[SOLVED] Mixing Ram?

[Andrewbandrew05]

So I want to upgrade the ram on my MSI Gf65 from 8 to 16 gigs. Could I buy a single 8gig stick of ram with the same speed and timings even if it's a different brand? Also, could I buy one with slightly better specs and clock it down? If doing this would lose me any performance I'll probably just buy two sticks of the same type, but if I can do this then yeah.

Also, does the physical makeup of the ram matter? Like what if the two sticks have different dies etc?

 

[JasonNs_]

So I want to upgrade the ram on my MSI Gf65 from 8 to 16 gigs. Could I buy a single 8gig stick of ram with the same speed and timings even if it's a different brand? Also, could I buy one with slightly better specs and clock it down? If doing this would lose me any performance I'll probably just buy two sticks of the same type, but if I can do this then yeah.

Also, does the physical makeup of the ram matter? Like what if the two sticks have different dies etc?

i had 2 mixed rams, one came from prebuilt, and g.skill one, they ran fine, without any problems or etc ... but that doesnt mean it could work for you, but mostly it will, also ram size doesnt matter, just pay attention because if you buy a big sized ram it might not fit if you use a big air cooler for the cpu, also dont mix DDR3 ram and DDR4 ram.

 

[Endre]

So I want to upgrade the ram on my MSI Gf65 from 8 to 16 gigs. Could I buy a single 8gig stick of ram with the same speed and timings even if it's a different brand? Also, could I buy one with slightly better specs and clock it down? If doing this would lose me any performance I'll probably just buy two sticks of the same type, but if I can do this then yeah.

Also, does the physical makeup of the ram matter? Like what if the two sticks have different dies etc?

Mixing RAM is risky!
I wouldn’t try it!
Buy a kit of 2 modules and call it a day!

 

[JasonNs_]

Mixing RAM is risky!
I wouldn’t try it!
Buy a kit of 2 modules and call it a day!

I think you kinda overreacting, it's not a psu or something, I've 3 pc running atm with different ram modules, speeds, clocks, all of them will downclock to the slowest one, it's not big deal.

 

[Endre]

I think you kinda overreacting, it's not a psu or something, I've 3 pc running atm with different ram modules, speeds, clocks, all of them will downclock to the slowest one, it's not big deal.

It can work.
But would you pay for something that you’re not sure of 100%?
I wouldn’t!
Sometimes it works in the beginning, but starts to give weird errors months later.

 

[JasonNs_]

It can work.
But would you pay for something that you’re not sure of 100%?
I wouldn’t!
Sometimes it works in the beginning, but starts to give weird errors months later.

I told him already tho, it might not work for him, but most of the time it does.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

even if it "works" you never know how it may be affecting performance.
timings may not match up correctly even on the lowest settings so calculations could take longer than average, etc.

it is always better to use RAM that is thoroughly tested for compatibility and packaged together.

you can always sell your current stick and put that towards your new set or just keep it as backup.

 

[JasonNs_]

even if it "works" you never know how it may be affecting performance.
timings may not match up correctly even on the lowest settings so calculations could take longer than average, etc.

it is always better to use RAM that is thoroughly tested for compatibility and packaged together.

you can always sell your current stick and put that towards your new set or just keep it as backup.

Right, but its really hard to find the same ram, especially if it was prebuilt, i had this problem, thats why i mixed, otherwise i wouldnt.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

its really hard to find the same ram, especially if it was prebuilt

even if they are the same make\model with the exact same specs, there is always a chance they will not be thoroughly compatible.
exactly why i stated,

it is always better to use RAM that is thoroughly tested for compatibility and packaged together.

you can always sell your current stick and put that towards your new set or just keep it as backup.

 

[Andrewbandrew05]

My plan was to use the bios to set them to the exact same. Maybe I'll try buy the two sticks and then try selling this one.

 

[Andrewbandrew05]

Or actually how can I tell if I'm losing any performance? I could just buy one stick of a particular type that seems like it eould fit the bill and try it out. If it failed I could simply buy another one and pop it in

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

how can I tell if I'm losing any performance?

you would have to have two separate sticks together and also a packaged set of two.
then time the difference between how long certain computations, OS boot speeds, application load times, texture load times, any number of circumstances, and see what the difference is.
or run a number of RAM tests and compare their results.

I could just buy one stick of a particular type that seems like it eould fit the bill and try it out. If it failed I could simply buy another one and pop it in

that seems like an awful lot of trouble vs just buying a new set.

 

[Andrewbandrew05]

It's just I'm not sure what to do with a random 8 gig stick of sodimm. I guess I buy a set of two and then try selling my old one.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

not sure what to do with a random 8 gig stick of sodimm.

something like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist is good for items like that. you can just find someone local and meet them in town somewhere without dealing with packaging, shipping, etc.

or if you have a few more expensive items you'd also like to get rid of, look into opening an Amazon Storefront.
over the last 4-5 years i've unloaded a lot of items through there. just add the shipping costs to the price you're asking.