[SOLVED] Adding a DDR3 4GB 1066 RAM to a DDR3 4GB 1333 - worth it?

[kikipcs]

Hey!

Recently found a 4GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM stick when tinkering with some laptops. I'm thinking of installing it to my ThinkPad X220 - which has 4 gigs of RAM, but with a 1333MHz clock. I understand that adding the stick will slow down the other stick down to 1066MHz, but is it really that much of a slowdown? Is having more RAM worth that slowdown, or would the slowdown be hardly even noticeable?

 

[WildCard999]

The slower speed shouldn't have much of an impact and going from 4 to 8gb is worth it but this all comes down to if they even work together.

 

[kikipcs]

The slower speed shouldn't have much of an impact and going from 4 to 8gb is worth it but this all comes down to if they even work together.

They do. Ran a memtest, used it with the additional RAM installed for a day, everything seems fine. Haven't noticed any slowdown - but then, I haven't done anything resource-hungry, just watching some Youtube, some web browsing. Perhaps I should do something resource intensive and see the results, but I can already feel those 4 more gigs working in my favor.

 

[Phaaze88]

That combination wouldn't operate in dual channel. The bios will pick up on the mismatched sticks, and the cpu will still run in single channel.
But hey, at least you've got enough ram to multi-task with!

 

[kikipcs]

That combination wouldn't operate in dual channel. The bios will pick up on the mismatched sticks, and the cpu will still run in single channel.
But hey, at least you've got enough ram to multi-task with!

I am aware of this - but it wouldn't operate in dual channel with just one stick, would it? 😉

This is really a matter of whether will I feel the slowdown from the memory underclock - I can already feel having more RAM helps. This isn't the fastest laptop either - it's an i5 X220 and the most intensive work I'm going to do on it is going to be watching HD videos online, comverting video files with Handbrake and occasional image editing with Lightroom. And I'd like to state that this +4GB ram situation is more of a sorta stopgap than a long term solution - I figured, if it's laying around unused, why not try installing it?

I know the best thing would be just upgrading to 8/12/16GB of 1866 RAM - the most a X220 can take - and that's what I'm planning to do, just not now. I don't feel like splurging on new RAM right now, so... yeah. If this lower-clock RAM will benefit me - great. If the lower clock would have a noticeable impact on performance - whatever, I've been using my ThinkPad with 4GB stock for half a year already. Still very snappy. That's why I'm asking this question - I'm just unsure if more lower-clock RAM is "worth" it.

 

[Phaaze88]

I am aware of this - but it wouldn't operate in dual channel with just one stick, would it? 😉

This is really a matter of whether will I feel the slowdown from the memory underclock - I can already feel having more RAM helps. This isn't the fastest laptop either - it's an i5 X220 and the most intensive work I'm going to do on it is going to be watching HD videos online, comverting video files with Handbrake and occasional image editing with Lightroom. And I'd like to state that this +4GB ram situation is more of a sorta stopgap than a long term solution - I figured, if it's laying around unused, why not try installing it?

I know the best thing would be just upgrading to 8/12/16GB of 1866 RAM - the most a X220 can take - and that's what I'm planning to do, just not now. I don't feel like splurging on new RAM right now, so... yeah. If this lower-clock RAM will benefit me - great. If the lower clock would have a noticeable impact on performance - whatever, I've been using my ThinkPad with 4GB stock for half a year already. Still very snappy. That's why I'm asking this question - I'm just unsure if more lower-clock RAM is "worth" it.

No, the clock speed isn't going to make a huge difference.

 

[Jason H.]

Imo its not ideal, as the same speed stick isnt that much more money, however if it works for what you need it to work for, then that is a good upgrade.

Doesnt always have to be the best or the fastest, just has to work how you need it too.

 

[kikipcs]

Alright fellas! In it goes then. Thank you for your advice!

 

[Jason H.]

Alright fellas! In it goes then. Thank you for your advice!

No problem! If we helped you please choose the best answer to mark the thread as solved

Oh and btw, no having 1 stick cannot run in dual channel.