Mixing Brands of Ram

[stuperstrong]

Maybe this is a stupid question, but what affect, if any, would mixing brands of ram have on my computer? I would obviously get 1600 to match, but otherwise, would it really affect anything? Or is it just a matter of people wanting it all matching like I think it is?

 

[jimpz]

You may have absolutely no problems, or worst case, the system may not even boot.
You may be inbetween, & have random issues that you don't necessarily associate with the ram.
Ram mfg can do some thing differently, & some systems are more sensitive to this than others.
There is no clear cut answer, other than to match what you have.

 

[Shaun o]

Part of the thing about mixing brands of memory even if they state working at 1600Mhz.
Are the actual memory timings at that speed.
Not all memory modules run at the same latency timings to achieve a speed of 1600Mz.
Or 800Mhz x 2 =1600mhz. because it depends on the memory chips used, and who they are made by.

This is one of the reasons you buy a matched pair.
If the latency timings differ too much then a ram stick may also produce errors at a set speed due to wrong timings.

 

[mamasan2000]

Not only timing speeds can be different but also voltage required. One set could be 1.5v, other 1.65. So the question becomes, Do you fry one set of RAM or do you tone down both?