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A Couple of RAM Questions
Hi, I apologize in advance for this really long post and I know these questions were asked a million times, but I can't seem to find anything accurate through search.
Recently, only 8GB of RAM became usable from the 12GB (4x3 Corsair Dominator 9,9,9,24 1.65v) I have installed. After testing each RAM and slots individually, I get these results:
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 (default setting) = 8/12 GB RAM used
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 = 4 GB
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 = 4 GB
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 = Windows won't boot (blank screen)
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 = Windows won't boot (blank screen)
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 = 4 GB
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 = 4 GB
Now the weird part.
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 = Windows won't boot (blank screen)
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1C2 = Windows won't boot (blank screen)
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 = 8 GB
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 = 8 GB
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 = 4 GB
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 = 4 GB
It seems a stick in B1 would prevent my system from booting. I pretty much concluded that Channel B stopped working and I will need a new Motherboard. Now, to the questions;
1. When a "slot" becomes faulty, does the entire channel (both slots) normally stop working altogether like my results above? Is it safe to say this is a motherboard failure?
2. Even though B2 has stopped working, Windows is still detecting 12GB RAM on my system. Am I still on Triple Channel mode using A2, B2, and C2?
I do extreme Photoshop work and each file I'm currently working on takes up to 7GB of physical memory. Adding that to the memory I have on cache crashes my program. I have a set of old ADATA (2GB 9,9,9,24 1.55v) RAM and I was thinking of placing them into A1 and C1 to boost my RAM back to 12GB while I wait for my new motherboard to arrive.
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
red = ADATA Gaming Series (9,9,9,24 1.55v)
blue = Corsair Dominator 9,9,9,24 1.65v)
If the faulty B channel drops me back into single channel mode;
3. What are the risks and consequences of mixing RAM of different size and manufactures like above? Would this cause hardware damage? Or do people not recommend it only because of a performance impact?