Dual Channel Ram

[Ferabukoo]

I was told by someone at school that i could run 3 sticks and have it dual channel..

Now i thought it could only be 2 sticks.. not 3

anybody know?

[Omnituens]

3 slots, 2 sticks will be matched dual channel the other will be, well, just there.

i dont think you can get 3 sticks to all run in dual channel.

[Ferabukoo]

then they all run in single channel or wil 1 run in single and other 2 run in dual

[MindMaze]

nah, this is how it works. You have 3 slots- 1 & 2 are kinda grouped together, and 3 is a bit farther apart. If you want all 3 to work in dual channel mode, you need to match the total ram in slots 1&2 to total ram in slot 3. For example, you get two sticks of 256 ram and one stick of 512 ram; you put the two 256's in slots 1 and 2, and you put the 512 in slot 3. Waila you havea gig of ram running in dual mode :)

[Ferabukoo]

you sure about that?


cause i have 2x 256 and i just ordered a 512 stick

[Clyde]

Originally posted by MindMaze
nah, this is how it works. You have 3 slots- 1 & 2 are kinda grouped together, and 3 is a bit farther apart. If you want all 3 to work in dual channel mode, you need to match the total ram in slots 1&2 to total ram in slot 3. For example, you get two sticks of 256 ram and one stick of 512 ram; you put the two 256's in slots 1 and 2, and you put the 512 in slot 3. Waila you havea gig of ram running in dual mode :)


I dont quite think so, AFAIK you can only use slot 1 and 3 for dual channel, and you need a match pair, if you put anything in slot 2 itll cancel out the dual and run in single mode

[ElfinLord]

I believe that the slots where you put the RAM sticks to utilize Dual Channel mode is dependant on the motherboard you are using, unless it's standardized (not sure about that).

I have an Asus A7N8X Deluxe. On this mobo I can put Dual Channel RAM in slots 1 and 3; 2 and 3; or 1, 2, and 3 to utilize Dual Channel mode.

If I put a matched set of Dual Channel RAM in slots 1 and 2, it operates in Single Channel.

I have a matched set of Corsair TWINX PC2700 2x512 MB RAM positioned in slots 2 and 3, and it's operating very nicely in Dual Channel. :p

I have always been confused about the use of Dual Channel RAM and 3 slots. o_O How does it work?

I am thinking about dumping it, though for 3x1GB sticks of PC2700 RAM. Not sure though, just not sure.

[Ferabukoo]

yeah im not sure.. which is better.. 512 dual channel or 1 gig single channel

[Harbodus]

I love dual channel, the shit smokes. 2x512 MB of pc3200 in my Asus p4p800 and my P4 2.2ghz OCed to 2.6 proc. With my 9800 pro 256mb card I haven't found a game that even gets this rig sweating.

EDIT: I would think 2x256 DC is better for most games and apps. The only game I'd rather have 1 GB non dual channel would be Planetside, that game is a RAM whore.

[Argent]

Originally posted by Clyde
I dont quite think so, AFAIK you can only use slot 1 and 3 for dual channel, and you need a match pair, if you put anything in slot 2 itll cancel out the dual and run in single mode

No, Mindmaze is completely correct. You need to match amout of mem to get dual channel performance, however, see the below.


Also, you could put three 3 512mems (or 256MB) in, but then only 2 of them would work in dualchannel efficiency, and that efficient mem will be used first. The last 512 would work as single channel and used only when more than 1gig is needed. The whole dual channel system has been designed very well considering all updating possibilities etc.

[IceStorm]

If it's nForce, you need to populate each channel, but they don't have to be equal. nForce has two memory controllers that operate independently. Long as each controller has some memory to work with, both controllers will be active. On a three-slot nForce board, usually slots 1 and 2 are for one controller and 3 is for the other controller, so you want to populate 1/3 or 2/3 first, then add your third stick to the empty slot.

If it's Intel's 856/875P chipsets, three sticks will cause it to fall back to single channel mode. I don't think E7205 supports three sticks (one channel is possible, but I don't believe it's officially documented). Not sure what E750x do.

You won't see much of a difference between single controller and dual controller operation on nForce unless you're using the integrated video. The Athlon's FSB is completely satisfied by a single channel of PC2700 or PC3200. The P4's FSB, though, is not satisfied by a single channel of memory and shold be fed in dual channel mode when possible.

[Omnituens]

nForce mobos are the way to go.