A: Two different brands of RAM with the same specs should work together… but not always efficiently. If your RAMs have different speeds, the system will default to the lower speed. If you already have the RAM, it won’t hurt anything to try it. The worst that could happen is that the machine won’t work correctly, but it won’t be destructive. I would suggest one stick of each brand in each of the two channels to give them the same overall characteristics.

PNY XLR8 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
$51.99 with free shipping
SKU: N82E16820178221

PNY OPTIMA 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
$49.99 + $5.99 shipping
SKU: N82E16820178154

I’ve never had any problem mixing Kingston and PNY memory so this may also work:

Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
$50.99 with free shipping
SKU: N82E16820134488

Finally, check the specs for your motherboard. Some boards with four RAM slots won’t work above a given speed using all four slots.

In: Tech Asked By: admin [7 ]