Quote Originally Posted by stinkyattic
In theory, you should NEVER mismatch electrical components!
That's advice you can take to the bank. Electricity doesn't fuck around, and neither does fire. Why risk it? Just get a 600w ballast if you're desperate to have a 600w bulb lighting the room, otherwise, in theory you should always have a bulb that matches the specifications on the ballast, or in theory, things can go really wrong, really fast.