{FR}Ⓐlexis Mar 24, 2018 @ 6:40am
DDR3 RAM stick on DDR3L mobo: Will it cause damage?
Long story short, my ancient (from the Intel Haswell generation *cough*) MSI GS702PC Stealth had only 8Gb of ram (which became rapidly a problem for me, since I run programs that requires quite a lot of RAM). So I basically dismantled a old netbook to salvage its RAM sticks, only to find that it used DDR3 sticks while my laptop uses DDR3L.

I'm really worried that combining a DDR3 stick with a DDR3L might cause some damage to the mobo's power circuits... IF someone could clear this doubt out please...

Kind regards,

-Alexis
< >
Showing 1-9 of 9 comments
pete Mar 24, 2018 @ 6:50am 
It won't damage anything. Might make it hotter.
tacoshy Mar 24, 2018 @ 6:56am 
well for laptops you need DDR3L SODIMM's while DDR3 normally are just DIMM's which are longer and smaller.A normal DDR3 Dimm will not fit into a laptop.

Also dont mix up RAM of different types. DDR3L is 1.35V while normal DDR3 is 1.5V which can cause damage and not just run hotter.
{FR}Ⓐlexis Mar 24, 2018 @ 7:00am 
Originally posted by tacoshy:
Also dont mix up RAM of different types. DDR3L is 1.35V while normal DDR3 is 1.5V which can cause damage and not just run hotter.

Both sticks I used were SODIMM, but yeah it's only temporary since I'm soon replacing both sticks soon.

Originally posted by Im|Your|Mom:
It won't damage anything. Might make it hotter.

I haven't noticed changes in temperature for the moment yet.
Last edited by {FR}Ⓐlexis; Mar 24, 2018 @ 7:01am
tacoshy Mar 24, 2018 @ 7:04am 
Originally posted by {FR}Alexis:
Originally posted by tacoshy:
Also dont mix up RAM of different types. DDR3L is 1.35V while normal DDR3 is 1.5V which can cause damage and not just run hotter.

Both sticks I used were SODIMM, but yeah it's only temporary since I'm soon replacing both sticks soon.


well there 2 ways either the DDR3 will run at 1.35V means undervolted which can cause stability issues

or both will now run at 1.5V which can cause damage to everything despite that DDR3 modul.


Mostly nothing happens as when OCing you sometimes even going higher but tthey are rated lwoer for a reason and not just because of lazyness.
{FR}Ⓐlexis Mar 24, 2018 @ 7:21am 
Originally posted by tacoshy:
Originally posted by {FR}Alexis:

Both sticks I used were SODIMM, but yeah it's only temporary since I'm soon replacing both sticks soon.


well there 2 ways either the DDR3 will run at 1.35V means undervolted which can cause stability issues

or both will now run at 1.5V which can cause damage to everything despite that DDR3 modul.
I think it's undervolting the DDR3 (so far I haven't ran into stability issues but since you can never be sure...) for the record, my laptop ran with this RAM configuration since a few months (forgot to mention that) and for now I haven't noticed any abnormal activity.
pasa Mar 24, 2018 @ 3:23pm 
How abot RTFM> Every mobo has description on what RAM type is supported, I would defnitely not install a stick that is not of a compatible type.

A generic answer appears here: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2528854/mixing-ddr3l-ddr3-brands-ddr3l-slots.html
{FR}Ⓐlexis Mar 25, 2018 @ 2:21am 
Originally posted by pasa:
How abot RTFM> Every mobo has description on what RAM type is supported, I would defnitely not install a stick that is not of a compatible type.

A generic answer appears here: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2528854/mixing-ddr3l-ddr3-brands-ddr3l-slots.html

Well I looked on my RAM's manufacturer website and it says that their DDR3L can handle from 1.3V to ~1.45V

See it by yourself[www.adata.com]
pasa Mar 25, 2018 @ 2:50am 
I said you need to RTFM of the mobo. As many stated the L-ram is compatible with simple DDR3, but not the other way around: a DDR3 mobo should be able to go with the mix, but one designed for low-voltage requires all-L ram.
{FR}Ⓐlexis Mar 25, 2018 @ 3:15am 
Originally posted by pasa:
I said you need to RTFM of the mobo.
How you'd find the manual of a laptop mobo, also, I mentioned in post #5 that it has been running like that without any abnormal activity.

for the record, my laptop ran with this RAM configuration since a few months (forgot to mention that) and for now I haven't noticed any abnormal activity.

Also the manual didn't state anything about RAM types (only saying that it takes DDR3 SODIMM be it L or not.)
Last edited by {FR}Ⓐlexis; Mar 25, 2018 @ 3:17am
< >
Showing 1-9 of 9 comments
Per page: 1530 50

Date Posted: Mar 24, 2018 @ 6:40am
Posts: 9