RAM brand mixing?

Emjay86 · 2 Dec 2019 at 19:16

Hey guys, would there be a problem in mixing RAM brands?

I'm looking to get some more DDR3 RAM for the interim but trying to find some that are the same as what I have got is near impossible. Adding to that, it's expensive to buy 16gb worth in DDR3 from what I've seen too.

My other option is to just buy 2 4gb sticks to make up to 16gb but as different brands.

Minibiker · 2 Dec 2019 at 19:38

I wouldn't think Brands will matter however if you have 2 different speeds then your PC will run at the slower speeds

Emjay86 · 2 Dec 2019 at 20:03

Minibiker said:
I wouldn't think Brands will matter however if you have 2 different speeds then your PC will run at the slower speeds

So I could buy whatever is cheapest, just to last me a year then?

Minibiker · 2 Dec 2019 at 21:16

Emjay86 said:
So I could buy whatever is cheapest, just to last me a year then?

I found this video quite useful, He talks about pairing different Brands and the results you may find... I think its DDR4 he talks about mainly but I'm sure it will be the same for DDR3

Emjay86 · 3 Dec 2019 at 08:01

Minibiker said:
I found this video quite useful, He talks about pairing different Brands and the results you may find... I think its DDR4 he talks about mainly but I'm sure it will be the same for DDR3

Thanks, ill watch it when I get home. I'm aware mixing DDR3 with DDR4 is a no-no and that the RAM will all go as fast as the slowest unit but wasn't sure of the effects of adding different brands.

Thanks for the info.

MaXxBoulton · 3 Dec 2019 at 13:17

Emjay86 said:
So I could buy whatever is cheapest, just to last me a year then?

yep, you have the putt the slower ram in the master slot then all other sticks will run at this speed

Emjay86 · 3 Dec 2019 at 13:19

MaXxBoulton said:
yep, you have the putt the slower ram in the master slot then all other sticks will run at this speed

Master slot?

What is this and how do I identify it?

Danny75 · 3 Dec 2019 at 13:56

Emjay86 said:
Master slot?

What is this and how do I identify it?

Motherboard manual (download it if you don't have it on-hand) should tell you which slots form the Primary Dual Channel.

One thing I like to do is make sure all the sticks are rated to the same voltage, as some can differ slightly.

MaXxBoulton · 3 Dec 2019 at 15:09

Danny75 said:
should tell you which slots form the Primary Dual Channel.

not the Primary Dual Channel, the master slot.
if you have 4 slots you will have 2 channels 1A/1B - 2A/2B
the manual will tell you have you have only one stick of ram to use ram slot XX, this will be the master slot normally 2A*. if you put 4 unmatched sticks in all sticks will run at the speed on the one stick in the master slot

Put all the sticks you have in one at a time and take a note of the timings in bios(load XMP), then put the slowest stick in that slot and away we go..

most(all) ddr3 is fine at 1.65v and ddr4 again is fine at 1.5v so dont worry too much about the voltage as long as it set right for the stick that needs the most.

Danny75 · 3 Dec 2019 at 15:32

MaXxBoulton said:
not the Primary Dual Channel, the master slot.
if you have 4 slots you will have 2 channels 1A/1B - 2A/2B
the manual will tell you have you have only one stick of ram to use ram slot XX, this will be the master slot normally 2A*. if you put 4 unmatched sticks in all sticks will run at the speed on the one stick in the master slot

From what I understood, he's got a matched pair and is thinking of adding a different matched pair, so it's only important in this case to put the slowest pair in the Primary Dual Channel (which will include whichever the Master slot is). He doesn't actually need to identify the Master slot in this case, unless I'm mistaken (not trying to be argumentative, so if I'm wrong please patiently explain the importance).

MaXxBoulton · 3 Dec 2019 at 17:24

Danny75 said:
From what I understood, he's got a matched pair and is thinking of adding a different matched pair, so it's only important in this case to put the slowest pair in the Primary Dual Channel (which will include whichever the Master slot is). He doesn't actually need to identify the Master slot in this case, unless I'm mistaken (not trying to be argumentative, so if I'm wrong please patiently explain the importance).

that would be spot on, the slower if the sets when go in channel B in that case, channel b is always primary and it the on furthest away from the CPU cooler.
manufacturers started to do this a long time again to make better clearance for big coolers

Danny75 · 3 Dec 2019 at 17:41

MaXxBoulton said:
that would be spot on, the slower if the sets when go in channel B in that case, channel b is always primary and it the on furthest away from the CPU cooler.
manufacturers started to do this a long time again to make better clearance for big coolers

Yeah, we're on the same page then.

As for the voltage, probably this is me being superstitious, but if you have pairs that use the exact same voltage, just seems there's a better chance of the more simple XMP one-click working. That's not to say you can't do it manually. I have 4x4GB DDR3 with two different speed pairs. The 2133 kit went into Primary, the 2400 kit went into Secondary, and then I set XMP and to quote Jensen "it just works".

Like you said though, since all/most DDR3 goes up to 1.65v fine it's not a huge deal other than possibly tinkering a tad more.

Joxeon · 3 Dec 2019 at 19:16

I've mixed ddr3 ram if a few systems including sizes, had 2 4gb with 2 2gb, just make sure there in the same Channel. Never really had any issues. Just try get sticks at similar speed and timings.