Adding 8GB to 2x 4GB

S

sgunnery87

New member
I currently have 8GB total Ram the make is https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Com...DDR3+SDRAM+CAS+9-9-9-24+1.5V+?productId=44336 and I was wondering if I can add a single 8GB stick of the same make and type RAM but with different CAS timing. see here https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Com...3+SDRAM+CAS+10-10-10-27+1.5V+?productId=49043

My motherboard can support single 8gb sticks with a max capacity of 32GB

Would this have any affect on my system would I need to make the CAS match

Thanks for any answers.
 
When putting ram into a computer it should be of the same make, be running at the same speed and be running the same cas timings, When it comes to amount Im not to sure if you are suppost to put 8gb alongside 2x4gb although I think its fine
 
Am not sure to be honest just thought increasing to 16GB while keeping 1 slot spare would be more practical that using both slots and maxing out at 16GB
 
I've Liked nepas' post as traditionally this is correct.

However, I've seen some mobos from some manufacturers do a link from Dimm_0 & 1 and pair with Dimm_2 to keep dual channel.

Mobo specific I'm guessing.
 
he will still have dual channel on the one bank, but the third module will only be single

and the memory controller would wanna puke trying to juggle info through that kinda

mess. plus, if over-clocked it'll present a mess of issues, too. stay with module pairs

to take advantage of the memory controller algorthymns.

airdeano
 
you can ofcourse but the memory will not run in the dual channel mode if at all, always buy same dims, yes that includes and chip volume aswell
 
Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P Intel Z68 (REV B3) Socket 1155 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard it isn't stocked in aria anymore.

Would taking the 2 x 4GB out and put 2 x 8GB work instead I am just starting to run VM's and want the maximum I could stick with 8GB for the time being until I could justify swapping the memory out for a new set the 16GB (2x 8GB) is about £90 whereas another 8GB of the original set I bought is £49.99 but then I am maxed out at 16GB and would have to spend more in the future upgrading to possibly 32GB.
 
Hi,

I added 2x8gb modules to my existing 2x4gb set up and it's working fine. There were some issues however...

The 8gb modules are 10-10-10-27 timings whereas the 4gb modules are 9-9-9-24. You'd expect the BIOS to correctly drop to the lowest common denominator speed right? Nope. The XMS Memory Profile thing on my ASUS P8Z68-V Pro decided to run at the tigher timings - causing instability.

To fix this I simply manually entered the memory timings and it's been behaving well since.

Adding an uneven number of modules, so just the extra 8 the OP mentions, would of course mean you'd be unable to run in dual channel mode - effectively HALFING your bandwidth. Depending on what you're doing this might not be an issue for you - often having MORE ram is preferable to faster ram, as ram is pretty fast anyway. I'd expect running at half speed to be readily noticable in benchmarking apps that take into account memory speed, but in day to day use the impact should be minimal. Doubless there are specific titles that really like faster ram, but I'd not expect it to make anything unplayable.

My advice would be to do it once and do it right, i.e. either get yourself another 2x4gb kit or go for it with a 2x8gb kit if you really need that much ram. I have a total of 24gb ram myself now, but then I play around with Ram Drives a lot so 10 - 16gb of that is used by the drive.

On a 64 bit OS I'd say that 8gb Ram is a very good number for a gamer - I have systems with just 4gb and they struggle at times with certain titles.

Best of luck, whatever you decide.

Scoob.
 
Scoob said:
Hi,

I added 2x8gb modules to my existing 2x4gb set up and it's working fine.  There were some issues however...

The 8gb modules are 10-10-10-27 timings whereas the 4gb modules are 9-9-9-24.  You'd expect the BIOS to correctly drop to the lowest common denominator speed right?  Nope.  The XMS Memory Profile thing on my ASUS P8Z68-V Pro decided to run at the tigher timings - causing instability.

To fix this I simply manually entered the memory timings and it's been behaving well since.

