Installing non-identical RAM in dual-channel mode

unclescrooge · 21 Jan 2015

Hello folks,

I intend on installing additional RAM to a PC which is getting a bit long in the tooth. It currently runs the following in dual channel mode:

2x2GB G.Skill DDR3-1600 F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL

The RAM I'm looking to add is:

2x2GB G.Skill DDR3-1600 F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL

As you can see from the above, the two sets are not exactly the same. The RAM modules within each set however are matched. Do you think this might cause any problems?

Many thanks for your assistance :)

Layback Bear · 21 Jan 2015

Anytime all ram is not matched it can cause problems.

You have a good chance your rams will work together because they are so closely match but you won't know until you try.

unclescrooge · 22 Jan 2015

Thanks for the reply :)

I gave it a go last night and while it POSTed fine and got into windows, it took an significantly longer time with 8GB than with 4GB. I'm guessing this means that the two pairs are not compatible with one another?

DavidE · 22 Jan 2015

When I make any hardware changes I go into BIOS, review settings, and save the settings after making the hw change.
Make sure the settings look correct in BIOS.
Something you could try to see if it helps.

Installing non-identical RAM in dual-channel mode

Installing almost-identical RAM in dual-channel mode