Ram upgrade - different modules in 2nd channel ok?

[TFishy]

Hi all,
I have a Z170 AR with i7-6700K skylake and a matched pair of Geil Glwr416gb3000c15dc modules manufactured in 2016. I need more ram and the same pair was $117 on special 2 yrs ago and now $267 for the same 2x8gb pair.
Can anyone recommend a middle range suitable 2x8gb matched pair for the 2nd channel?
Does it matter or can I just choose a pair with same freq and timings?
Thanks,
TFishy

 

[don256us]

The unfortunate answer is that the only guarantee of compatibility is to have the same RAM. I've had hit and miss results with sticks that were "similar".

 

[maxfly]

your going to find that pretty much all memory kits have jumped by the same or similar amount. late 2016 is when prices really started to get bad and havent gotten any better since. sticking with the same modules will be your best bet.

 

[TFishy]

Sweet, that makes my decision easy. Thanks a bunch boy howdy

 

[wingman99]

+1 Same set has the best compatibility, post back how it works out for you.

 

[TFishy]

+1 Same set has the best compatibility, post back how it works out for you.

Thanks for your advice on this. What I plan to do is sell my current ram (2x8gb) and either buy a 2x16 or 4x8 set. This ram is 3000mhz and I remember doing the research at the time but I don't remember that well. I have a mild auto overclock on this system (15%) and possibly won't manually overclock it, at least not for some time. I'm finding that 3000mhz and up sets are close enough in price to warrant going up.

What do you think would be my best plan for speed? Or focus on timings? Or just stick with 3000 because I don't need more than that? Patriot sniper gear is at my local store for a good price.

I use it as my main office computer so lots of multitasking between platforms I work across, sometimes I convert and edit videos, I play some games, and run a set of crypto bots (they're the ram hog rn).

Cheers,
TFishy

 

[wingman99]

Thanks for your advice on this. What I plan to do is sell my current ram (2x8gb) and either buy a 2x16 or 4x8 set. This ram is 3000mhz and I remember doing the research at the time but I don't remember that well. I have a mild auto overclock on this system (15%) and possibly won't manually overclock it, at least not for some time. I'm finding that 3000mhz and up sets are close enough in price to warrant going up.

What do you think would be my best plan for speed? Or focus on timings? Or just stick with 3000 because I don't need more than that? Patriot sniper gear is at my local store for a good price.

I use it as my main office computer so lots of multitasking between platforms I work across, sometimes I convert and edit videos, I play some games, and run a set of crypto bots (they're the ram hog rn).

Cheers,
TFishy

I would go for 3000 to 32000 speed memory and the timings you can afford, that would have the best possibility of reaching those speeds with 32GB of memory.