Worth it to mix memory?

[justinonemillion]

I'm currently running BI on a dedicated refurb Optiplex with 2x4 GB of PC3-12800 memory (SK Hynix brand). I came into possession of 2x4 GB of PC3-10666 memory (G.Skill brand). Would BI performance increase if I ran 16GB at 10,666 vs 8GB at 12,800? I don't have performance issues on the machine currently so this is mostly a curiosity question to see if it would be worth it.

I apologize in advance if this is a ridiculous question.

 

[mat200]

I'm currently running BI on a dedicated refurb Optiplex with 2x4 GB of PC3-12800 memory (SK Hynix brand). I came into possession of 2x4 GB of PC3-10666 memory (G.Skill brand). Would BI performance increase if I ran 16GB at 10,666 vs 8GB at 12,800? I don't have performance issues on the machine currently so this is mostly a curiosity question to see if it would be worth it.

I apologize in advance if this is a ridiculous question.

Hi @justinonemillion,

Check your computer resources and see how much memory your computer is using currently. ( task manager > performance )

 

[bp2008]

If your current RAM is already operating as dual channel, then adding the slower ram likely will not help unless you actually need the additional capacity.

 

[Mike A.]

Won't memory still run dual-channel as long as you match the memory in the corresponding banks and it's the same size?

e.g., For the Dell that I have it's slots 1 & 3 on bank A, and 2 & 4 on bank B matched/unmatched (see table below)

channel a	channel b	BIOS says	performance
memory channels
dimm	no dimm	single channel	single channel
dimm	same as channel a	dual channel interleaved	dual channel interleaved
dimm	same as channel a except speed	dual channel interleaved (in lowest dimm speed)	dual channel interleaved (in lowest dimm speed)
dimm	same as channel a except density	dual channel interleaved	dual channel interleaved
dimm	same as channel a except size	dual channel asymmetric	single channel
no dimm	dimm	single channel	single channel

But, yes, you'd still take whatever small performance hit running at the lowest dual-channel speed for modules/channels mismatched as far as speed vs full dual-channel matched if you don't really need the added memory.