overclocking issues. But it's possible. Just go to the BIOS and set the memory specs @ your G.Skill Ripjaw rated settings, and you should be good to go.
Yeah, totally possible. But its just a single stick? I think it would cause more headache then its worth, because you would be running dual channel and single channel. Dunno how that would roll, it would work 100% sure of that, but it would have to be clocked to the lower stick for sure.
Also @ThatGuyJohn there is no such thing is compatibility when it comes to "dual channel" or "quad channel" ram, its just to make system building easier for people. But you can use "quad" channel ram in a dual channel board, its just ram. Ram is Ram. Only thing that matters for the mobo is if it supports the mhz rating.
You can do it. But its not worth it as all the outher RAM woud have to slow down. And if you were to rase the clocks there would probley be instability issues.
8GB is enough RAM unless you are doing Video editing or other ram intensive tasks.
no such thing is compatibility when it comes to "dual channel" or "quad channel" - Why do some boards specify rather they support dual or quad channel?
Its stating how the CPU operates. As in Dual Channel is 2 sticks or 4 Sticks. Quad Channel is 4 sticks or 8 sticks. Triple Channel is 3 sticks or 6 sticks. BUT its completely irrelevant. I can use two dual channel kits in a quad channel, operates the same as if I had a quad channel kit (minus its harder to OC), and A quad channel kit works in a "dual" channel board. Infact I recommend that over getting two "dual" channel kits because all the dimms are matched so its easier to OC.
Its just how the cpu operates, but Ram itself does not have channels. Its just ram.
Well I knew that RAM dosen't have channels, my whole understanding of dual or quad channels "kits" was that the RAM provided in a single kit were "matched" by specs an QC.
The fact that you "can" use miss matched RAM does not mean you should, if given a choice. I just play it safe, if the board specifies dual channel or quad I use the RAM kit specified.
As not to be confused, I am in no way disputing you. We all have our own way.