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Saileshbreaker

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 13, 2011
190
4
So I replaced the stock 2x2GB DIMMS on my mid 2012 mac mini with a single 8GB DIMM, the 2x2GB DIMMS are unused at the moment, I thought I could plug on 2GB and make the total to 10GB. What are your views?
 
It might work and if it does then go with it but if the CL timings are different then it could result in problems. Matched pairs of RAM sticks from the same manufacturer are ideal but that doesn't mean different sticks won't work. Check the specifications of the two different RAM sticks and make sure they are the same.
 
I did had that 2 different brands setup at start but then I decided to stick with just 1 8GB DIMM. There were no problems back then
 
just about everyone that works with hardware greatly suggests not to do that. no, you won't break the system or burn the ram, but the stability concerns are to be looked at.

if you start experiencing seemingly random crashes or other stability issues of that kind, just be wary about the fact that you're using two unsynchronized ram bricks (also, usually when buying ram, manufacturers package multiple bricks together from the same batch just to make sure they are as synchronized as possible)...

cliffs: sure, go ahead and see what happens, if you get crashes, exchange the ram for synchronized bricks.
 
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