Don't mix RAM brands with soldered memory.

You probably shouldn’t. Soldered RAM is already a compromise—it’s fixed, you can’t swap it, and it’s tuned to work with itself. Adding a consumer stick of a different brand (even same specs on paper) is a gamble.

The issue isn’t brand names. It’s that the soldered RAM and the new stick need to agree on speed, timings, voltage, and command rate. If they don’t, the system might refuse to boot, run at the slowest common denominator (wasting speed), or crash randomly. Even Crucial vs Samsung—both reputable—can conflict when one set is soldered and the other is a DIMM. The soldered memory is often a different PCB layout and thermal profile.

Your best bet: buy a stick that matches the exact specifications of the soldered RAM—same speed, same CL latency, same voltage. Check the laptop’s manual or use CPU-Z to see the soldered RAM’s JEDEC timings. If you can’t find a match, don’t mix. Upgrade to a system with all socketed RAM instead.

Honestly, if you’re asking, you’re already in the red zone. This is where you save a headache by just buying a matched kit.