Can I Mix ram?

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kongwill

New Member
Hello everyon!
I just got a new computer, 2GB PC3200 DDR SDRAM, and i have 2 sticks of ram from my older comp, ones 256mb ddr pc2700 and i dont know what the other is. I read some stuff that putting in slower ram with faster ram can actually slow down ur computer. I dont know too much about this stuff :confused: , and i did as much reading as i could. So wondering if anyone could help, thanks.
 
I'm not 100% sure, but I think mixing slow and fast RAM will make the fast RAM run at the same speed as the slow one. Not exactly a good thing.
 
Most mixed ram will work together, like DDR266 and DDR333 or DDR400, but you cannot mix DDR and DDR2 as they have different pin counts.

Also you can also mix ram with different CL speeds, but this will reduce the speed of the say CL3 ram to the speed that the other stick is running at.

I also wouldnt advise you to buy ram with different CL speeds as not all motherboards will like it, I know that there are a few ECS boards that absolutley hate it and even refuse to post if you have a dodgy combo of sticks with different CL speeds.
 
kongwill said:
Hello everyon!
I just got a new computer, 2GB PC3200 DDR SDRAM, and i have 2 sticks of ram from my older comp, ones 256mb ddr pc2700 and i dont know what the other is. I read some stuff that putting in slower ram with faster ram can actually slow down ur computer. I dont know too much about this stuff :confused: , and i did as much reading as i could. So wondering if anyone could help, thanks.
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Run the 2gb of DDR400 memory and you will be all set there. Why slow a system with a mismatch? In most systems where there is mixed memory the first slot sees the faster dimm installed. But not all memory will backclock to the speed of slower memory installed along with it. If you want to add more to what you have you would far better adding another 1gb PC3200 dimm.
 
PC eye said:
Run the 2gb of DDR400 memory and you will be all set there.
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agreed, 2gb of ram is plenty, unless you are some type of music/graphical genious who uses his machine for sole purposes of making masterpeices and you are going to create games for PS5 and you have software test in production. :D ...you'll be ok with just 2GB :P
 
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The one thing to remember when mixing memory is the type has to be the same and the faster memory goes into the first slot. Most but not all memory will backclock to the slower memory's speed. Despite the speed difference you still want to match the memory as close as possible. Unless you are getting into something like CAD or some other large graphics design programming or even Johann Sebastian Bach :confused: :P like sharkm87 has pointed out 2gb works out quite well on gaming machines. bach? :confused: mozart :confused:
 
That's why it is called backclocking. With the 2gb of DDR400 it would certainly be a waste of time to add DDR333 in there. Most systems running 2gb of memory are set to go even for gaming. The only time you would mix two speeds of memory is when the faster memory is small in size like having a 256mb dimm to run an app or game that needs 512mb available. Then you would add let's say another 256mb dimm but being a DDR33 instead of DDR400.
 
huge difference between cheap ram and good ram too, mix in cheap ram and you can have bsod's or other odd issues, especially on dual channel mobo's
 
The mystery of ram solved even though the Kingston memory used here is value not performance it runs error free on everything. Crucial, Corsair, Mushkin, lately not so good with OCZ, and a few others make the list.
 
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