dougery Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 Hey folks, I'm kind of new to this and had a question that I can not find the answer to. My Dell requires DDR2 PC5300. I presently have 2X512. I'm upgrading by one GB of ram (twinx) and just bought 2X512mb DDR2 PC5400 (corsair Twin2X1024-5400C4). Will this still run effectively in my computer? Any help would be greatly appreciated. TIA, ~ Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellowbeard Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 It sounds as if you are going to mix the new Corsair with your existing memory. If this is the case, it is usually a very BAD idea as it is not advisable to mix different types/brands/revisions of memory. You may get lucky but the only way to tell is to install the Corsair and give it a try. However, your best option would be to return the memory you just bought and buy a 2gb kit of Corsair. You can use the memory configurator linked on the Corsair home page to find the recommended memory for your system. You will end up with your original memory not being used but, it can be retained as spares, sold, or put into a new system. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougery Posted February 21, 2006 Author Share Posted February 21, 2006 Thanks Mike. I'm not sure of the verbiage on this, but I think I'm running dual channel? slots 1 and 3 have my old ram and 2 and 4 will be running the Corsair. I'm not in danger of frying my computer by giving them a try am I? BTW, for a noob, why is it a bad idea to mix ram? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellowbeard Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 You won't fry anything if you mix the memory in the slots you mentioned. Typically, if there are problems the system either will not post at all, or it will be unstable.And, it is unpredictable so that's why I said it's not advisable but, the only real way to test is to try it. Memory from different makers, or even different revisions of the same memory is often made with different ICs (the actual memory chips) and/or on newer/better/improved circuit boards. If you have memory that presents different operating characteristics to the CPU it can become unbalanced to the point the CPU cannot operate in a stable fashion. Or, the system may not boot at all. This is more true in current dual channel systems than it has been in the past with single channel memory controllers. This is why dual channel memory kits from Corsair are tested as pairs to make certain that they will run stable in a dual channel board. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougery Posted February 21, 2006 Author Share Posted February 21, 2006 Great info Mike, thanks for the quick reply. I'll give it a try and if it doesn't work I'll exchange. If it is unstable, will the results of this instability be pretty obvious from the get-go, or will it be hit and miss depending on the program being run? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellowbeard Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 If it is unstable, will the results of this instability be pretty obvious from the get-go, or will it be hit and miss depending on the program being run? More than likely, it will be obvious. However, memory errors can be very random and hard to troubleshoot. So, it could be like a bull in a china shop or a like a pesky little gremlin. That's the biggest danger, you never know how it will manifest itself if you do have a memory related problem. If the system will boot and run, you could run the test from http://www.memtest.com This may help to show any instabilities if you have any. Who knows, this may work so the only thing left to do is to test it. Mike . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted February 21, 2006 Corsair Employee Share Posted February 21, 2006 Please look up your system on our memory configurator then see if your reseller will help you exchnage to the right module. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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