Mixing Dual channel memories with single channel memory?

dumisoft

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Jul 6, 2010
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Hello there,

I currently owned this RAM kit. (a dual channel kit)
G.skill RipjawsX - F3 - 1600C9D - 16GXM
http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f3-1600c9d-16gxm

I want to go for 24GB of RAM all together.
So, I'm about to buy this RAM. (This is single channel)
G.skill RipjawsX F3 16009CS - 8GXM
http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f3-1600c9s-8gxm

So, my question is, will this RAMs match together?
Everything is same except number of Channels.

My mobo is Asus Sabertooth Z77.
CPU - Core i7 3770K

Thanks.
Have a nice day
 
Solution
Again it's a maybe, I just did an article on 32GB sets of DRAM, 2 of the manufacturers didn't have a 32GB set at 2400 so both sent two of their matching 2x8GB sets, neither of the manufacturers 2 sets would play nice without some voltage adjustments, and I've seen plenty of matching sets that simply won't play at all (and I've tried going into even secondary and tertiary timings on some as well as base timings and voltage adjustments - then too others will work together just fine. It's basically a crapshoot

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum
Mixing sets (or sticks) of DRAM is a crapshoot, they may play together, they may not. And FYI, DRAM is DRAM, any stick of DRAM can run in single, dual, Tri or Quad when paired with other sticks that all play together, whether it runs single, dual, etc depends on the platform it's installed on.
 

InvalidError

Titan
Moderator
To get full bandwidth out of dual-channel, both channels must have an identical memory configuration. With asymmetrical memory configuration, the CPU will drop into interleaved memory mode which may reduce memory bandwidth by as much as one half.

As far as mixing DIMMs go, results vary depending on CPU, motherboard and what the DIMMs are. It should work most of the time, albeit possibly at the expense of reduced memory clock or slower timings.
 

dumisoft

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Thanks for the quick answer. What did you mean by platform?
Sorry I'm bad at these memory handling.
 

dumisoft

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My CPU is Intel Core i7 3770K 3.5GHz (3rd Gen)
Mobo is Asus Sabertooth Z77. (It says dual channel memory Architecture)
It has 2 slots in one color and the other 2 slots in another color. According to the manual, I installed the 16GB RAM kit (8x2) to the mentioned slots. So, I need to know if I put the 3rd 8GB single ram, will it match or not. Links to the RAMs are mentioned in the post.
Thanks.
 

dumisoft

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Thanks. So, what do you think? I just want to speed up my Adobe After Effects rendering. That's why I'm going to upgrade my RAM. Will it work?
 

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum
You can try mixing, I'd suggest going on to a 32GB set and sell the old, which I know can be cost prohibitive to many. BUt wanted for you to know they might not play in which case you could be looking at RMA/Return, paying shipping, restocking fees, etc. If you do try and have problems feel free to give me a shout, I spend a lot of time here helping people to get mixed DRAM to run
 

dumisoft

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Thanks Tradesman.
What happens if I buy another same 16GB kit which I currently owned?
The there would be 4 x 8GB cards. I think that will work. no?
 

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum
Again it's a maybe, I just did an article on 32GB sets of DRAM, 2 of the manufacturers didn't have a 32GB set at 2400 so both sent two of their matching 2x8GB sets, neither of the manufacturers 2 sets would play nice without some voltage adjustments, and I've seen plenty of matching sets that simply won't play at all (and I've tried going into even secondary and tertiary timings on some as well as base timings and voltage adjustments - then too others will work together just fine. It's basically a crapshoot
 
Solution

InvalidError

Titan
Moderator

Is having 8GB on one channel and 16GB on the other symmetrical / identcal across both channels? No. If it does work, it will be in interleaved mode with reduced memory performance instead of the normal dual-channel mode.