There are no significant drawbacks to using a second pair of RAM slots.
There are no significant drawbacks to using a second pair of RAM slots.
I've reviewed your setup and the potential changes. Moving RAM between the A/B and C/D slots could affect performance. Theoretically, using the second pair of slots for dual-channel should match what you get with the first two, but practical factors like cable routing and slot availability might cause a slight difference. It's worth testing to confirm.
When managing a channel with two slots, ensure the last slot is physically connected first to avoid signal interference. Placing it in the first slot allows signals to reach the second, but without a device there, they bounce back and may disrupt communication. Consumer mobos typically prioritize the last position for reliability, though exact behavior varies by system and components, making outcomes unpredictable.
From what I understand, there shouldn't be any problems. All slots and channels are identical. Edit – I'm not certain, but in certain setups avoiding signal impedance might be more important than just optimization, particularly when using XMP or DOCP, which could affect the slot's role.
I'm working with 1866mhz XMP DDR3 RAM. It's straightforward to check if it will function properly—if not, I'll remove it and stop playing around. My main concern was performance impact. It's also worth noting that using additional slots might affect signal quality. Since the slots are adjacent on opposite sides of the board, that seems like a minor issue.
If signal quality dropped significantly enough to be noticeable, they wouldn't have those slots. For areas where it could really count, some overclocking boards cut in half the DIMM slots, requiring just one DIMM per channel—making it simpler for newer systems and keeping slots tighter around the CPU with more consistent spacing, offering tiny gains that might be worth it for the most extreme memory boosts. They often also move the main PCIe lane nearer to the CPU (EVGA does this on certain overclocking boards).