I messed up. New RAM Help.

PaladinAzumarill

Honorable
Jun 22, 2014
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I just got my new 16GB (2 X 8GB) Memory today. Initially, I was going to swap out my 8GB (2 X 4GB) Memory with the new sticks while I dusted out my case because I couldn't fit more because of where my heatsink was. Then, surprise, turns out I was dead wrong, the unoccupied slots are more then easily reachable without even touching the heatsink... whoops...

So, here's my question: since both of these RAM Sticks are of the G.Skill brand, current ones are from the Sniper Series, new ones are of the Sniper Gaming Series, would having these plugged in at the same time work? My Motherboard can support a maximum of 32GB of RAM, so would that be a improvement? Or would that cause balancing problems or put excessive strain on the other parts of my PC?

My PC Build:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Dual Superclocked ACX Video Card
Case: BitFenix Comrade ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)
Wireless Network Adapter: D-Link DWA-182 802.11a/b/g/n/ac USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter
Case Fan: Cooler Master JetFlo 95.0 CFM 120mm Fan
Case Fan: Cooler Master JetFlo 95.0 CFM 120mm Fan
Monitor: AOC i2267Fw 60Hz 22.0" Monitor
Keyboard: Logitech K360 Wireless Standard Keyboard
Mouse: Logitech M705 Wireless Laser Mouse
Speakers: Logitech Z506 155W 5.1ch Speakers
Other: Rosewill RDCR-11004 5.25" 2 Port USB 3.0 / 4 Port USB 2.0 Hub / eSATA Multi-in-1 Internal Card Reader w/ USB3.0 Connector
Other: Phobya 4-Pin PWM Extension 30cm - Sleeved Black

The new RAM Sticks:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231611
 
Solution
Mixing and matching RAM types of similar specs has been known to work, but it's highly unrecommended as it can lead to serious performance and stability issues.

You can try it and see what happens, but you're better off just sticking with all identical DIMMs.
would having these plugged in at the same time work? - no - they have to be one big tested kit to guarantee them working.

Even if they were 10% identical - same make and model - unless they were a tested kit then there's afir chance they wouldn't work. But if there's even the slightest difference its almost certain they won't work.

And if they don't work, your PC will most likely BSoD.
 

BadBoyGreek

Distinguished
Mixing and matching RAM types of similar specs has been known to work, but it's highly unrecommended as it can lead to serious performance and stability issues.

You can try it and see what happens, but you're better off just sticking with all identical DIMMs.
 
Solution

PaladinAzumarill

Honorable
Jun 22, 2014
97
0
10,630


Decided that for the sake of stability to just swap out the old RAM with the new ones to play it safe. And WOW it's great, should have got this sooner.

Thank you!