Memory mix and match

[oldman_gamer]

Is it ok to mix memory stick brands,with others you have running.Will they work as long as the latency is the same? Or do you need to stay with one brand and if so, why?

[Pete]

I always thought it would just downgrade to the slowest ram. Dont know about the new stuff though, Ive only done it with SD.

[Stormcrow]

Yeah, it would downgrade to match the speed of the slowest DIMM. A stick of DDR2800 mixed with DDR2533 would decrease the first sticks speed down to 533mhz. Also keep in mind that sometimes RAM doesn't play nicely with each other, mixing sticks could cause it not to boot or give errors. This is usually true with high performance RAM, bargain bin value-sticks tend to mix well because they mostly use the same cheap chips. Also you need to keep the RAM as close to spec with each other as possible for Dual Channel to work, sometimes even to the point where only the same batch will work with each other.
In short, if you want to upgrade to 4 gigs of RAM, go with another kit of Ballistix with the same frequency (DDR2800 or DDR21066, whichever one you bought).

[oldman_gamer]

Price is a little high now....will have to walk around at the mall and look for change.

[screwballl]

as long as the memory is the same speed then there shouldn't be any problem... if you are mixing different speeds then all the memory takes the speed of the slowest stick

[Capper]

I've never had any problem mixing and matching sticks. As previously brought up, it will default to the slowest speed and latencies......but if you are using two sticks with the same specs, it will work fine.

The only area you might not see good results is in overclocking.

[Tech Geek Deluxe]

Ram sticks can be mixed. It is better to not do so if convenient.
Dual channel it is even more critical.

If you are matching two dual channel sets ... it is better to match also; however they can be mixed by pairs.

The problems come when setting timing, speed and latencies. If the PC autosets ... it will set everything to the slowest compatibility.

If doing so and overclocking or trying to maximize settings and latencies you will need to consider the specs for each stick or each dual channel pair.

I do this all the time and find that the headroom for overclocking with 4 sticks is reduced a little due to variables in the two pairs of dual channel ram. [Even with matching spec same manufacture ram.]

Long story short ... yeah ... do it and try to stay in same spec, voltage, and latencies or improved ... then the two "pairs" often can be tweaked to the level of the lowest spec pairs max.]

I have 21 GB of DDR2 [PC2 6400 - PC2 8500] between the 5 Desktops in the house that range between 1.8V-2.4V and 4-4-4-12 and 5-5-5-15

The 2.2V will play nice with the 2.4V ... at 2.35V
The 1.8V will play nice with the 1.85, 2.0 and 2.1V ... but start to heat up a tad with the 2.4V and get unstable.

I have a pair of the DDR2 675 2-3-3-8 Corsair XMS-2 ... that could handle voltages up to 2.4V ... and clock up to 1000MHZ with slow timings. [5-5-5-15]

The basic rule of thumb I have found is that when matching any high performance matched dual channel pair with another "Like spec" dual channel pair ... [Even if they are the exact same sticks] you will loose about 5-10% of your overclock headroom from the max overclock of the slowest pairs best settings.

[oldman_gamer]

Thanks for all the input from everyone...I have decided to stay with the same make,model and GB as the original Crucial sticks, and wil upgrade accordingly.Eventually want to take it to the limit of my mobo and get to 8GB....will stay with original mfg.

[Tech Geek Deluxe]

That is really the best way to go. Though if you have 2ea 1GB sticks now ... then you only have 2 slots left to put addl ram into your MOBO and they could be filled with 2ea 2GB ... giving you 6gb Ram ... which is very nice ... just be aware that your max Ram Overclock will need be a tad more conservative to keep your system super stable.

[oldman_gamer]

Im still pondering whether to take it to the max with 8Gb..Most likely will go with half of that.I look at it this way,can always add more if needed.