Adding an uneven number of modules, so just the extra 8 the OP mentions, would of course mean you'd be unable to run in dual channel mode - effectively HALFING your bandwidth.  Depending on what you're doing this might not be an issue for you - often having MORE ram is preferable to faster ram, as ram is pretty fast anyway.  I'd expect running at half speed to be readily noticable in benchmarking apps that take into account memory speed, but in day to day use the impact should be minimal.  Doubless there are specific titles that really like faster ram, but I'd not expect it to make anything unplayable.

My advice would be to do it once and do it right, i.e. either get yourself another 2x4gb kit or go for it with a 2x8gb kit if you really need that much ram.  I have a total of 24gb ram myself now, but then I play around with Ram Drives a lot so 10 - 16gb of that is used by the drive.

On a 64 bit OS I'd say that 8gb Ram is a very good number for a gamer - I have systems with just 4gb and they struggle at times with certain titles.

Best of luck, whatever you decide.

Scoob.
Click to expand...

@ Scoob so maybe adding the 16GB RAM giving 24GB total is maybe another options I was thinking about that also but cost is an issue at the moment I don't want to lose the 8GB I currently have as my build isn't even a year old and it would seem a waste I want to improve on what I have.

So I got 2 x 8GB sticks of the same make and type RAM but just changed the CAS timing in the BIOS to the lower ones (the 2 x 4GB) do you think this would work.

I don't game I am just getting in to VM's and am going to be looking into Ramdisk's also and programming so just want as much RAM as possible.
 
Scoob said:
Hi,

I added 2x8gb modules to my existing 2x4gb set up and it's working fine.  There were some issues however...

The 8gb modules are 10-10-10-27 timings whereas the 4gb modules are 9-9-9-24.  You'd expect the BIOS to correctly drop to the lowest common denominator speed right?  Nope.  The XMS Memory Profile thing on my ASUS P8Z68-V Pro decided to run at the tigher timings - causing instability.

To fix this I simply manually entered the memory timings and it's been behaving well since.

Adding an uneven number of modules, so just the extra 8 the OP mentions, would of course mean you'd be unable to run in dual channel mode - effectively HALFING your bandwidth.  Depending on what you're doing this might not be an issue for you - often having MORE ram is preferable to faster ram, as ram is pretty fast anyway.  I'd expect running at half speed to be readily noticable in benchmarking apps that take into account memory speed, but in day to day use the impact should be minimal.  Doubless there are specific titles that really like faster ram, but I'd not expect it to make anything unplayable.

My advice would be to do it once and do it right, i.e. either get yourself another 2x4gb kit or go for it with a 2x8gb kit if you really need that much ram.  I have a total of 24gb ram myself now, but then I play around with Ram Drives a lot so 10 - 16gb of that is used by the drive.

On a 64 bit OS I'd say that 8gb Ram is a very good number for a gamer - I have systems with just 4gb and they struggle at times with certain titles.

Best of luck, whatever you decide.

Scoob.
Click to expand...

@ Scoob so maybe adding the 16GB RAM giving 24GB total is maybe another options I was thinking about that also but cost is an issue at the moment I don't want to lose the 8GB I currently have as my build isn't even a year old and it would seem a waste I want to improve on what I have.

So I got 2 x 8GB sticks of the same make and type RAM but just changed the CAS timing in the BIOS to the lower ones (the 2 x 4GB) do you think this would work.

I don't game I am just getting in to VM's and am going to be looking into Ramdisk's also and programming so just want as much RAM as possible.
 
Scoob said:
Adding an uneven number of modules, so just the extra 8 the OP mentions, would of course mean you'd be unable to run in dual channel mode - effectively HALFING your bandwidth. Depending on what you're doing this might not be an issue for you - often having MORE ram is preferable to faster ram, as ram is pretty fast anyway. I'd expect running at half speed to be readily noticable in benchmarking apps that take into account memory speed, but in day to day use the impact should be minimal. Doubless there are specific titles that really like faster ram, but I'd not expect it to make anything unplayable.
Click to expand...

