Question Should I get 32GB RAM whilst getting a higher latency of CL20?

[PetarStev]

So I have an Alienware Aurora R12 which has 2 x OEM Kingston 8GB sticks of 3200MHz CL20 RAM. I also have 2 x Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB sticks of 3200MHz CL16. I've somehow managed to get them to work together on the PC and I'd like to know if I should run them together, since the timing of the sticks is different. At the moment I'm only using the Corsair RAM. Will I get worse performance when the RAM is at CL20? Are the 32GB worth more in comparison to a slower timing? I'd like to add them together since at times I see like 80% usage. I don't really remember but I tested them when I was trying out both sets of RAM and I think the performance difference was minimal, though I'm not really sure.

 

[Lutfij]

I'd like to know if I should run them together,
Simple answer, don't mix and match ram sticks. You have two different brands of ram, with differing capacity and latencies, not to mention Corsair is the only brand out there that sources IC's from multiple vendors which is why they have PCB revision numbers on their ram kits.

If I were you, I'd get a higher capacity, dual channel, ram kit. Dell does say you're able to get DDR4-3400MHz on there;
https://www.dell.com/support/manual...d2ea83-38a4-431d-803c-96d63c1dbc34&lang=en-us
which is why, if the prices are the same, to get a 2x16GB DDR4-3400MHz ram kit(with tight latencies).

Looking up process off of PCPartPicker;
https://pcpartpicker.com/products/memory/#b=ddr4&S=3200,8400&Z=32768002&sort=price&ff=ddr4&L=25,160
a matched set of rams out of the box at DDR4-3200MHz is actually cheap.

 

[geofelt]

A motherboard must run all ram with the same specs of Voltage, speed and timings.
You are fortunate that your motherboard is capable of adjusting your settings.
Mismatched ram can cause problems.
You are likely running at the lowest default specs.

Run cpu-Z to see what your actual speed and timings turned out to be.
Actual cpu performance is not much impacted by ram speed.
If you are using integrated graphics, the impact is higher.

Run memtest86+
It boots from a usb stick and does not use windows.
You can download it here:

Memtest86+ | The Open-Source Memory Testing Tool

Memtest86+ is an advanced, free, open-source, stand-alone memory tester for 32- and 64-bit computers (UEFI & BIOS supported)

memtest.org

If you can run a full pass with NO errors, your ram should be ok.

Running several more passes will sometimes uncover an issue, but it takes more time.
Probably not worth it unless you really suspect a ram issue.

 

[Bob.B]

So I have an Alienware Aurora R12 which has 2 x OEM Kingston 8GB sticks of 3200MHz CL20 RAM. I also have 2 x Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB sticks of 3200MHz CL16. I've somehow managed to get them to work together on the PC and I'd like to know if I should run them together, since the timing of the sticks is different. At the moment I'm only using the Corsair RAM. Will I get worse performance when the RAM is at CL20? Are the 32GB worth more in comparison to a slower timing? I'd like to add them together since at times I see like 80% usage. I don't really remember but I tested them when I was trying out both sets of RAM and I think the performance difference was minimal, though I'm not really sure.

If you use all 4 sticks of ram does the pc function error free?

Is the ram running at it's rated speed?