Question Mixing DDR4 Ram - Dual Channel

Jun 9, 2019
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Basically, I have a gaming PC from quite a while back which has 4 RAM slots, I'm running dual channels, 1 x 4GB HyperX FURY in each channel although I've now got 2 x 8GB of Corsair Vengance LPX which I can also installed

Would you recommend having 1 x 4GB HyperX & 1 x 8GB Corsair in each channel? or should I just not mix at all?
 

Satan-IR

Splendid
Ambassador
As said above, no guarantee when it comes to mixing RAM. It can cause stability issues like restarts and BSODs etc or it might not even POST/boot. Get a two modules that's guaranteed by the manufacturer to work together as they're sold; a kit.

It might work as much as it might not. If you're OK with the hassle of trying to make them work (if it happens at all, no guarantee) or sending them back/refunding by all means gamble away.

The least that could happen is that they would work in single channel and not dual channel mode.
 
Jun 11, 2019
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As said above, no guarantee when it comes to mixing RAM. It can cause stability issues like restarts and BSODs etc or it might not even POST/boot. Get a two modules that's guaranteed by the manufacturer to work together as they're sold; a kit.

It might work as much as it might not. If you're OK with the hassle of trying to make them work (if it happens at all, no guarantee) or sending them back/refunding by all means gamble away.

The least that could happen is that they would work in single channel and not dual channel mode.
Can you run two identical kits on a 4 slotted motherboard thats only rated for dual channel? So like lets say im building an entry level gaming pc with 2x4gb dual channel ram, and down the line i want to upgrade my ram to 16gb so i buy the exact ram kit as the previous one and add it to the rest of the ram slots. Would it be compatible then? Or are there some big gaps in my very limited knowledge?
 

dr-mokum

Honorable
Jul 4, 2015
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Can you run two identical kits on a 4 slotted motherboard thats only rated for dual channel? So like lets say im building an entry level gaming pc with 2x4gb dual channel ram, and down the line i want to upgrade my ram to 16gb so i buy the exact ram kit as the previous one and add it to the rest of the ram slots. Would it be compatible then? Or are there some big gaps in my very limited knowledge?

As long as it's the exact same kit, down to the revision number, it should work just fine. I've never had a problem with doing that, and i've even had some success running different kits together. It's all a lottery IMHO.
 

Satan-IR

Splendid
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Can you run two identical kits on a 4 slotted motherboard thats only rated for dual channel? So like lets say im building an entry level gaming pc with 2x4gb dual channel ram, and down the line i want to upgrade my ram to 16gb so i buy the exact ram kit as the previous one and add it to the rest of the ram slots. Would it be compatible then? Or are there some big gaps in my very limited knowledge?


I wouldn't to that; for two reasons:

1- There' no guarantee that the new 2x4GB would work and play nice with the old kit. If you check SPD Information of some RAM modules (the ones that have a EEPROM chip containing the info on them) it even states which week of which year they were actually manufactured. Sometimes exact same modules which are 2 weeks apart out of the same production like won't work. As said, it's a kind of gamble. Sometimes different RAM from different makers with different speed or size work together (system sets the speed to the speed of the slower RAM).

2- More modules means more pressure/stress on the memory controller which sometimes results in instability and sometimes not better results than using a 2-module kit with same size. That is, if you need/want 16GB it's normally better to run a 2x8GB kit than a 4x4GB kit and also better than a 1x16GB module as it would run in single channel mode and not dual mode.
 

CosmicDance

Notable
Jun 11, 2019
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In my opinion your 2 X 8GB of RAM will be just fine for gaming.
It will also be very stable.

I have 2 X 8GB and with Battlefield V, which is a huge resource hog, it has only ever used a maximum of 11GB of RAM during gaming at 4K with high settings.
The same with GTA V really but I can't vouch for other games.

Andy

Obviously