I'd like to re-iterate that this used to be the case with all mobos, and I'm struggling to find the manufacturer who's made a change to this, but I can't find them.

I only read the manual within the last few months.

As an example, they could do the following install:

Dimm_0 1G

Dimm_1 1G

Dimm_2 2G

Dimm_3 Empty

It would firstly combine slots 0&1 to work in one channel and the other channel on 2. Effectively like using 2x 2g sticks.

There was a text-box within the manual that explained you could do this in addition to more or less what Scoob says, which you'd normally have.

The OPs mobo isn't one of them tho.
 
Rastalovich said:
I'd like to re-iterate that this used to be the case with all mobos, and I'm struggling to find the manufacturer who's made a change to this, but I can't find them.

I only read the manual within the last few months.

As an example, they could do the following install:

Dimm_0 1G

Dimm_1 1G

Dimm_2 2G

Dimm_3 Empty

It would firstly combine slots 0&1 to work in one channel and the other channel on 2. Effectively like using 2x 2g sticks.

There was a text-box within the manual that explained you could do this in addition to more or less what Scoob says, which you'd normally have.

The OPs mobo isn't one of them tho.
Click to expand...

Sorry if I am being thick so I can't mix the 2 x 4 and 1 x 8 but could I add 2 x 8 to the 2 x 4??
 
I have just looked at my mobo manual and it uses DDR2 & DDR4 & DDR 1 & DDR3 I have 2 x 4 in the DDR2 & DDR4 so if U add 2 x 8 to DDR 1 & 3 it should work as the 1 & 3 will be running dual channel
 
sgunnery said:
Sorry if I am being thick so I can't mix the 2 x 4 and 1 x 8 but could I add 2 x 8 to the 2 x 4??
Click to expand...

That's pretty much what Scoob said he did. As he mentions, if there's immediate instability, it could be cos the mobo is using the timings from the wrong pair, which you can correct.

This is shoddy too. Back in the day, mobos used to do this for you. Not pick one set of timings and assume all are the same.
 
Hi,

Yes, to confirm I currently have 24gb in my ASUS P8Z68-V Pro. This is made up of my original two 4gb Modules and my two NEW 8gb Modules. In my motherboard, in order to run in dual channel mode, you have to install the Modules in alternating slots to make them work as a pair. For example, when I just had 8gb of ram (2x4gb modules) my setup looked like:

Dimm Slot 0 - 4gb DDR3 Module

Dimm Slot 1 - Empty

Dimm Slot 2 - 4gb DDR3 Module

Dimm Slot 3 - Empty

Dimm slots go from left to right, 0 to 3 on my ASUS.

Adding my NEW 8gb Dimms I decided to mak them FIRST in the sequence, my thought was that they would take priority and the motherboard would derive the correct timings from the first pair. It didn't work out quite like that & I had to manually change the timings, but my install now looks like:

Dimm Slot 0 - 8gb DDR3 Module

Dimm Slot 1 - 4gb DDR3 Module

Dimm Slot 2 - 8gb DDR3 Module

Dimm Slot 3 - 4gb DDR3 Module

This works fine and is in dual channel mode, tested using the WinSat Command in a command prompt with the /mem switch. So "Winsat /mem" in a command prompt runs a quick memory bandwidth test - I think I got around 22 gB/s.

Testing with ONE of the 8gb Dimms removed see's me with 16gb total Ram, but running WinSat sees my memory bandwidth HALFED.

To be honest, if pure amount of memory is what's important to you having an uneven number of memory modules - so just adding the ONE 8gb Dimm for 16gb total ram - would likely work fine for you. It'll save you some money too of course. there's no reason why you cannot later add a second 8gb Module when funds allow.

Cheers,

Scoob.
 
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