Different RAM kit compatibility

[Dragon155]

So currently I have 8gb (2x4gb) of Kingston HyperX white 1600Mhz RAM. I plan to upgrade to 16gb in the near future. So I was browsing on amazon for the same type of ram, which I found. I could buy one 4gb stick for 28$, or a 2x4gb for 73$. If I buy two 4gb sticks individually, or buy the 2x4gb kit for the extra cost, would it matter what I buy? Would it effect how my current RAM sticks work? Would it crash my computer if I added all the different kits?

Or would I just have to trade for a 4x4gb or 2x8gb

I plan to get a motherboard with either 4 or 8 slots for memory, if that adds anymore info.

Thanks,
Dragon155

 

[TechyInAZ]

Yes and yes. Applying different RAM configurations are not guaranteed to work. This is ESPECIALLY true if the ram sticks run at different speeds and timings.

 

[Dragon155]

Yes and yes. Applying different RAM configurations are not guaranteed to work. This is ESPECIALLY true if the ram sticks run at different speeds and timings.

I haven't really learned alot about ram, so if I buy two separate sticks of ram, same brand and same frequencies, and put all 4 sticks (two that are a kit of 4gb and 2 separately bought 4gb sticks, they will all work together fine as long as I don't change their stock frequencies and timings?

Thanks

 

[TechyInAZ]

Yes and yes. Applying different RAM configurations are not guaranteed to work. This is ESPECIALLY true if the ram sticks run at different speeds and timings.

I haven't really learned alot about ram, so if I buy two separate sticks of ram, same brand and same frequencies, and put all 4 sticks (two that are a kit of 4gb and 2 separately bought 4gb sticks, they will all work together fine as long as I don't change their stock frequencies and timings?

Thanks

That's both a yes and no. There is a chance they could work, and there is a chance they couldn't work. The only way to guarantee them working is if you manually change all the timings and frequencies so that all sticks operate exactly the same as each other. But this could lead to instability, meaning you'll have to run thru the same stability testing stuff as memory overclocking requires.