Question RAM Speed Decrease on Size Upgrade

[Scii]

My system specs are:
i7-4770
16GB 1600Mhz (2x8GB)
Lenovo SHARKBAY Motherboard (Came with a Lenovo m93 thinkcentre prebuilt)

I received a 2X4GB 1600Mhz kit, and upon putting in my system, my RAM speed dropped to 1333Mhz. The 2x4GB kit runs at 1600Mhz on its own, as does the 2x8GB kit.

First question: Is there anything that can be done about this? Being a prebuilt motherboard, the BIOS, of course, has no RAM settings. Is this a memory bandwidth problem?

Second question: If I cannot get this to work at 1600Mhz, I use this desktop for video editing. What's the better config: 24GB at 1333Mhz, or 16GB at 1600Mhz?

Thanks!

 

[Calvin7]

Memory is guaranteed in the form sold and not in other combinations you decide to make. Such combinations often cause the memory to no longer be able to operate at rated specifications.

 

[Belevolk]

your motherboard (manufacture) will have the specs on how to mix and match ram, if at all possible, I have found over the 3 decades I have been playing with dirt that keeping it all the same is the best for performance. Occasionally it is a matter of getting the right size in the right place.

 

[Scii]

OK, well I tried switching the slots that each kit is in, the same. So, what do you think about my second question?

 

[Belevolk]

The second question is not straightforward as it may appear. There about 300 mhz difference on the surface I would say more is better even though slower. However I have seen exact same machines operate slightly differently, speed wise. I suggest that different vids may edit slightly differently. Up front on this, I am not a vid editor and just know the basics. I would also think that quality is preferred over speed. I realize that there is a ton of processing to edit video. Speed may be a relative thing. If you have a small file try it each way (ram wise) time it, and see if there is a difference that will make your decision easier.

 

[Scii]

Alright, thanks for your help guys!

 

[Third-Eye]

My system specs are:
i7-4770
16GB 1600Mhz (2x8GB)
Lenovo SHARKBAY Motherboard (Came with a Lenovo m93 thinkcentre prebuilt)

I received a 2X4GB 1600Mhz kit, and upon putting in my system, my RAM speed dropped to 1333Mhz. The 2x4GB kit runs at 1600Mhz on its own, as does the 2x8GB kit.

First question: Is there anything that can be done about this? Being a prebuilt motherboard, the BIOS, of course, has no RAM settings. Is this a memory bandwidth problem?

Second question: If I cannot get this to work at 1600Mhz, I use this desktop for video editing. What's the better config: 24GB at 1333Mhz, or 16GB at 1600Mhz?

Thanks!

Two different kits whether from different brands or the same, will usually work fine together, but if you are populating 2/4/6/8 slots you sometimes have to loosen the timings a little to maintain whatever the speed is of both sets as advertised. Sometimes the kits will only work at lower speeds, but this is usually only an issue on modules that use different memory chips or chip configuration.

I would try running both kits at 1600Mhz, but increase the timings by 1-2 for whatever the advertised timings are. So if it was 1600Mhz with 9-9-9-24 timings, increase it to maybe 10-10-10-32. If you don't know the brand and part number of the kits, get them from the motherboard bios or from CPU-Z in the SPD tab and then search online for the specifications to determine the advertised timings of both kits.

Edit - If one kit is a low power 1.35V kit, you will have to run it at the same voltage as the other, which would probably be 1.5 volts. If it's a very old DDR3 kit that needs 1.6-1.65 volts for 1600Mhz, you may be better off running at 1333Mhz and 1.5v and having ram that works.