[SOLVED] can i pair ram with cl16 with cl18?

[orarion]

i bought ddr4 3000 cl16-16-16-36 (2x4GB)
and planned to add new ram that is ddr4 3000 cl16-18-18-38 (2x4GB) (gift from friend)

can it works?
i already put it in but in the bios it is still detecting as 8gb total memory.
if i can use it with the help of several settings, will it be risky or endangered my hardware?

 

[DrummerManSpike]

It shouldn't endanger any of your hardware, because ideally it wont work to begin with. Mixing RAM is hit or miss. You would need to adjust the settings of the faster sticks to match the slower ones (that's every setting; latency, speed, timings, voltage etc) to even have a chance at them working together. It's not guaranteed though.

If you can get them to work, then great! If they don't work, your system just wont register them or utilize them, so no need to worry about damaging anything

 

[orarion]

Can you teach me how to do the tweaks? Or maybe a link for guides..
And according to the both ram specification above.. they both doesnt seems to have huge/noticable gap of peformance right?

 

[DrummerManSpike]

Pretty minimal performance difference I think. In your title you said one of them was CL18 but in the body you listed both as being CL16, which is the case?

To change your timings, you have to edit them in BIOS. The process differs slightly depending on which motherboard you have and the version of BIOS. You'd have to find a motherboard manual online from your motherboard manufacturer's website, that'll show all of your BIOS settings and what each change does (what is your motherboard? I can try to find a link if you can't). It's a bit of a process, and I'm personally not an expert with editing clock speeds, but to sum it up in the most basic way:

Before starting, go into your BIOS and take note of all the current RAM settings, just in case this doesn't work out.

1. Remove your current RAM and install the new pair you're receiving
2. Boot up your PC and let it adjust itself to the new RAM (it may reboot itself several times)
3. Take note of all the new RAM's settings. Timings, voltage, speed, everything you can. Do some research on your motherboard/BIOS to see all settings available for RAM.
4. Swap the RAMs again and let the PC auto-adjust again.
5. Edit all the original RAM's settings to match the new RAM's settings 100% exactly. Save and reboot.

(you're editing the settings of the faster RAM because the slower RAM is not built to reach the faster speeds)

1. Install the new RAM sticks alongside the old ones and reboot.
2. Hope for the best

Make sure the PC is completely off (power supply switch too) before removing/inserting any components.

Keep in mind again, this isn't guaranteed to work. The success rate is pretty much completely random. Even 2 sets of the exact same RAM sticks bought at separate times can prove to be non-functional together.

If it doesn't work, remove the new RAM sticks and set the original ones back to their original speeds.

Because there's quite a bit that goes into this, especially when you haven't done this before, it begs the questions: Do you absolutely need the additional RAM space? Are you currently maxing out the 8Gs you already have?

I would personally recommend just buying a new pair of 2x8GB sticks if you really need it. For c16 3000, you can find some pretty budget friendly options out there.

 

[orarion]

Old one is cl 16-16-16-36 and the new one im gonna add is cl 16-18-18-38
My motherboard is msi b350 tomahawk
I tried to tweak it until it is exactly the same settings as the new one and its still not working, i even use memory try it features.

I guess i'll just sell it and purchase another one.
Thankyou for the help buddy!

 

[DrummerManSpike]

For sure! I put together a PCPartPicker list of RAM that would work well for you, sorted from cheapest to most expensive. It's currently set to 2x8 sticks with 5 star reviews, 3000MHz, cl 14-16, with built in heat spreaders. The starting price for these is 63.99 USD, which is a great price for 16GB of RAM. Brands with the most reviews per RAM are G.Skill, Corsair, and Team, those are all very solid and dependable manufacturers to go for.

 

[orarion]

okayy i'll check it out slowly.. once again thankyou very much for the help! much apreciated!