Can you use slots 2 and 4 rather than 1 and 3?

ajf · 8 Oct 2012 at 13:40

Hope this makes sense.
New motherboard has 4 slots. Typically pair the memory in slots 1 and 3 then 2 and 4.

With only two slots used, can I use 2 and 4 if nothing in 1 and 3?

Reason I ask is slot 1 slightly hinders heatsink on CPU.

stulid · 8 Oct 2012 at 13:51

Why not try it and see?

ajf · 8 Oct 2012 at 13:57

Didn't want anything to go bang!

If it's just a matter of won't work rather than might damage then fine.

The manual is a bit unclear too on that issue.

blueseidboy · 8 Oct 2012 at 13:57

not sure if its board specific but for my giagabyte z77 board the book says you can use either pair and makes no reference to one pair of slots being used over the other.

BluSky · 8 Oct 2012 at 16:03

I think it varies by motherboard. In this case though you cant break anything by putting RAM in the wrong slots so have a go and see

Admiral Huddy · 8 Oct 2012 at 16:08

ajf said:
Didn't want anything to go bang!
If it's just a matter of won't work rather than might damage then fine.

The manual is a bit unclear too on that issue.

Will be fine.

If the modules fit in the slots, then nothing can go bang. The orientation of DDR, DDR2 and DDR3 modules are built for this very reason.

Try and see.. Check in the BIOS and/or use CPU-Z to check your results.