RAM size/slot configuration

[Joseph_Elliot]

Hi

I am about to install a pair of 8 Gig ram chips allongside the existing pair of 4 Gig RAM chips in my Maximus VII.
Is it best to put both the 8 Gig chips in one channel and the 4 Gig chips in the other or to have a total of 12 Gigs in each channel?
I know they have to be paired but is that a pair of 8's in one channel and a pair of 4's in the other or do the channels have to be
paired i.e 12 Gigs in each?

Regards
Joe

[NemesisChild]

Welcome to the forum!

It is not recommended to run unmatched sets of memory.
If you're insistent about doing this, run each matched pair in it's own channel.

Good luck!

[Joseph_Elliot]

Thank you for that.
If I do leave the 4 Gig chips in one channel allongside the 8 Gig chips in the other what negative behavior should I expect?
Will it behave as if there is less ram in place or would it become unstable?

[Ali_Baaba]

Joseph Elliot wrote:
Thank you for that.
If I do leave the 4 Gig chips in one channel allongside the 8 Gig chips in the other what negative behavior should I expect?
Will it behave as if there is less ram in place or would it become unstable?

You could expect system instability, up to and including system crashes.

[MarshallD3Framp]

Ali_Baaba wrote:
You could expect system instability, up to and including system crashes.

Not to mention possible damage to the RAM as the Mobo tries to adjust both at once, one goes past it's limits, and suddenly it burns out, oh dear--- Honestly it's safer to never run unmatched RAM modules together, since they are usually totally different. Imagine it as having siblings-----

[Jagdseelen]

Also you may find all your ram works as single channel and not dual channel

[light007speed]

i agree to the above comment's...
If u are insistant on having more RAM and mixing it, have the 4gb's pair on 1 channel, & the 8Gb'a on the second channel. If u boot & there is no glitches or system instabilities, then u might be good to go, tho check to see if u are in dual channel or single channel mode.
If there is the slightest glitch or a crash, just use 2x 8Gb sticks in dual channel mode and call it a day, at least u wont have to worry anymore. 16Gb is plenty if u aint a heavy encoder & for gaming n surfing the web.