Can I use faster ram?

[jason_villada]

im about to buy a new board however the max ram it takes is 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 - 2133(OC) however the ram i have is DDR3 - 2400 will this still work? will it just be reduced to a slower speed? or will I need new ram?

 

[The Paladin]

1 .what is your make and model of motherboard
2. generally speaking if you use 2400 in a 2133 only MB then it will run at 2133 speed. some people do that because the 2400 is cheaper than the 2133.

 

[Zerk2012]

im about to buy a new board however the max ram it takes is 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 - 2133(OC) however the ram i have is DDR3 - 2400 will this still work? will it just be reduced to a slower speed? or will I need new ram?

It will default to 1600 speed you will need to manually set it to the right speed and timings, voltage for 2133.
First check the XMP profiles and see if it offers 2133.
You might get it stable at that speed and might not.
You might need to lossen timings, overclock the CPU, or add more voltage to the memory or a combination of the three.