Mix RAM timings? It'll work — but slower.

Yes, it will probably work, but the system downclocks all sticks to the slowest CAS latency and speed.

Your motherboard reads the SPD (the little memory profile chip) from each stick and synchronizes everything to the weakest link. So if you’ve got one stick at CL16 and another at CL18, both will run at CL18. You also lose the ability to run XMP or DOCP profiles reliably if they don’t match. The system will default to JEDEC specs, which are slower and looser.

In worst-case scenarios, mismatched RAM can cause boot loops, crashes, or random errors. It’s not guaranteed to fail, but it’s not something I’d trust for production work or gaming. If you absolutely have to mix brands/timings, run MemTest86 for a few passes before calling it stable.

Better plan: buy a matched kit of two sticks (or four if your motherboard supports quad-channel). It’s cheap insurance.

Future you isn’t going to enjoy debugging random blue screens.