RAM Latencies

[ShaunyR]

I was thinking about getting an additional 2gb of RAM soon, and the type of RAM I'm running in my PC now is no longer on the market. I have 2 512 DIMMS of Corsair XMS in my system right now, and I was looking to fill the 2 open spots with 2 1gig DIMMS of Corsair XMS. My question is, do the latencies of the two sets have to be the same? If not, are there any cons in doing this?

Thanks

 

[suszterpatt]

Your mobo may not be able to run 4 sticks in dual channel (or at all), so definitely check your manual. Either way, I'd recommend selling your old RAM and just getting 2x1 gig. Unless you do a lot of video editing/modeling work, that should be plenty enough, and more sticks means more possible sources of failure.


But, to actually answer your question, you'd do well to match the timings on the sticks. It's still not guaranteed to work together perfectly though, which is why I'd ditch the old RAM altogether.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: suszterpatt
Your mobo may not be able to run 4 sticks in dual channel (or at all), so definitely check your manual. Either way, I'd recommend selling your old RAM and just getting 2x1 gig. Unless you do a lot of video editing/modeling work, that should be plenty enough, and more sticks means more possible sources of failure.


But, to actually answer your question, you'd do well to match the timings on the sticks. It's still not guaranteed to work together perfectly though, which is why I'd ditch the old RAM altogether.

QFT

 

[ShaunyR]

Alrighty, I'll just ditch the old set and get the 2-1gig sticks. Thanks!