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I just purchased a Lenovo laptop and I need to expand the RAM. It currently has one stick of ram in it a 4GB DDR3 PC3-12800 Unbuffered NON-ECC 1.35V 1024Meg x 64 by SK Hynix and is capable of having a maximum of 8GB.

I was curious if I needed to buy a pair that matches it perfectly (I've always bought ram in pairs). I really just want to buy one more 4GB stick of RAM and I'm curious if it would be okay if I bought a matching specs wise one of a different brand or if I needed to find one the matches identically to the one I have.

Journeyman Geek
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bluemoongem
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1 Answers1

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You only need 'identical' ram to run your ram in dual channel mode, which has a slight speed boost for two identical sticks of ram.

There's a few things to consider here. Firstly, if I recall correctly, one of your ram slots may be under your keyboard, and a second one in an easy to access bay at the base of your system. Switching both sticks is hard.

Secondly, you could go for a stick of ram with different specs, and it will work as two separate channels with no issue.

Identical ram of a different brand should work in theory. However, there's a few reasons ram is sold as 'kits'. Its easier (for a new build), some systems have compatibility issues, and some manufacturers wouldn't validate a system with mismatched drives.

You should be fine for dual channel as long as you match frequency (same frequency as your current ram is a sensible option anyway since all your ram runs at the same clockspeed as your slowest ram), CAS timings, and number and type of ram chips on the ram SODIMM (which is tricky...).

Wikipedia has a ton on useful information on dual channel ram, which I have referenced here.

Journeyman Geek
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