Mixing Corsair XMP certified and non XMP certified for Sabertooth X79 Rig CML16GX3M4A1600C9 and CMZ16X3M4X1600C9

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bjkill

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May 23, 2012
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Hi all,

I recently bought a4 X 4GB Corsair non XMP certified CML 16GX3M4A 1600C9 by mistake and using them with 4 X 4GB Corsair XMP certified CMZ16X3M4X 1600C9.

Question:
Will I encounter any issues? Would this actually be worse for my system? So sticking with 16GB of XMP certified and leave the other 16G for other rig or sell them.

Thanks in advance for your help!!!!

System:
Asus Sabertooth X79
i7-3820 3.6
Win 7 64bit

Use:
Gaming - BF3, SCII, SimCity
Excel, PowerPoint (Nothing super intensive)
Movie watching - 1080p grade media files, blue Ray
 
Solution
ubercake
Both of those RAM types have the same timings 9-9-9-24, Speed at 1600MHz, voltage requirements 1.5 and both are listed with XMP profiles:

http://www.corsair.com/memory/intel-memory-upgrades/dual-channel-intel-memory-upgrade-kits/vengeance-low-profile-blue-16gb-dual-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cml16gx3m4a1600c9b.html

http://www.corsair.com/vengeance-16gb-quad-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz16gx3m4x1600c9.html

The 'b' on the end of the cml model number in the first link I provided just indicates 'blue' as in the heatspreader color.

A worst case scenario outside of one of the sticks malfunctioning is the you'd have to turn XMP off and they'd all downclock to 1333MHz and run that way. This really wouldn't impact performance much either. The...
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ubercake

ubercake

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Oct 28, 2009
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Both of those RAM types have the same timings 9-9-9-24, Speed at 1600MHz, voltage requirements 1.5 and both are listed with XMP profiles:

http://www.corsair.com/memory/intel-memory-upgrades/dual-channel-intel-memory-upgrade-kits/vengeance-low-profile-blue-16gb-dual-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cml16gx3m4a1600c9b.html

http://www.corsair.com/vengeance-16gb-quad-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz16gx3m4x1600c9.html

The 'b' on the end of the cml model number in the first link I provided just indicates 'blue' as in the heatspreader color.

A worst case scenario outside of one of the sticks malfunctioning is the you'd have to turn XMP off and they'd all downclock to 1333MHz and run that way. This really wouldn't impact performance much either. The difference in performance is negligible.

I'd suspect, if you already have XMP profiles enabled, all of the RAM is going to play nicely together.

At any rate, there's no real risk trying it.
 
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Solution
geofelt

geofelt

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Oct 9, 2006
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Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards can be very sensitive to this.
That is why ram vendors will not support ram that is not bought in one kit.
Although, I think the problem has lessened with the newer Intel chipsets. Still,
it is safer to get what you need in one kit.
If you want lots of ram, I suggest you use 8gb sticks from one kit. It is easier for a motherboard to manage fewer sticks.

You want documented ram compatibility. If you should ever have a problem, you want supported ram.
Otherwise, you risk a finger pointing battle between the ram and motherboard support sites, claiming "not my problem".
One place to check is your motherboards web site.
Look for the ram QVL list. It lists all of the ram kits that have been tested with that particular motherboard.
Sometimes the QVL list is not updated after the motherboard is released.
For more current info, go to a ram vendor's web site and access their ram selection configurator.
Enter your motherboard, and you will get a list of compatible ram kits.
While today's motherboards are more tolerant of different ram, it makes sense to buy ram that is known to work and is supported.
 
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bjkill

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May 23, 2012
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Thank you both for your answers. I guess I feel more confident mixing the two after learning that the CML 16GX3M4A 1600C9 is also XMP Compatible. I guess the packaging didn't mention it was XMP certified probably because they were (Probably due to some licensing issues I reckon) So I will try to mix them and see if the system is stable. Thanks again for your advice!!!!
 
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ubercake

ubercake

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Oct 28, 2009
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You're not going to break anything trying it. And if it works out, great! If not, I would return the kit you just bought and seek out another kit just like the one you had originally.
 
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