Can you install ram by skipping a ram slot?

[Cadred]

I installed 12 gb ram onto my intel mb...... Consequently, serious win crashes, so I did memtest86. got failing ram when all slots were full. but testing each stick memtest returned no problems with any of the sticks.

I guess I have a failing ram slot. I have 4 available ram slots, and 3 sticks of ram. do I have to install the ram in series: ram slot 1-3 or can I skip a slot once I determine which slot is bad. So, if slot 3 is bad, can I install ram in slots 1, 2, 4?

thanks.

 

[the great randini]

please post your ram type and speed, and your mobo

 

[willard]

You might be getting instability from using 3 sticks of memory on a dual channel system. At any rate, your system will perform much better if you use a pair of dual channel kits, rather than a kit and a lone module. There is very little benefit to 12 GB of memory over 8 GB, unless you're using applications which use tons of memory.

I'd recommend just going with 8 GB in dual channel mode, then getting another dual channel kit to go to 16 GB if you need it.