Will new RAM work with my motherboard?

[scubasteve526]

Hello, so I'm looking to upgrade from 4gb of RAM to either 12gb or 8gb. My motherboard supports 1 GB, 2 GB, and 4 GB DDR3 DIMMs per socket. It supports Dual channel memory architecture and the supported speeds are PC3-10600 @ 1333 MHz PC3-8500 @ 1066 MHz. Also says that DDR3-1333 modules run at 1066 MHz if three or more modules are installed. My question is since my mobo supports dual channel will my ram work if I were to get x3 sticks @4gb a piece for a total of 12gb? Because the RAM I was looking at says that 3 sticks is triple channel and my mobo says only dual channel. My mobo has four DDR3 DIMM (240-pin) sockets. Any help would be great.

 

[o1die]

No. Don't run three slots with a dual channel board. 8 gb is plenty. Run the ram with matched pairs for stability. Tripple channel is determined by the board chipset, but running with three sticks leaving one slot empty will put you in single channel mode.

 

[nikorr]

Agree with o1die ^^^ , I just hope u have x64bit system ScubaSteve526? Do u?

 

[scubasteve526]

Oh ok. Yea 8gb seems plenty enough. I just game on my PC for the most part. But what If I were to get 8gb Dual channel ram cards(4gb per stick) and I bought a 2 pack for a total of 4 cards giving me 16gb. Not that I really need it, just curious if it would be compatible so say in the future if I want another 8gb I can just buy the same ram cards and pop'em in.

 

[scubasteve526]

@Nikorr, Yes. I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium x64

 

[Akashdeep]

Oh ok. Yea 8gb seems plenty enough. I just game on my PC for the most part. But what If I were to get 8gb Dual channel ram cards(4gb per stick) and I bought a 2 pack for a total of 4 cards giving me 16gb. Not that I really need it, just curious if it would be compatible so say in the future if I want another 8gb I can just buy the same ram cards and pop'em in.

IF you are doing fine with the current 8GB RAM kits then the another kit of same brand will suit for you with no problem. As it says- when you buy RAM, buy the same brand only.

 

[scubasteve526]

Ok, thank you for the all answers ;D

 

[scubasteve526]

Best answer selected by ScubaSteve526.

 

[scubasteve526]

Oh I had one more question. If the fastest speed my mobo can support is PC3-10600 @ 1333 MHz, does that mean if I buy RAM cards that run @ 1600MHz they wont work at all? Or will they just run at 1333MHz?

 

[o1die]

Most will will run fine at 1333; on some older boards, the default setting is 1066, but faster ram is no problem, and you can change the speed in manual mode in about one minute.