Mixing 1gb with 2gb

[blaiznsheath]

Current computer specs

MSI-7390 sli V.2 Motherboard bios v.1.20
AMD 64x2 6000 3.0ghz
2x1gb ddr2 800mhz pc6200 ram
1gb nvidia gtx 550ti graphics card
500gb HDD
Windows 7 64bit

ok just bought a 4gb 2*2gb kit for my computer and want to install them with my current ram to get a total of 6gb.

when i install the 2gb ram in duel channel by themselves everthing works fine but when i install the 1gb in the secound channel the monitor doesnt turn on. so i figured i would go and check the timings

old ram is OCZ 1GB 800mhz pc6400 4-4-4-12 1t 2.1 volts
new ram is G.Skill 2gb 800mhz pc6400 5-5-5-15 1.8 volts

when i go into bios and check dram only has 2 options auto or DCT 0
also in the bios the memory voltage is set at auto 1.6v min and 2.3v max and it is grey'd out so i cant change it.

any suggestions would be great

 

[arcanise]

seems very weird, do you have 2 1gb sticks or just one? if its only 1 then i would leave it out untill you can get 2 more identical to the ones you bought, you want to match your ram any ways as it makes the comp more stable

 

[blaiznsheath]

I have 2 x 1gb

 

[arcanise]

ok try matching timings on the ram and see if that helps, if not then your MOBO has a hard time with different ram voltage requirments and wants to only provide the exact voltage of the highest requirment

 

[blaiznsheath]

how would i go about matching the timings. In the bios the Dram only has 2 options auto or DCT 0 when i select DCT 0 i can change the timings, should i set it to 4-4-4-12 or 5-5-5-15, and since it only has DCT 0 does that mean i can only set timings for 1 of the channel. the mother board has 4 ram slots

orange-green-orange-green

 

[arcanise]

make sure the 2gb sticks are in the orange and the 1gb in the green, make sure no dust or debris is in the slots, and then go into the bios and see what settings you have for timings

 

[blaiznsheath]

when i have tried that b4 the computer would turn on but it wouldnt send a signal to the monitor so i couldnt access the bios or anything, i will try again when i get off work here shortly

 

[arcanise]

ok let me know

 

[blaiznsheath]

ok with tried 2gb-1gb-2gb-1gb having the same problem the fans turn on and beeps 1 time still not sending power to monitor if i take out the 1gb sticks the computer boots normal works fine

 

[arcanise]

yeah your having a conflict of either volts or timing, i would just stay at 4GB(2x more than you had before) and wait until you can get another 4GB, besides 4GB is plenty of ram for normal users

 

[MarkS]

I just asked if I could safely mix sticks of different sizes and was told no. Thread.

Now everyone is saying it *CAN* be done?

Can it or can't it?

 

[arcanise]

they can be if the voltage and timings are the same or if your mobo can control two different ram settings at once

 

[Mario1]

I just asked if I could safely mix sticks of different sizes and was told no. Thread.

Now everyone is saying it *CAN* be done?

Can it or can't it?

I currently have 2x4GB Corsair Vengeance(rated at 1600mhz) and 1x2GB Corsair XMS3 (rated at 1333) for a total of 10GB.
Running the sticks at 1600mhz, no problems whatsoever.

 

[arcanise]

its not the MHZ its the timings and voltage that have to play nice

 

[Metlcub]

he's having more of a voltage issue. An old gateway core 2 duo my roommate had came with 6gig 2x2gig =4g + 2x1g=6gig total. It was odd Because most 6g system were the X58 at the time.. So it can be done, it's just gota be the same voltage mem. but the sticks in his system were installed 2g 1g 2g 1g like he's trying. May want install them as 1g 2g 1g 2g this way your higher voltage mem are primary. your new mem should be able to run at the higher voltage but just be carful.

 

[Mario1]

its not the MHZ its the timings and voltage that have to play nice

Yeah, I believe the voltage difference is causing this.
Timings should be automatically determined by the RAM sticks with higher ones as far as I'm aware.

 

[shadowdr]

If they are run at different voltages it probably cannot be done. If it is only the different timings than it still should be possible. The mobo will read the first stick and set timings according to the spd on that single stick. In order for it to read the first stick, the 2x1's must be removed and the 2x4 installed with one of them in the number one slot. After booting it will read the timings and set them to the new slower settings, only the can the older sticks be added. This works most of the time but the lower voltage of the newer sticks may not be enough for the older ones to operate properly. While timings are not generally crucial the voltage usually is.

 

[shadowdr]

I just asked if I could safely mix sticks of different sizes and was told no. Thread.

Now everyone is saying it *CAN* be done?

Can it or can't it?

That was DDR1, but still possible if timings and voltage were the same. The first DDR did not like different ram mixed in most cases but was accomplished in some circumstances. I personally mixed different ram on that platform but had to flash the SPD of one of the sticks to the second one. The different sticks were of the same capacity and by the same maker with only slightly different SPD's, so it was more the exception than the rule. IIRC DDR1 also had limitations to the number of banks it could run because the memory controller was on the mobo instead of the CPU so I was still only able to run two sticks on that particular mobo but that was a long time ago.