Question about matching pairs of RAM sticks
Posted by LaDmEa@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 7 comments
I know reddit's buildapc standard suggest against this but in my specific case it's not matching different brands or speeds or timings or voltage or sizes or odd numbers of sticks. Those are all the same. The part number on the ebay listing is 1 letter off from the part number my operating system lists. Which I interpret as a refresh of the same fundamental part.
Mind you this is a low budget ddr4 workstation upgrade. I would rather not buy a 64gb kit(4x16gb) of sequenced matched sticks because my rig doesn't support 6 stick so the extra old ones would be a waste. And the extra money would be super useful for buying a 1950x 16 core threadripper to replace a 8 core threadripper. It's for workstation purposes so I'm not expecting extra framerate. More so I want to leave the browser open while 3d model in blender, unity while testing the model in game.
This used to be very easy to do on 8 core and 32gb ram but the web is really eating cores and sticks these days. Storage is still great a 3x512 nvme and a 16tb enterprise hdd. GPU is still good for security updates until 2028 and 1080ti handles cyberpunk with no complaints at 30fps. I don't see myself buying any of the latest rtx releases. Next buys are probably ffxv or vii remake.
Other more minor issues I need to address:
General deep cleaning of gpu and cpu heatsink and new paste/pads(still trying to find a thickness measurement for my gpu evga 1080ti).
Case fans, Ideally I would add 2 3 way splitters and go from 2 case fans(overheats while under workload when side panel is closed) to 6 fans. It's a threadripper mobo so I'm hoping the splitters work as matching a new psu cable would be a pain.
ThunderKats351@reddit
Is mostly up to the motherboard BIOS to detect them and make them work properly. I use to have 4+4+8+8 1333+1600 and at least make sure the ones working in dual channel where the same, I manually OC them to 1800Mhz with same timing and all work perfectly, they where Kingstone, a brand that shouldn't bring compatibility issues as they are extremely well know for decades by now and probably all motherboards recognize them well. Did had to deal with issues like having to connect 1 stick a the time after every boot and make sure they connection was solid but once is set it works like a charm. If I had to do a quad channel build and money wasn't an issue I would buy a 4x stick of the same brand and specs to avoid issue as new DDR4-5 doesn't come with a lot of flexibility to OC them and make them match on speed, limitating you the ones with lower clock speed.
aragorn18@reddit
There are never any guarantees, but you're almost certainly fine.
LaDmEa@reddit (OP)
I have done the deed. 1950x threadripper in box and 32gb of the most identical ram available for rational prices.
Also figured out the needed fan requirements will be fine with daisy chains. Won't repad GPU as probably not needed. Just a cleaning of the heatsinks will do.
YearofthegoatUK@reddit
Yep. It'll be fine. As far as the specs that matter, they're matched.
drewts86@reddit
You could always just buy a 2x32 or 4x16 kit and sell your old hit on r/hardwareswap if you’re that worried about it.
LaDmEa@reddit (OP)
I thought of this but it would require building in stages(and shipping parts) as I'm on an ultra low budget for upgrade. Would rather spend 2 hours all at once next monday doing 100% of the cpu and ram upgrade, cleaning and fan install.
heliosfa@reddit
What's the specific brand and part numbers involved? With some manufacturers, that one letter difference can indicate different manufacturer's memory ICs, or different rank configurations. As you are talking Threadripper, it could also be ECC vs. non-ECC.
Threadripper is quad channel so most boards have 8 slots...