MSI and DDR3 12800 800MHZ

[haythamg]

Hi,
This is my computer info.
MSI
Z87 MPOWER ( MS-7818 ) DDR3 12800 800MHZ
Chipset Haswell
Intel Z87
Bios American Megatrends Ver. 1.10

Now I don't understand ..Do I have 800 MHZ or 12800 ? I got this info. using CPU-Z. My computer keeps shutting down and it is pretty laggy so I thought I would buy more RAM but I don't know if what RAM I have is good or not.
I looked up my MSI board and found it says ( Supports DDR3-3000(OC) Memory ) so what is this 3000 ? Is it MHZ ? Should I just get 2 RAM sticks like the ones I have or can I get something faster?
Can I mix? Like use what I have then get 2 faster RAM sticks?
Believe me I am lost. I got this computer to be able to use video editing programs smoothly but I don't feel any speed.
Please forgive me if this has been asked before. I searched but came up empty and I need help.

 

[greens]

12800 IS 800Mhz, dual channel. Actual speed is 1600Mhz.

The note about 3000 is Mhz, dual channel, so the registered speed would show as 1500Mhz.

You shouldn't mix.

Faster ram wouldn't make a noticeable difference in any way, RAM speeds are almost impossible to notice, but more of the same ram might help.

 

[SinxarKnights]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR3_SDRAM#JEDEC_standard_modules

PC3-12800 = DDR3-1600

DDR means "Double Data Rate". So DDR3-1600 means it is 800Mhz with a double rate (effectively 1600Mhz). In short, 800Mhz is the right number.

However you are running it in single channel mode for some unknown reason. This alone will harm performance I am assuming you are using 2x 8GB sticks of matching RAM? Looking at your motherboard manual, you have them in the wrong slots for starters

So fix that and make sure it running in dual channel mode.

 

[greens]

I didn't even notice he was in single channel!! Good catch.

 

[haythamg]

Thank you all. So I must run it in dual mode and not mix RAM speeds. Thank you.

 

[SinxarKnights]

Well lets not jump to conclusions just yet. Did switching to dual channel help? What rendering software are you using?

 

[haythamg]

I did it and switched to dual>>> I feel a bit of speed... Let me see if I can post pics. I use Pinnacle Studio 15/photoshop CS6/ AfterEffects... A whole bunch of audio-video and photo editing software.