[SOLVED] Does adding a different RAM stick break the dual channel configuration?

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jaseemharry

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Hi,
I have a question about rams. I have two 4 GB sticks (DDR3L) in my PC and they work in a dual channel configuration. I have another two 4 GB sticks that I recently got. But they are different rams (One DDR3 and other DDR3L). If I install this additional two sticks I would a get a total of 16 GB ram in my PC. But would it break the dual channel configuration. I heard that software like Premiere Pro benefit greatly from dual channel configuration. (Even if the PC is old, it is still powerful enough for my editing workloads).

I got these extra ram sticks for free from my friend. So I was just asking whether installing them will gain me any advantage over my current setup.
My current setup : 2 x 4 GB DDR3L sticks in dual channel, Both 1600 Mhz.
Additional Rams I have : 1) 4 GB DDR3 1600Mhz and 2) 4 GB DDR3L 1600 Mhz.
Should I install the additional rams or leave the system as it is?

Please let me know. Thank you.
 
Solution
Hi,
I have a question about rams. I have two 4 GB sticks (DDR3L) in my PC and they work in a dual channel configuration. I have another two 4 GB sticks that I recently got. But they are different rams (One DDR3 and other DDR3L). If I install this additional two sticks I would a get a total of 16 GB ram in my PC. But would it break the dual channel configuration. I heard that software like Premiere Pro benefit greatly from dual channel configuration. (Even if the PC is old, it is still powerful enough for my editing workloads).

I got these extra ram sticks for free from my friend. So I was just asking whether installing them will gain me any advantage over my current setup.
My current setup : 2 x 4 GB DDR3L sticks in dual channel...
Hi,
I have a question about rams. I have two 4 GB sticks (DDR3L) in my PC and they work in a dual channel configuration. I have another two 4 GB sticks that I recently got. But they are different rams (One DDR3 and other DDR3L). If I install this additional two sticks I would a get a total of 16 GB ram in my PC. But would it break the dual channel configuration. I heard that software like Premiere Pro benefit greatly from dual channel configuration. (Even if the PC is old, it is still powerful enough for my editing workloads).

I got these extra ram sticks for free from my friend. So I was just asking whether installing them will gain me any advantage over my current setup.
My current setup : 2 x 4 GB DDR3L sticks in dual channel, Both 1600 Mhz.
Additional Rams I have : 1) 4 GB DDR3 1600Mhz and 2) 4 GB DDR3L 1600 Mhz.
Should I install the additional rams or leave the system as it is?

Please let me know. Thank you.
Try it ddr3 is quite forgiving.
You might want to update the bios and chipset driver and make sure everything works with the orig ram first.
 
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jaseemharry

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Sep 5, 2021
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510
First of all mixing RAM is never guaranteed to work. Its a 50-50 chance. If it works, then you should add it. It wont be dual channel any more as you would be populating all 4 slots. But most programs including Premiere Pro should benefit more from more RAM rather than Dual Channel.
Try it ddr3 is quite forgiving.
You might want to update the bios and chipset driver and make sure everything works with the orig ram first.
Thanks.
 

jaseemharry

Prominent
Sep 5, 2021
14
0
510
First of all mixing RAM is never guaranteed to work. Its a 50-50 chance. If it works, then you should add it. It wont be dual channel any more as you would be populating all 4 slots. But most programs including Premiere Pro should benefit more from more RAM rather than Dual Channel.
Thank you. May I ask you one more thing.
If all the 4 ram sticks were exactly the same would I have benefited from the dual channel configuration? Also Is there any benchmarking tools to check whether the ram performance in those two configurations to know whether it will work or not.
 
Thank you. May I ask you one more thing.
If all the 4 ram sticks were exactly the same would I have benefited from the dual channel configuration? Also Is there any benchmarking tools to check whether the ram performance in those two configurations to know whether it will work or not.
Dual channel means 2 sticks, simple. So no, even if identical, 4 sticks makes it quad channel not dual.
You have to add the sticks and see if they work. In some instances you might have to tweak settings in BIOS.
 
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Dual channel means 2 sticks, simple. So no, even if identical, 4 sticks makes it quad channel not dual.
You have to add the sticks and see if they work. In some instances you might have to tweak settings in BIOS.
Wrong. There are/were very few quad channel boards, mostly server. Just like today's boards there are 2 separate banks, each of which can operate in dual channel mode when properly populated.
 
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Wrong. There are/were very few quad channel boards, mostly server. Just like today's boards there are 2 separate banks, each of which can operate in dual channel mode when properly populated.
I was talking about mainstream platforms used in home setup. Hardly anyone uses those in a typical consumer setup. I dont think Intel or AMD has ever released them in their mainstream platform, I might be mistaken though.
 
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Hi,
I have a question about rams. I have two 4 GB sticks (DDR3L) in my PC and they work in a dual channel configuration. I have another two 4 GB sticks that I recently got. But they are different rams (One DDR3 and other DDR3L). If I install this additional two sticks I would a get a total of 16 GB ram in my PC. But would it break the dual channel configuration. I heard that software like Premiere Pro benefit greatly from dual channel configuration. (Even if the PC is old, it is still powerful enough for my editing workloads).

I got these extra ram sticks for free from my friend. So I was just asking whether installing them will gain me any advantage over my current setup.
My current setup : 2 x 4 GB DDR3L sticks in dual channel, Both 1600 Mhz.
Additional Rams I have : 1) 4 GB DDR3 1600Mhz and 2) 4 GB DDR3L 1600 Mhz.
Should I install the additional rams or leave the system as it is?

Please let me know. Thank you.
I would definitely try them. And as long as you have 16GB, you will be faster because more memory is better than less memory. If it doesn't work in dual channel, post back and we can give you some suggestions on shuffling the modules to maybe make it work in dual channel mode.
 
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