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Solved Is it safe to combine 4 GB DDR3 @ 1866 MHz with 4 GB DDR3 @ 800 Mhz?

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Now, it may be a long thread, i apologize but i wanted to ask a question about ram. I've been thinking to get HyperX 4 GB ddr3 @ 1866 MHz, and combine it with my Patriot 4 GB ddr3 @ 800 Mhz. Whenever i wanna upgrade some component in my pc, i always search around the internet to see if its compatible or safe etc.. And all of things, ram is the most confusing for me.

Reading around, some people say its safe, some say its dangerous to the motherboard if i try to combine them both. Either it's dangerous for motherboard because of irregular voltages or difference in CAS Latency (i don't think CAS latency represents any problem when it comes to damaging my hardware) and im even worried if its safe for the HyperX to be combined with my current Patriot memory.

My main question is, is it safe to buy it and combine it, without getting worried of any damages? So far i've checked, Both ram sticks (mine and the hyperx i want to buy) are 1.5V and the patriot memory has 10 Cas latency at its max frequency, while the hyperx has 11, and thats what bothers me, it also bothers me if its safe for hyperx to be underclocked so much (from 1866 to 800 MHz) once i get it?

And one more thing that gets me confusing, i've asked my friends and they say DDR3 Basically means double data rate, so it means my current patriot memory isn't @ 800 Mhz but actually at 1600 Mhz. I don't get it, why is the hyperx then rated at 1866 Mhz instead of something over 3000 Mhz? Would my motherboard and CPU together accept the hyperx frequency, i mean they both support 1866 MHz so it should work fine? Im so confused, i'd appreciate it alot if someone could explain and help me out.


Again, i apologize for the long thread and if i posted this thread in the wrong section.
 
see if this explains the DDR technology for you...

“Like the ticking of a clock, each tick represents a single hertz or cycle (the opening and closing of a transistor gate in this case).
A speed of 1Hz, for example, is one cycle per second; 2Hz is two per second; a MHz is 1,000,000 cycles per second; you get the picture.
The problem is when DDR (or double data rate) RAM came on the scene, it changed how data transfers were registered. Instead of only actuating once on the rise of each clock cycle, it could now also process an additional operation on the fall of that same clock cycle, effectively doubling the rate at which the DIMM could process data.
The figure for accurate measurement of data transfer requests then shifted from MHz to MT/s to adjust for this change, despite the fact that memory still operated at the same frequency.
However, marketing apparently didn’t get that memo, because many companies, in a bid to tout it as the next big thing, ignored the MT/s figure, instead referring it as MHz, while modern day memory quoted at 2,400MHz, for instance, only operates at half that frequency.”

APC Mag, Apr 2018, Issue 453

so in my rig I have 2133MHz memory which Speccy shows as 1066MHz (that's 1066 on the up, 1066 on the down = 2132)
 
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Okay thanks for explanation about the double data rate thing. I guess im not gonna combine them both together, but may i ask if its worth the upgrade? i mean 1 GHz of speed difference, so it should help me out? Ram is currently expensive so i cant really spend $100 for 8 GB atm. Im getting pretty bad stuttering in games with this one i have, so maybe 1 GHz of upgade should help it out a bit? Thanks a ton.
 
yes, more RAM equals more speed.
as to whether that improvement is noticeable, only doing it will tell.
you'll certainly see improved benchmark tests - but again - how much improvement?

yep, it's a bad time to be buying vid cards and memory, has been for nearly a year now, hopefully prices will start going back to norms once the crypto-mining boom ebbs away and the Ryzen novelty wears off.
 
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No problem and thank you for the update Gate (y)

Will mark this thread as answered so that you are not asked for an update again but do let us know if you have any questions once you have saved up the cash for your upgrade/s.

On behalf of PCHF you are welcome btw :)
 
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