Will memory of the same brand, speed, etc work together?

[Awefulwaffle]

Sorry for the vague title.

I have 2x2gB and a 2x4gb sticks. . . Totaling 12gb.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303

And

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

I know my mobo supports the 4gb pair. I'm pretty sure it will support the 8gb pair but I just want to make sure before I blow something up. Thanks a lot!

 

[GhislainG]

You won't blow anything if you install the 8GB kit. Note that the kits are not identical: the 4GB kit is CL7 while the 8GB kit is CL9.

 

[clutchc]

You won't blow anything up. They have slightly different voltage requirements (1.5V vs 1.6V), but that may not be an issue. The memory controller will default to the lower voltage. The timings aren't at all alike, so the memory controller will probably default to the slower timings. It's always best to use matched sets of RAM.

 

[wiinippongamer]

It should be fine, it'll just default to the slowest timings of the bunch and lower voltage, worst case scenario you'll need a bit of tweaking to get them stable. Also make sure you place both 2gb sticks and both 4gb sticks on slots of the same color, for example, if your motherboard has 2 blue slots and 2 black slots place both 2gb sticks on the blue ones and both 4gb sticks on the black ones, otherwise dual channel may not work.

 

[Awefulwaffle]

Thanks guys. Would it be better if I just used the 8gigs alone? I didnt have a huge problem when I was using the 4 alone. . . Maybe I would get more use out of just 8 until I pick up another pair?

Thanks again!

 

[wiinippongamer]

Try both kits first and see if they work, you've nothing to lose.

 

[clutchc]

Unless you have apps that require massive amounts of memory, or you open a huge number of apps at a time, you won't notice any difference from 8GB to 12GB.

 

[wiinippongamer]

Braggin rights... and maybe a bit of future proofing?. It can't hurt though.