[SOLVED] Can I Use 12GB ram

[Elkin]

I have 2 ram slots recently I bought 2 4GB ram and found that the same shop was selling an 8GB for a low price
so I regretted buying 2 4GB so I thought can I use 4 and 8GB at the same time?


Both Ram (4 and 8GB one) are the same in speed, type, and brand the only difference is the capacity
also, I have a stock hp Milton motherboard

 

[MJS WARLORD]

Ok first thing is check how much ram your mobo can handle , some do have a limit.
I would not recommend using 12 , the general rule is double what you have so it , 8,16, 32 , 64

 

[Ak47Egy]

Here's a quote from a very helpful article I found:

"It is advisable to use RAM sticks by the same manufacturer, of the same size, and of the same frequency. But there's a simple reason behind why mixing RAM sizes is usually not the best way. RAM has several components that all come together to make it perform well.

For two different size RAM sticks to perform optimally together, they need to use the same voltage and their respective controllers should play well with each other and the motherboard. That's why it's best to use the same model in all slots.

However, this doesn't mean you can't use different size RAM sticks together. For example, if your first stick is 4GB, you can still add a new 8GB stick. Once you switch on dual channel mode (also called flex mode), it will perform as two 4GB sticks running side by side in optimal performance.

The remaining 4GB of the new stick will run in single channel mode. Overall, it's not as fast as using two sticks of the same size, but it's still faster than what you had before.

It's the same with frequency or speed. Your RAM sticks will work together at the frequency of the lower stick, by default. So do RAM sticks have to match? No, but it's better if they do."

 

[Endre]

I have 2 ram slots recently I bought 2 4GB ram and found that the same shop was selling an 8GB for a low price
so I regretted buying 2 4GB so I thought can I use 4 and 8GB at the same time?


Both Ram (4 and 8GB one) are the same in speed, type, and brand the only difference is the capacity
also, I have a stock hp Milton motherboard

Yes you can.
But you shouldn’t.
Pairing RAM like that is wrong.
The best option is to sell your 2x 4GB kit and buy a 2x 8GB kit, or... stick with what you already have.

 

[Elkin]

Well okay then but what about if I buy a mobo with 4ram slots and use
4x2 and 8x2 at the same time?





also what will happen if my cpu only supports up to 2 ram slots?

 

[Endre]

Well okay then but what about if I buy a mobo with 4ram slots and use
4x2 and 8x2 at the same time?





also what will happen if my cpu only supports up to 2 ram slots?

You should always buy memory kits.
If your motherboard has 4 slots, buy a 4x 8GB kit, or buy a 2x 8GB kit and place its modules in slots: #2 and #4 (leave slots #1 and #3 empty).
This way you’ll run memory safely in dual-channel mode (though there are 4 slots, there are only 2 memory channels).

 

[Groveling_Wyrm]

You should always buy memory kits.
If your motherboard has 4 slots, buy a 4x 8GB kit, or buy a 2x 8GB kit and place its modules in slots: #2 and #4 (leave slots #1 and #3 empty).
This way you’ll run memory safely in dual-channel mode (though there are 4 slots, there are only 2 memory channels).

Using slot 2 and 4 is dependent upon the motherboard. Some use 1 and 3. Always refer to your motherboard specifications to determine what slots to use.

 

[Endre]

Using slot 2 and 4 is dependent upon the motherboard. Some use 1 and 3. Always refer to your motherboard specifications to determine what slots to use.

True.
But the “default” memory setup for the majority of motherboards out there is the usage of slots #2 & #4 (for daisy chain setups).

For T-Topology setups you can use any slot of channel 1, plus any slot of channel 2.
So by using slots #2 & #4 it is still fine in this case too.

 

[InvalidError]

Pairing RAM like that is wrong.

It is technically fine as far as the JEDEC standard is concerned. Though in practice, it is a recipe for headaches since no motherboard or DRAM vendor qualifies mixed DRAMs so you are entirely on your own if you choose to go down that path and the likelihood of running into issues goes up with memory frequency.

 

[SamirD]

If it's ddr3, I think you won't have issues, but if it's dd4 I wouldn't try it.

Even if it is ddr3, I'd just get the full 16gb and be done with it because upgrading later may be an issue.

 

[MandelaEffect2000]

Here's a quote from a very helpful article I found:

However, this doesn't mean you can't use different size RAM sticks together. For example, if your first stick is 4GB, you can still add a new 8GB stick. Once you switch on dual channel mode (also called flex mode), it will perform as two 4GB sticks running side by side in optimal performance.

The remaining 4GB of the new stick will run in single channel mode. Overall, it's not as fast as using two sticks of the same size, but it's still faster than what you had before.

Can anybody please explain to me how this would actually work?

I've never heard of dual-channel and single-channel mode running at the same time on the same system.

For example, if I had one 8GB RAM stick and add another 4GB RAM stick, that means a total of 8GB of RAM will be running in dual-channel mode and the remaining 4GB of RAM will actually be running much slower?

Can anybody confirm this in practical terms?

 

[SamirD]

Can anybody please explain to me how this would actually work?

I've never heard of dual-channel and single-channel mode running at the same time on the same system.

For example, if I had one 8GB RAM stick and add another 4GB RAM stick, that means a total of 8GB of RAM will be running in dual-channel mode and the remaining 4GB of RAM will actually be running much slower?

Can anybody confirm this in practical terms?

Yep, this is the way it works on certain systems. I didn't think this was possible either until I was testing some ram on my hp 8740w laptop that has 4 memory slots. It was running 8GB dual channel and I expected that to change to single-channel when I tested a 4GB module, but it was still showing as dual channel in various testing softwares. My assumption is that it was dual channel until it hit the last 4GB and then would go to single channel there.

Honestly, on ddr3 the whole single/dual channel doesn't really make that big of a difference, but if you can go dual that's always better.

 

[MandelaEffect2000]

Yep, this is the way it works on certain systems. I didn't think this was possible either until I was testing some ram on my hp 8740w laptop that has 4 memory slots. It was running 8GB dual channel and I expected that to change to single-channel when I tested a 4GB module, but it was still showing as dual channel in various testing softwares. My assumption is that it was dual channel until it hit the last 4GB and then would go to single channel there.

Honestly, on ddr3 the whole single/dual channel doesn't really make that big of a difference, but if you can go dual that's always better.

Thanks. It may have to do with the memory controller then.

Can anybody with a AMD Ryzen chip also confirm this?

Back when I used to build computers we had to have completely identical memory sticks in order to run in dual-channel mode, or having different frequencies running at the slower but never with different memory capacities.

 

[SamirD]

Thanks. It may have to do with the memory controller then.

Can anybody with a AMD Ryzen chip also confirm this?

Back when I used to build computers we had to have completely identical memory sticks in order to run in dual-channel mode, or having different frequencies running at the slower but never with different memory capacities.

Probably. My laptop is ddr3 so ddr4 and Ryzen probably won't work like this. I was shocked that it worked.