Combining 8GBRL & 4GBNQ (No Boot)

[kvenick]

I bought x2 8GBRL and planned to continue using x2 4GBNQ. Has anyone had success with both sets? I get no boot and blue screen. I removed the x2 4GBNQ and I boot fine with just the x2 8GBRL. They are in dual channel (Slot 2/4).

This problem occurred with 1333 and 1600 set in the bios.

Motherboard: Asus P8P67 LE Rev 3.0
Memory: F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ / F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
CPU: Intel i5-2500K

I updated my bios and plan on retrying the install with the x2 4GBNQ tomorrow. I've also set the x2 8GBRL XMP profiles.

[GSKILL TECH]

Don't think the two kits can work together.

You should not use XMP, use manual settings. XMP is designed for each kit but you are attempting multiple kits.

[kvenick]

Thank you for the information. Any idea as to why? I realize that "different" RAM can do this, but I thought they'd be similar enough to not be an issue -- trying to understand what makes them incompatible.

I'm using XMP only with x2 8GBRL, at the moment.

[GSKILL TECH]

RAM is unlike any other hardware. We test many chips and pair them, then test them to make sure they run at rated specs. Each chip is unique, so each module is unique, and we do testing to make sure together they can run at DDR#-xxxx CLx x.xxV

So when you buy two separate kits, you're just getting two kits that have been rated and tested capable at DDR#-xxxx CLx x.xxV, but it doesn't necessarily mean they can perfectly match with another set. The testing we do is eliminated, since we didn't do it for the two separate kits you have, so then the rated specs are no longer guaranteed.

Because two kits are capable of the same specs, it doesn't mean they can work together in the same computer at those specs. It means they will perform the same when used as individual kit. That is the common confusion/misconception.