Combine Dual Channel Kit with Single Channel Kit

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Spiderdance

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Sep 13, 2013
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Hi guys,

I had just a single channel Corsair XMS 3 1333 4 GB Ram and extended it with a dual channel kit 2 x XMS3 1333 4 GB Ram. Will it make any problems because they have another part numbers?
 
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DiaSin

DiaSin

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Feb 7, 2013
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You should be fine. Its not ideal, but it should not cause any real issues. The two sticks in my laptop are not even matched, at least beyond speed. Both are DDR2-800 speed, but one is one of the original 2GB Elpida sticks that came with the laptop, and the other is a 4GB Samsung stick. It just pops up as 6GB ram. Even back in the day on my familys old WinXP system it was running 2GB of SDRAM, made up of a 1gb stick, a 512mb stick and 2x 256mb sticks, so windows has for a long time been fairly robust at handling ram differences. The only thing you need to watch out for is running sticks of different speeds.

Oh, and make sure you have a 64-bit OS or it will not utilize all of the memory.
 
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ubercake

ubercake

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Oct 28, 2009
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The timings may be different if they have different part numbers. Worst case scenario is you sell the old module and just use the new modules. This still leaves you with 8GB of RAM which is nothing to scoff at.

Are you trying for 3 RAM modules because you have an X58 and triple channel capability?
 
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Spiderdance

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Sep 13, 2013
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Thanks guys especially you ubercake. I just thought that 12 gb Ram should be ok. Didnt want to buy 16 gb. What shall I do? Give it back or put these 2 identical rams in dual channel and the other one in single channel? The rams are identical just with different part numbers. The 3 gb one which was just installed is in the first bank the other 2 (dual channel ones) in bank 2 and 3. What shall I do? Besides the clock speeds are identical. 9-9-9-24
 
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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.

For most motherboards, the odd stick will operate in single channel mode. That is not all bad, you will probably gain more with the extra ram than the minor hit from single channel operation.

Go ahead and try it. If you have a problem, try just the 8gb kit.
 
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ubercake

ubercake

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Oct 28, 2009
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I'd just run with 8GB unless you have some seriously RAM-intensive applications you'll be running requiring you to have the extra memory.

This way, you're running dual-channel with everything. More RAM doesn't equal better performance after a certain point. 8GB is a solid amount that should be sufficient for most situations.
 
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