Is my RAM compatible with an ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Killer?

[Rankin McKechnie]

Hi all, I bought some extra RAM for my computer and I was a bit concerned about the specifications. From my motherboard specs, it states that the ASRock 990FX Killer supports "Dual Channel" memory. However, the packaging that my RAM stick came in states the channel type is "Single Channel." I'm no expert at RAM, and I'm a bit afraid I might fry my motherboard. I don't know the exact model # of the RAM stick, but it's just generic PNY ram.

Along with that, I should also mention that the voltage is 1.5 volts, has a CAS latency of 11, and does not support XMP. I'm not sure if my current stick of RAM has the exact specs as this new one does, but they both are 1600Mhz, DDR3 and are 8GB sticks. So will this additional stick of RAM work in my computer? If so, will there be any hardware compromises (speed change, latency change, etc.)? Thanks.

 

[Hlsgsz]

No worries whatsoever about frying anything.
Best case scenario: they will all get along and work in dual channel mode.(~20%)
Media casse scenario: they will get along, but not work in dual channel(doesn;t really matter, capacity is way more important.(~75%)
Worst case scenario: They will not get along and it will fail to POST, but there will be no damage whatsoever to any of your components. At this point you should start swithcin the kit you already had to the other two slots and putting the new DIMMs where the old ones use to be, maybe it will work.(~5%)

 

[Rankin McKechnie]

No worries whatsoever about frying anything.
Best case scenario: they will all get along and work in dual channel mode.(~20%)
Media casse scenario: they will get along, but not work in dual channel(doesn;t really matter, capacity is way more important.(~75%)
Worst case scenario: They will not get along and it will fail to POST, but there will be no damage whatsoever to any of your components. At this point you should start swithcin the kit you already had to the other two slots and putting the new DIMMs where the old ones use to be, maybe it will work.(~5%)

Thanks for the quick reply. One other thing I've heard is that sometimes, two sticks of RAM might have to slow down the clock speed to be compatible (i.e. 1600Mhz to 1333Mhz.)? Do you think I might fall into that sort of situation?

 

[Hlsgsz]

Yes, and it doesn't matter. They are all made to work at lower speeds. Seriously, just stick them in. No worries, except then just not working. They most likely will, though.

 

[Hlsgsz]

And if you are worried about performance, you will not see any difference in usage from frequency, latency or dual channel. Only if you benchmark

 

[Rankin McKechnie]

And if you are worried about performance, you will not see any difference in usage from frequency, latency or dual channel. Only if you benchmark

Good to know. I was afraid a lower frequency would drastically degrade my PC's performance. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Hlsgsz]

You're welcome!

 

[Rankin McKechnie]

You're welcome!

So I just upgraded my RAM to 16GB, and the speed slowed down from 1600Mhz to 1066Mhz. I haven't touched the BIOS at all on my motherboard as - to my surprise - it all configured itself. Should I check the RAM settings and see if I can up the speed, or should I just leave it be?

 

[Hlsgsz]

Just try to enable XMP.

 

[Rankin McKechnie]

Just try to enable XMP.

Ok, I got the speeds up to 1600Mhz. Thanks once again.

 

[Hlsgsz]

No prob.