Difference between white and black memory slots?

[vinyqua0103]

I have an msi bazooka H370M motherboard with 4 ram slots, 2 white, and two black. Theres one 8gb stick in the first white one. If i were to buy a 2 pack of memory sticks, would it matter which slots i put them in?

Side question: Do the memory sticks have to be the same model, or even from the same company?

 

[jdcranke07]

The different colors assist with determining what channel each slot is associated with. The manual for the motherboard should tell you this.

No, you don't need to have the same memory from the same brand. However, if you don't, you are asking for compatibility issues & you will need to change your timings around so they all work together. Word to the wise is to just buy a pack of two or four to fill all available slots and be done with it. You can also buy two packs of two that are identical if you need to split up cost & you want to fill four slots. You run a slight chance of having to fiddle with timings, but it won't be as bad as two different brand sticks or two different CLs.

 

[jeremyj_83]

The color of the slots shows which channels are the same, for lack of a better description. You will want to put more RAM into the same color slot as the one that is already populated.

 

[therealduckofdeath]

To begin from the end, they have to be the exact same part number and manufacturing time, from the same manufacturer, to be guaranteed to enable dual channel support. The reason is, dual channel only works if the modules operate at the exact same speeds as the function equally shares to write load between them. The colouring on your slots is there to indicate which slots are paired for dual channel mode.
You will be able to mix your current module with any other supported brand but it's very likely that your chipset won't enable the dual channel mode.

 

[geofelt]

Read your motherboard manual.
It will have a favored pair of slots for using less than a full complement of ram sticks.

I don't think the color coding is standard.
It may mean each color is a pair for dual channel operation,
Or each color may denote a particular channel.

When you buy ram, buy a matched kit, not two individual sticks.
Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
A motherboard must manage all the ram using the same specs of voltage, cas and speed.
The internal workings are designed for the capacity of the kit.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards, can be very sensitive to this.
This is more difficult when more sticks are involved.
That is why ram vendors will NOT support ram that is not bought in one kit.

 

[vinyqua0103]

Thanks guys, and the ram sticks i were looking at were in a pack of 2. If i get it, should i replace the one i have?