Will these two different Corsair sticks run together on my PC?

[JosephBAdams]

Subject line nearly says it all. Here's the

Situation--

Mobo: Gigabyte Z68A-D3H-B3 (Rev 1.3) [specs]
CPU: Intel i52 500K
Current RAM: 8GB (2x4 GB) Corsair Vengeance Corsair Vengeance DDR3 9-9-9-24 @ 1.5V (model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9) [specs]
Propose to Add: 4GB Corsair "XMS3" DDR3 9-9-9-24 @ 1.50V (model CMX4GX3M1A13333C9) [specs]
RAM Overclocking etc.: None

Will these run together? (I'd just buy another pair of Vengeance sticks, but I expect to build a new PC soon)

Thanks!

 

[UsandThem]

They might work just fine. However, sometimes mixing RAM modules can cause problems. There's really only way to know for sure, and that's to try it.

 

[Campy]

If you already have the sticks, just try it. It won't hurt anything.

 

[JosephBAdams]

Thanks, guys. I will pop it in and see how it does.

...and speaking of that, how can I objectively/mathematically figure out how much it is actually helping my system?

 

[UsandThem]

Thanks, guys. I will pop it in and see how it does.

...and speaking of that, how can I objectively/mathematically figure out how much it is actually helping my system?

You can look at task manager to see your RAM usage, however very few people outside of power users / enthusiasts actually use more than 8GB of RAM. There are a few AAA games that are going over that amount now, but the vast majority of games are still under 8GB in use (recommended system requirements). So if you aren't using that much, it really won't help (or hurt) you at all.

 

[JosephBAdams]

Well, I do run X-Plane 11 with global ultraHD photoscenery. Other programs (video editing etc.) also often push me to the limit.

I was mainly curious to get any recommendations on software or monitoring programs that would allow me to see, on a comprehensive basis, whether the ram is performing *as well* with 12 gigabytes as with four. I already know that the extra 4 gigabytes will be accessed and used fairly regularly.

 

[UsandThem]

Well, I do run X-Plane 11 with global ultraHD photoscenery. Other programs (video editing etc.) also often push me to the limit.

I was mainly curious to get any recommendations on software or monitoring programs that would allow me to see, on a comprehensive basis, whether the ram is performing *as well* with 12 gigabytes as with four. I already know that the extra 4 gigabytes will be accessed and used fairly regularly.

When they test RAM, they test it with smaller amounts, and then install the new RAM and run the exact same benchmarks (games, productivity, etc.). You could run something like Passmark or AIDA64 to see synthetic benchmark figures, but it likely won't match what you see in "real world" usage.

 

[Billb2]

No. just no. For multiple reasons. The least of which (even if they are compatable) is a single stick won't run in dual channel. You're wasting your money - donate it to charity and you life will be better off!

 

[VirtualLarry]

No. just no. For multiple reasons. The least of which (even if they are compatable) is a single stick won't run in dual channel. You're wasting your money - donate it to charity and you life will be better off!

I wouldn't go THAT far. OP may still see some benefit from an extra 4GB of DDR3, even if the memory channels are unbalanced. Remember, more memory > faster memory, depending on working-set workload, generally-speaking. (Because hitting the pagefile basically nullifies all benefit that you might have had in saving a few ns here and there with faster / tweaked RAM, if you don't have enough for your working-set.)

 

[kschendel]

... I already know that the extra 4 gigabytes will be accessed and used fairly regularly.

Given that you've determined that you need the added RAM, basically everything else is irrelevant. Paging, even to SSD, is so vastly slower than RAM access that having sufficient RAM swamps out all other considerations. Let's suppose that your added stick makes the entire memory subsystem run at half speed, never mind why (and that is a fairly extreme assumption); the total effect on most programs will be on the order of 5-15%, and a likely real world worst case might be around 30% -- simply because many instructions don't hit memory, and those that do often hit cache instead.

 

[JosephBAdams]

[duplicate post]

 

[JosephBAdams]

No. just no. For multiple reasons. The least of which (even if they are compatable) is a single stick won't run in dual channel. You're wasting your money - donate it to charity and you life will be better off!

Given that you've determined that you need the added RAM, basically everything else is irrelevant. Paging, even to SSD, is so vastly slower than RAM access that having sufficient RAM swamps out all other considerations. Let's suppose that your added stick makes the entire memory subsystem run at half speed, never mind why (and that is a fairly extreme assumption); the total effect on most programs will be on the order of 5-15%, and a likely real world worst case might be around 30% -- simply because many instructions don't hit memory, and those that do often hit cache instead.

Thanks, guys. I should have clarified one thing: this is a pair of 4GB sticks.