Mixing different brands of RAM - advice?

[Krizalid99v2]

Firstly, my specs are:

MB: Asus P4P800 Deluxe with lastest 1019 BIOS
CPU: P4 2.8Ghz 800FSB
OS: Windows XP Pro with all latest updates (except the WGA)
RAM: 512MB

The motherboard I am using operates in dual channel. It has 4 RAM slots altogether, two of them are coloured blue, and the other two coloured white. This is of course for the dual purposes which tells you which slots to place two matching RAM sticks.

The current system I am using has 2 x 256MB PC3700 Gold DDR RAM modules by the brand OCZ, making the RAM total 512MB. These two modules are inserted into the two blue RAM slots of the motherboard, which is effectively working in dual channel - the timings for this RAM is 2.5-3-3-7.

What I want to do is add a further 1GB of RAM, which would bring the RAM total to 1.5GB.

I have looked at the Corsair XMS3200C2 Platinum TwinX PC-3200 2 x 512MB XMS3200 DDR modules, which each stick is 512MB. As you can see, the speed is 3200, where my current OCZ ones are 3700. These Corsair modules are stated to have timings of 2-3-3-6, and I plan to install these into the remaining 2 white slots on the MB (meaning I will have two dual channels running together).

Therefore I will be combining the following 4 RAM modules:

- 2 x 256MB OCZ Gold PC3700 (Timing: 2.5-3-3-7)
- 2 x 512MB Corsair Platinum TwinX PC3200 Timing (2-3-3-6)

Therefore I would like to ask these questions about the above plan:

1) Do you think it will work?

2) Will it definitely give me and work with 1.5GB of RAM total regardless of mixing different branded RAM, thus improving performance?

3) Will all 4 RAM sticks be able to work together in conjunction, or just provide a standard extra 1GB of RAM?

4) Any other complications that can occur with mixing different branded RAM?

5) If problems do occur, is there any chance of it permanantley damaging/ruining the system?

Any help will be much appreciated, thanks for your time.

 

[beel1956]

1. Probably not. The RAM may run but it will run at the speed of the slowest memory. This may give errors or complete failure.
2. No.
3. ???
4. As above
5. It MAY permanently damage all the RAM sticks.

 

[paparazi]

I strongly disagree with the above.

1) chances are it will work (80%) but abviously at DDR400 speed and at default clocks, this will be no detrement as both memory clock and CPU fsb will be in sync anyway.
2) yes if it posts you will see 1.5gig
3) most motherboards loose dual channel status when all four slots are occupied (see your motherboard manual)
4) Two differant makes and speeds are not ideal but it should be OK and work at lower DDR400 speed, be careful with memory timings, you may need to leave them at default.
5) It definately won't damage your motherboard or the ram.

I strongly advise "if at all possible" to try before you buy? maybe you are getting this extra ram from a friend???

Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[cdogg]

There are some motherboards out there that support dual channel in 2, 3 or 4 slot configurations (though most are either 2 or 4).

Typically, it's best to use a matching set of RAM when using dual-channel, because you can be sure that they all have the same timings. There are at least 5 different speed ratings (not just CL - CAS Latency). So when you think of "timings", realize there's more to it.

However, a matching set is not required. I'm not sure what beel was thinking, but you won't damage your motherboard or RAM by simply mixing brands or speeds. So pretty much, I've seconded just about everything paparazi has said!

In the end, the amount of RAM can be key if you multitask a lot with memory-hogging applications. If you just like to burn DVDs/CDs, surf the net, and work in an Office Application for the most part, then the extra RAM might not show any real increase in performance. On the other hand, if you were using Adobe Premiere, playing the latest games, or running 8 or more apps at once, then it might make a huge difference.

Don't lose the "dual-channel" though. That matters more than the amount in your system...

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
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