I currently have two 16 GB RAM sticks running at 4800 MT/s, but my dad just gave me another two sticks that are 16 GB each, running at 5200 MT/s. I'm aware that the faster RAM will downclock to 4800 MT/s to match the slower sticks, but I'm curious if that 400 MT/s difference will really impact performance. I'm also wondering if using all four sticks will affect overall system performance.
5 Answers
You’ll need to manually set the timings for the RAM since they're mismatched. If you can't get it stable, you might want to stick with the default profiles, which will be slower but way more stable at that point.
For sure, I’d rather have stable performance.
Typically, the best route is to clock everything to the lowest speed and set the worst timings. It might be slower overall, but it should run smoothly, and most users won’t notice the difference in daily tasks.
That’s probably the most practical approach for most users.
Thanks for the clarification! I’ll keep that in mind.
Honestly, just use the new sticks and leave the old ones out. Unless you're running heavy workloads or doing server hosting, 32 GB is plenty for gaming in most cases. Plus, having mismatched RAM won't help performance; you might even see a downgrade instead of an upgrade.
Exactly! Adding more RAM isn’t always better if it slows things down.
Sounds like a plan! Thanks for the advice.
You mentioned that it'll underclock to 4800 MT/s, but in some cases, people found stability issues where it dropped all the way down to 3600 MT/s. It might be worth testing your setup to see how it behaves.
Good point! I might as well try it out and see what happens.
Yeah, I'll definitely give it a shot!
Mixing RAM speeds can definitely affect performance. For starters, using all four slots rather than two could lead to some performance hits. Also, combining different RAM speeds might create conflicts, especially concerning timing and speed. Depending on your usage, like if you’re gaming or using specific applications, it may or may not be a dealbreaker.
That's true, but what if it's just casual gaming? Will the performance hit be noticeable then?
It depends, but for most casual gamers, it might not be a big issue.
That makes sense! Stability should be a priority.