Question What to look for when combining RAM from different manufacturers?

[deteredes]

Hello! I tried to search the forum for similar threads, but did not find a clear answer to my problem.
I was wondering what to look for (spec-wise) to see if two different RAM kits are compatible with each other?

In my system I currently have:
Kingston HyperX 8GB Memory Kit 2666MHz CL15
(Model number: HX426C15FBK2/8)
These are the memory module specifications for the kit.

and I recently received:
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB Memory Kit 2666MHz
(Model number: CMK16GX4M2A2666C16)
These are the technical specs for the kit.

From what I can see (unless I've misunderstood), they both

• run at 1.20V
• have a speed of 2666MHz

But they seem to have different latencies (15 vs 16?). Also the "speed rating" of the Corsair is specified as "PC4-21300", while for the Kingston it's specified as " PC21300/2666MHz". Or perhaps the "4" in "PC4" doesn't change the speed rating?

Either way, I would be grateful if anyone could help me determine if these different kits will "play nice".

Thanks in advance!

P.S. In case it matters, my motherboard is:
MSI Z370 SLI PLUS (MS-7B46) (U3E1)
and I am running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

 

[Third-Eye]

Hello! I tried to search the forum for similar threads, but did not find a clear answer to my problem.
I was wondering what to look for (spec-wise) to see if two different RAM kits are compatible with each other?

In my system I currently have:
Kingston HyperX 8GB Memory Kit 2666MHz CL15
(Model number: HX426C15FBK2/8)
These are the memory module specifications for the kit.

and I recently received:
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB Memory Kit 2666MHz
(Model number: CMK16GX4M2A2666C16)
These are the technical specs for the kit.

From what I can see (unless I've misunderstood), they both

• run at 1.20V
• have a speed of 2666MHz

But they seem to have different latencies (15 vs 16?). Also the "speed rating" of the Corsair is specified as "PC4-21300", while for the Kingston it's specified as " PC21300/2666MHz". Or perhaps the "4" in "PC4" doesn't change the speed rating?

Either way, I would be grateful if anyone could help me determine if these different kits will "play nice".

Thanks in advance!

P.S. In case it matters, my motherboard is:
MSI Z370 SLI PLUS (MS-7B46) (U3E1)
and I am running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

Both kits have different cas latency and timings and are different GB capacity being 2x4GB for HyperX and 2x8GB for Corsair. You can likely run both kits fine, but may not be able to run at 2666Mhz with XMP unless you install the Corsair kit first. If the XMP setting for the Corsair kit doesn't show up (would be 16-18-18-35 timings), you will likely have to manually input the timings of the Corsair kit to ensure both kits work together. The Kingston HyperX kit has tighter timings, so it shouldnt have any issues running at the looser CL16 timings of the Corsair kit. The Corsair kit should be installed in slots A2 and B2 first. Slot layout looks like this |CPU Socket| |A1|A2|B1|B2|.

 

[USAFRet]

What to look for when combining RAM from different manufacturers?

A good return policy.

 

[deteredes]

A good return policy.

I walked right into that one...

Both kits have different cas latency and timings and are different GB capacity being 2x4GB for HyperX and 2x8GB for Corsair. You can likely run both kits fine, but may not be able to run at 2666Mhz with XMP unless you install the Corsair kit first. If the XMP setting for the Corsair kit doesn't show up (would be 16-18-18-35 timings), you will likely have to manually input the timings of the Corsair kit to ensure both kits work together. The Kingston HyperX kit has tighter timings, so it shouldnt have any issues running at the looser CL16 timings of the Corsair kit. The Corsair kit should be installed in slots A2 and B2 first. Slot layout looks like this |CPU Socket| |A1|A2|B1|B2|.

Thanks a lot for the detailed information!

 

[Calvin7]

Memory manufacturers don't guarantee compatibility with that kind of combination. You can do your own compatibility testing if you want to make that kind of combination with no guarantees.