Use 1x 32GB and 1x 64GB modules?

Framework Laptop 16
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Hi there,

I currently have one A-Data 32GB 5600 RAM-module installed in my framework. Those have become a bit more expensive and I wondered whether I should expect problems when using RAM from a different manufacturer.

[EDIT] As the maximum RAM that should be useable is 96GB, would it be possible to combine the 32GB module with a 64GB module?[/EDIT]

I know, that the answer should be “No, just make sure they have the same capacity and frequency” but I wanted to ask nevertheless.

I would like to use one of these three modules:

There’s a comparison here.
It seems like the only difference are “tRCD” and “tRP“ values? And the “organisation”, whatever that means…

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Back during DDR3 era or laptops I had 4 ram sticks in my laptop which was a mix of manufacturer, speed, and capacity. It worked fine, though I would assume the speed was set to the lowest common denominator.

Whether that’ll translate to today… who knows. But it’s what I got to share.

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That already helps, thanks :slight_smile:

I wondered whether it would be possible to use a 32GB and a 64GB module at the same time…
Has anybody ever tried that?

There is at least one 64GB SO-DIMM with 5600MHz available…
https://geizhals.de/crucial-so-dimm-64gb-ct64g56c46s5-a3446324.html?hloc=de

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I don’t think anyone has tried mixing 32GB with 64GB.
People have tried 48GB + 48GB and it works.
A possible problem with mixing sizes, is the speed increase you get with 2 chips.
The cpu uses interleave.
RAM byte offsets:
0: chip1
1: chip2
2: chip1
3: chip2
Etc.
You can see the problem if the chips are different sizes.

So, my guess is that mixed size chips will not work.

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That likely refers to the RAM being either dual-rank or single-rank if I had to guess

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You definitely can mix and match RAM of different sizes, I’ve done that in the past resulting in some 12GB computers. The speed cuts in half when using the RAM that only one module has, but they can still interleave requests (or whatever the implementation details are) for the lower portion of the memory that both RAM sticks have.

My main concern is that since the official maximum is 96GB, that may imply a maximum of 48GB per slot, so that’s where you may run into trouble. It may be safer to plan to get a 48GB stick instead of 64GB, and just use a bit less RAM until you can justify upgrading to a matching 48GB stick down the road.

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This should be fine although I would recommend making sure you match the speed of the modules. In my old desktop I ran 2x 16 gig sticks and 2x 8 gig sticks for 48gb ram, they had mismatch speeds so it all ran at the speed of the slower kit. I did notice some memory stability issues in the form of occasional crashes and blue screens likely due to the mismatched speeds but otherwise it was fine.

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I have mixed a 16Gb 4800 and a 32Gb 5600 stick in my amd 13 and that worked fine.

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Thanks you all, that’s really helpful!

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You can buy them on Amazon (or any return-friendly reseller), try and if it doesn’t work out just return the 64 stick in favour of a matching 32GB one :slight_smile:

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