is mt/s the same as mhz? is adata ram compatible with the acer brand ram in Nitro 5 an517-55 ?

mrpeeble321

i have a acer ntiro 5 an517-55 with 8gb stick of ddr4 ram. i want to buy another 8gb stick but im struggling to understand the mt/s and mhz thingy. are they the same? in task manager it says my ram is 3200 mt/s. does this mean if i buy a stick with 3200 mhz they will be compatible? also the upgrade i want to get is an acer brand stick of ram which i'll link below. is there any degradation of performance if you mix and match ram brands?

https://www.amazon.com/SD100-Single-Laptop-Computer-Memory/dp/B09PZMXBKC/ref%3Ddp_fod_d_sccl_3/144-3183097-6813142?pd_rd_w=ElNEc&content-id=amzn1.sym.9cf17164-13e4-4652-96f9-f76b8f33fec0&pf_rd_p=9cf17164-13e4-4652-96f9-f76b8f33fec0&pf_rd_r=20XQVA0DVWBRA546MVSA&pd_rd_wg=4i5kL&pd_rd_r=ba0b4d33-21ba-4a82-a5e7-3126c5c4d1a0&pd_rd_i=B09PZMXBKC&th=1

[Edited the thread to add model number to the title]

Puraw

Hi @mrpeeble321

• MT/s (Mega Transfers per second) and MHz (Megahertz) are related but not exactly the same.
• MHz measures the clock speed — how many times per second the memory chip cycles.
• MT/s measures the actual data transfers per second. Because DDR (Double Data Rate) memory moves data twice per clock cycle, the MT/s number is always double the MHz number.
• For example, DDR4‑3200 runs at 1600 MHz clock speed but achieves 3200 MT/s effective transfer rate. That’s why Task Manager shows 3200 MT/s, while product listings often say 3200 MHz — they’re describing the same speed in different ways.

On compatibility:

• Your Nitro 5 AN517‑55 supports DDR4‑3200 SODIMM modules at 1.2V.
• The Adata DDR4‑3200 SODIMM you’re considering matches those specs, so it will work alongside the existing Acer‑branded module.
• Mixing brands is fine as long as the key specs (DDR4, 3200 MT/s, 1.2V, SODIMM) are the same. The system will automatically run both sticks at the same speed and timings.
• For best stability, it’s ideal if both modules also share the same CAS latency (CL22 in your case), but even if they differ slightly, the laptop will default to the slower of the two, which only has a minor impact on performance.