Is it harmful to use 1333MHz DDR3 ram on a Laptop which came with 1600MHz DDR3 RAM?

[MichaelAlexand3r]

Hi all,

So I've recently taken 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz from my broken Dell XPS 14z laptop, and put it into my new Lenovo u410 laptop, which is using 4GB DDR3 1600MHz. And it has 2 SODIMM Slots (if thats relevant at all).

I've read that you can do it, but its not recommend. Just wondering what are the implications of using both 4GBs of 1333, and 4GBs of 1600 ram ?? How Harmful is it?

Here's some additional information on both of the machines:

http://shop.lenovo.com/ISS_Static/WW/wci/products/us/laptop/ideapad/u-series/u410/IdeaPad-U410-Datasheet.pdf

http://www.cnet.com/laptops/dell-xps-14z/4507-3121_7-35043963.html

Thanks for your time & insight on the matter, very much appreciated

 

[laviniuc]

no problems whatsoever, only they will both run at the lower speed.

 

[MichaelAlexand3r]

no problems whatsoever, only they will both run at the lower speed.

Would it be better to use the 6GBs 1600MHz it came with instead? I mean in terms of performance.

 

[laviniuc]

it depends really.

-4gb fast option:
if you're filling up the fast 4gb ram the next needed memory comes from hdd page file which is atleast 20 times slower then the ram.

-8gb more option:
you start with 10% slower ram but you have double the capacity.

so check your task manager \ resource monitor - memory tab - for a couple of days. if your memory usage reaches and stays around 4gb it means you're using page file memory and the use of the other ram will help.

also, i forgot to ask, is your windows 64bits or not? (Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\System - and system type: can be 32 bits or 64 bits)
if it's 32 then it wont use the added ram! so do not add it unless you want to reinstall windows.

 

[MichaelAlexand3r]

it depends really.

-4gb fast option:
if you're filling up the fast 4gb ram the next needed memory comes from hdd page file which is atleast 20 times slower then the ram.

-8gb more option:
you start with 10% slower ram but you have double the capacity.

so check your task manager \ resource monitor - memory tab - for a couple of days. if your memory usage reaches and stays around 4gb it means you're using page file memory and the use of the other ram will help.

also, i forgot to ask, is your windows 64bits or not? (Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\System - and system type: can be 32 bits or 64 bits)
if it's 32 then it wont use the added ram! so do not add it unless you want to reinstall windows.

Thanks for your insight Laviniu Campean, and to answer your question, its running 64. Specs on the machine are as follows:

*****
Intel Core i5-3317U Processor, 1.7GHz/2 Cores/4 Threads/Max Turbo Frequency 2.6GHz

13.3 inch WXGA HD (1366x768) VibrantView LED Display with 720p Web Camera

6GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM

750GB SATA 5400rpm HDD + 24GB SSD Solid State Drive

1 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0, 1 HDMI Ports

Intel HD Graphics 4000 with 1 HDMI Port + 1GB NVIDIA GeForce 610m

Stereo Speakers

3-cell Lithium Polymer Battery

Integrated 2-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader

802.11 b/g/n Wireless WiFi Card

Integrated 10/100 Ethernet Network Card

Genuine Windows 7® Home Premium 64-bit Edition


Unlike my old XPS 14z which came with 8GBs and also had a Geforce graphics card that needed a dedicated 1GB, this only had 6GB.

But I just realized something that I don't know why I didn't do in the first place, and i feel like an idiot for not doing this in the first place. I could just use the entire 8GB DDR3 1333MHz Samsung Ram from my old laptop instead of mixing it with the 1600MHz lol "embarrassing"

And thats fine to use all 1333, when it came with 1600?

Once again, thanks for your time!!

 

[laviniuc]

if your current one has 4+2 (as i think it does) the 2x4 will be faster - either combination (because you get the dual channel working). i thought at first the 6 on the second reply was a misspell.

since the 4+4 different ones would work at the same frequency it's better to scavenge both sodims and run with only the old dell ones. identical ones are a better idea.

 

[MichaelAlexand3r]

if your current one has 4+2 (as i think it does) the 2x4 will be faster - either combination (because you get the dual channel working). i thought at first the 6 on the second reply was a misspell.

since the 4+4 different ones would work at the same frequency it's better to scavenge both sodims and run with only the old dell ones. identical ones are a better idea.

And I will do just that

Thanks again for your time and help, I'm very grateful.

All the best,
-Michael

 

[laviniuc]

no problem, let us know how it goes.