i reckon it will cause instability issues that, what about the voltages, are they different, if so, then give it a miss, could fry the lower voltage ram that

do you know the brand and model of the ram in your computer, try these http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html http://www.crucial.com/uk/systemscanner/ scan might tell you without opening your machine up

It is best to have the same manufacturer but you can safely have two different manufacturers if each set of ram is the same. Another words a pair of 4gb IBM and a pair of 4gb Kingston. The most important part is that they match. for example both are DDR3 SDRAM 1333 240-Pin Desktop Memory.
 
 
 
 

I'm having difficulty finding anything with the same 2.1 voltage, much less the same timing. Might be a hopeless case for me, unless I just spring for all new 8GB of RAM, which I don't really want to do.

Mark

Mosvalve


It is best to have the same manufacturer but you can safely have two different manufacturers if each set of ram is the same. Another words a pair of 4gb IBM and a pair of 4gb Kingston. The most important part is that they match. for example both are DDR3 SDRAM 1333 240-Pin Desktop Memory.
 
 
 
 

Sorry, I don't agree. RAM timings are really in a range. They are not absolute. Thats why one ram module may over clock well and another wont with the same specs. Matched RAM gets by this because when bought together they very likely will have been made with the same run. Its highly unlikely RAM from two different makers will perform identically even with the same specs. Though they should but why take the chance?

 

Here's my take on it ...

Look in your motherboard manual. It will tell you what RAM has been tested with your motherboard.

Type that part number in to Newegg.com's search box, or wherever you buy your parts, and get what has been tested with your motherboard.

I always replace my RAM all together, I never mix/match. I have no facts and figures to back why I do that, but I always feel more comfortable doing it that way.

I'll never buy Corsair again FWIW.

Bub.

Thanks, everyone. I found some used RAM on eBay that's the same brand and model as what I currently have, so I might go that route and hope it all works well together.

Mark

mwall


Thanks, everyone. I found some used RAM on eBay that's the same brand and model as what I currently have, so I might go that route and hope it all works well together.

Mark

hopefully your getting this ram used because its too hard to find,new ram is almost at an all time low.
if possible,buy new ram or youll be in the same boat your in now in sooner than you think.
my advice,dont buy something as important as ram at a yard sale.
 
Best of luck on this,

I bought 16gb Kingston HyperX  at $116.

I eventually got the Kingston RAM that my motherboard manufacturer recommended. When I put the system together, I went with Newegg's 'bundle' items. Big mistake.

It was $16 bucks per 2GB stick. I originally had 8GB, but since I never even went over 1GB of usage in Sonar ... I went with 4GB. Cost me $32 bucks for 4GB.

I had gone though 3 sets of 4x2GB sticks of that Corsair XMS RAM. All of it was bad. It was $182 for 8GB. After the third bad set Newegg let me switch brands and credited me the difference.

Nair a'gin will I purchase a single bit of Corsair RAM.

My system's a little older and requires SDRAM DDR2 800, which isn't so cheap and is harder to find, particularly a match. I'll price it around and see if I'll be better off getting all 8GB new. Thanks for the comments.

mwall


My system's a little older and requires SDRAM DDR2 800, which isn't so cheap and is harder to find, particularly a match. I'll price it around and see if I'll be better off getting all 8GB new. Thanks for the comments.

Is this your ram specs?  4GB (2x2 GB) DDR2 800 MHz PC2-6400 Desktop DIMM Memory Module Dual Channel Kit - MD4096KD2-800  

Price: $44.27 each kit

Amazon.com 
  
  Compatible with PC2-6400 (800 MHz), PC2-5300 (667 MHz), and PC2-4200 (533 MHz) systems 
  
  http://www.amazon.com/PNY-Optima-PC2-6400-Desktop-Channel/dp/B001ISJ964/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1361710816&sr=1-1&keywords=ddr2+sdram+800
 

Yes make all your ram the same...You can run mismatched sets...but it will cause problems...and or the slower brand will be made the standard for all...in my cause notes....overclocking might work for a while...but then the bios will complain about the overclocking of em, and ask that you make the necessary change....

Not that I Over clock...but with my recent buy and try..buying different brands to make the system post...was futile...Now I have two brands working in a third replacement board...but complaining...so I took out the lessor for the greator...And no more problems booting up with messages about oc memory.!.

Hope that helps.

mwall


It has been surmised that I need to upgrade my memory to possibly alleviate some weird experiences I'm having with Sonar. So, I want to upgrade from 4 to 8 GB. However, the memory I installed originally is not available any more. I can find PC2 6400 RAM still, but not in the same timing as I currently have, which is 5-4-4. How important is it to have the exact same timing on the add on memory? Options I'm finding now are 4-4-4-15, 5-5-5-15, and 6-6-6-15. If it's OK to mix, which would be the best option? Thanks.

I wouldn't mix myself... I had a hard time recently even getting a brandy new gigabyte z77 board to recognize a 4x8GB pack of corsair vengeance... even with XMP config, I had to fiddle around in the BIOS to get the timings set right... PITA if you ask me, these high falootin' computers with their fancy pants RAM chips...


I have an unopened pack of OCZ PC2-6400 (Titanium Edition) 2x2GB running 4-4-4 @2.2V here... If it helps I could send it to you if you want to try before buy sorta thing... figure you might be able to just run at your current timings (or higher) and undervolt these new sticks... keep in mind, the 4-4-4 and 2.2V go hand in hand, but that doesn't mean you can't undervolt, etc., to match things up. I certainly wouldn't overvolt your old chips... Let me know, and I can drop them in the post, and if they work perfrectly for you I promise I won't ask for more than... $175 or so for the pair... :)

I was joking about the $175, of course... they're unused now and likely to go unused, so I'd be happy to mail them to you and you can pop them in and see if you can mix them with what you have now... if so, I'd recommend first installing the mix and seeing if the mobo can auto-select volt and timing for you (but even if things appear to work, check the settings anyway). If that doesn't work, set the volts at your current 2.1V (or even lower) and set the timings to something safe like 9-9-9-24... If you want to try it out before dropping coin on ebay let me know... if it does work out and you feel obligated to repay me in some way, I will accept a $20 cash donation to your local animal shelter or other charity of your choosing... :)

PM me if you want to give it a go...