Are 2 RAM sticks of same part number identical in specs?

[ki_2004]

Hi,

A question like this might have been asked before, but I could not find it out exactly on this forum.

I am interested to buy Corsair DDR4 RAM. The part number is CMK8GX4M1E3200C16 (8GB x 1 ).

Most authorized retailers in my country have single 8GB x 1 RAM sticks of above part number.

My question is if I buy 2 separates 8 X 1 pieces, will the two CMK8GX4M1E3200C16’s be identical in terms of Rank, SPD, Chipset and any other technical parameters?

If so, I have higher chances of getting them to work as Dual Channel RAM on my AM4 B450 Chipset motherboard.

Thanks.

[Infin1tum]

short answer: never buy single ram sticks

longer answer: you might be getting sticks with different ICs which might or might not work together. always buy paired sticks in the usual specified kits. only then you are guaranteed to have a pair of sticks that will work together.

[ki_2004]

Since DDR1 days I have 'violated' best practices when it comes to using RAM. Like installing 400Mhz when my board only supported 333 or installing 2 RAM sticks of same size but totally different brands etc. So far I never faced boot issues. However I believe Ryzen AM4 is bit more finicky!

 

You clarified that ICs may be different even under same part number! So going by that I will have to stick to Dual Channel Kit. Thanks.

[Corsair Notepad]

This video should help you understand why it is never recommended to mix memory, even single stick kits. The other issue you can run into is the kit you have now could be say v4.21 and the kit you purchase to "upgrade" is v3.xx. Those are going to be completely different ICs and most likely have completely different sub-timing requirements. Those small differences can prevent the system from booting, XMP/DOCP from being enabled, or you just have random system stability issues. Such issues aren't covered by the warranty as the memory modules themselves work as intended when isntalled alone in a system as a single stick.

 

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