Question I have an extra stick of ram laying around and I’m wondering if I can put it in my pc?

Jan 10, 2022
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I have an extra stick of memory but its not the same and I’m wondering if I can run dual channel on my current kit and single channel on the other one?The rest of my build has an i7 9700f and a rtx 2060 in an msi tomahawk z370 motherboard.
 
This question pops up a lot and this is the answer i always give.
Dont mix makes of ram
Dont mix Mhz values because the lower rated one will pull down the performance of the higher one.
Dont increase ram by 50% , always double up so you should have 8 or 16 or 32 or 64
Finally check what your mobo can handle
 
You have the means to test this yourself.
It works, or it doesn't.

If you do, balance the capacity so you get dual channel mode on all capacity.
Put your 2 x 8gb in one channel and the 16gb in the other.
Your motherboard should advise you on the proper slots.

You will have to run all ram at a common set of specs. 3000 speed for all.
If you have issues, try increasing the ram voltage a bit above the 1.35v you would normally get.

Then, assuming you can post,
Run memtest86 or memtest86+
They boot from a usb stick and do not use windows.
You can download them here:
If you can run a full pass with NO errors, your ram should be ok.

Running several more passes will sometimes uncover an issue, but it takes more time.
Probably not worth it unless you really suspect a ram issue.