Combine RAM at identical clock speeds, dimensions, and DDR type.
Combine RAM at identical clock speeds, dimensions, and DDR type.
Hello! You're getting a new upgrade of RAM—four 8GB sticks at 1600 MHz DDR3, which fits your motherboard. It's great you're thinking about performance and installation details. Just make sure the sticks match in speed and compatibility before you install them.
It’s not helpful to guess much because many options exist. Return when you have the RAM, then we’ll assist with setup.
It would still function, as long as it outperforms your 2x4GB drives of other brands. Cheers!
Combined DDR2 and DDR3 models, brands, and capacities have worked well before. It’s similar to DDR4—functional if handled carefully.
You could place the dimmer switches with the widest timing in the main slots and tighter ones in the secondary slots to reduce issues. Make sure you remove your battery and reset the CMOS when no sticks are installed. Once everything is connected, plug it back in—maybe it will work, or it might not. It’s usually wise to hope for the best while preparing for the worst.
I'm still uncertain about widespread support for mismatched stick multichannel on DDR2 or 3 boards. It seems more strict, likely only around 95% would back it unless the sticks matched in speed. Concerning just capacity, you're right—anything works with DDR2 and DDR3.
Throughout my experience with mix matching, I've consistently managed to achieve multichannel performance as expected. Using DDR2, I was using a Biostar P45 motherboard with two 2GB OCZ DDR2-800 sticks (5-5-5-15) combined with two 1GB HyperX DDR2-800 sticks (4-4-4-12) at around 900Mhz. With DDR3, I was running two 8GB G.Skill DDR3-2133 sticks (10-12-12-31) alongside two 4GB G.Skill DDR3-2133 sticks (9-11-10-28) at approximately 2200Mhz. There were various other combinations, but those two setups are the most memorable. Overall, it can function well if you're prepared and handle it correctly.
That implies both devices would use identical matching sticks, not just a selection of random ones. Creating two distinct matched pairs would clearly function properly, whereas sending four completely unmatched sticks through multiple channels would likely exceed the boards' capabilities.