[SOLVED] mixing RAM; is this one sensible

[mft0040]

To the wizards out there, salutations. I have a question you might well find unintimidating.
I bought a Dell 8940 with i7 10700, to replace a HP with i5 8400. The HP had two 8gb sticks and the Dell only had one, so I took one of the HP sticks out and put it in the Dell. The Dell recognises the memory (15.7gb total) but I wanted to check, firstly is it safe long-term and secondly is it worth it, that is to say - will it help? My fear arises because CPU-Z suggests there's plenty of difference between the two and I've heard that sticks paired together should be near-identical. I've pasted here the details which CPU Z is giving for both sticks. If anyone has a judgement do let me know please.

https://imgur.com/a/6xxKOWZ

View: https://imgur.com/a/6xxKOWZ

https://imgur.com/a/jsmCMmy

View: https://imgur.com/a/jsmCMmy



With thanks,
Mark

 

[USAFRet]

Mixing RAM is always a crapshoot as to whether it works right or not. Or at all.

What is your definition of "safe"? It won't actually break anything.

"is it worth it "
Depends on if it works, and you actually need more than 8GB RAM. If your actual usage never goes above 6-7GB....more is just wasted RAM.

 

[mft0040]

Many thanks Titan, that's good to hear. Yep my definition of 'safe' was just in terms of preserving the lifespan of the i7; didn't want the processor to wake up in the morning and say 'oh no not another mixed-RAM breakfast' and proceed to give up the ghost after only a year or two. i5 can't handle Battlefield 2 with 64 bots even with a good GPU; well it can but there's noticeable lag whenever you're in the thick of the fighting, hence the desire to return to i7 and stay with it for many years.