Question Risky mismatched ram or Slower matched kit

[artyily]

Hey guys!

I'm going to upgrade my ram in my PC and I found a good deal used (2pairs, different models )but not sure if it would work together okay.
MB: ASRock Z97pro3
The new ram that I'm not sure about: HyperX SAVAGE HX324C11SRK2/8,
HyperX PREDATOR KHX24C11T2K2/8X

Would these 2 pairs work together just fine at 2400MHz?

I've found also these: hyperX FURY HX318C10FBK2/8 its a full 4x8gb kit but it's 1600MHz, so the second question is should I buy these, or risk the higher speed ram with the mismatch? How much difference is there between 1600 and 2400MHz?

 

[punkncat]

It is generally not a good idea to mix RAM. If it can boot it will train memory on the common timings and speed. Would likely have to boot, let it do its thing and see where it lands with something like CPU-Z.

Intel typically doesn't take the hit that AMD/Ryzen does on RAM speed, but what you are discussing is pretty significant. Latency (CL) can make a big difference as well but it appears these kits are only "1 CL" apart aside from other timings I didn't look up.

 

[thestryker]

While mixing memory isn't a good idea when the timings/voltage match it's usually safe enough for older/slower memory. In this case the timings do not match so getting them to work at the rated speeds would require manual tweaking if it's possible at all. As for how much of a performance difference there is between 1600/2400 that would depend on CPU.

 

[geofelt]

Two 2400 speed ram kits will likely run at a slower speed when installed in 4 slots.
Then, there is the mismatched ram issues.

I would buy the 1600 speed fully matched kit.
Intel processors do not depend on fast ram for performance.
(excepting the integrated graphics)

 

[artyily]

While mixing memory isn't a good idea when the timings/voltage match it's usually safe enough for older/slower memory. In this case the timings do not match so getting them to work at the rated speeds would require manual tweaking if it's possible at all. As for how much of a performance difference there is between 1600/2400 that would depend on CPU.

The CPU is a I7-4790

 

[artyily]

Two 2400 speed ram kits will likely run at a slower speed when installed in 4 slots.
Then, there is the mismatched ram issues.

I would buy the 1600 speed fully matched kit.
Intel processors do not depend on fast ram for performance.
(excepting the integrated graphics)

Thanks, will go with those for sure!

 

[geofelt]

For an exhaustive analysis, here is a good article from some 10 years ago:
https://www.anandtech.com/show/7364/memory-scaling-on-haswell

 

[thestryker]

The CPU is a I7-4790

I doubt it would make a big difference in that case as the only way to really leverage faster memory across the board is with CPU OC as well. I think that 1600 kit will be okay, but the timings aren't as low as they could be so performance will be left on the table. Is there a specific reason for 32GB memory? If not then KHX24C11T2K2/8X would net you the best performance of the three you've listed.

 

[artyily]

I doubt it would make a big difference in that case as the only way to really leverage faster memory across the board is with CPU OC as well. I think that 1600 kit will be okay, but the timings aren't as low as they could be so performance will be left on the table. Is there a specific reason for 32GB memory? If not then KHX24C11T2K2/8X would net you the best performance of the three you've listed.

I can't OC because it's just a normal 4790 not a 4790K if I'm right...
The reason I need 32GB is because I usually run out of before anything (I have 16gb ) and get crashes by it, in games, in blender, and editing.
It's annoying that I can't use my browser while doing anything intensive on my pc.

And I just realized that It's not a 1600 kit, it's 1866

 

[thestryker]

I can't OC because it's just a normal 4790 not a 4790K if I'm right...

Correct that's why I said I didn't think it would make a big difference.

The reason I need 32GB is because I usually run out of before anything (I have 16gb ) and get crashes by it, in games, in blender, and editing.
It's annoying that I can't use my browser while doing anything intensive on my pc.

And I just realized that It's not a 1600 kit, it's 1866

That seems like you have something eating an inordinate amount of memory then. Gaming wise the only one I'm aware of off hand that eats memory is tarkov on certain maps, but otherwise nothing should really need more than 16GB. I'm not certain on blender as it's not something I use so perhaps it does have high memory usage. Until I built a second X99 box my primary had 16GB DRAM and even with steam/xbox/ea/discord open and all my normal chrome tabs up I never ran out of memory.

 

[artyily]

Well for a example Rust uses 8-11GB of ram, so opening a browser or any other app other then essentials the game crashes, also sometimes my game doesn't crash but discord does for some reason.

 

[geofelt]

If you let windows manage the page file size, and virtual memory size, you should never crash for lack of ram.
Yes, you may get hard faults and slow performance, but not crash.
Look for ram related fixes in the apps you run.