single vs dual channel

rick737 · 12-09-2006, 09:37 AM

I put a single stick of corsair value ram (1 gig ) in my system ( gigabyte mobo, amd 3700 ) and when I boot it says my ram is running in single channel. Should I have bought 2 sticks of 512 mb instead? Do you think I'll see a big difference by adding another 1 gig stick to bring it to dual channel? I do a little gaming and a lot of internet surfing.

xarglaph · 12-09-2006, 10:33 AM

some motherboards don't let ram operate at its full speed unless it's in dual channel mode. my abit aw8d makes my ddr2 800 stick run at 533mhz... i'm waiting to get another one, but yeah, most likely upgrading to dual channel will increase your performance unless your board doesn't nerf like mine does.

**linderman** · 12-09-2006, 12:59 PM

yes aadding another one gig EXACT matching stick (same manufacturer, model # the whole speil) will yield very nice improvement!

if you dont match the stick perfectly you wont get dual channel even with two sticks installed

nowdays two gigs of memory is really benefical

**Kalim** · 12-09-2006, 03:13 PM

Get Dual Channel i.e. for DDR400

Single Channel: PC3200 = 3.2Gb/s
Dual Channel: PC6400 = 6.4Gb/s

With the SAME matching sticks, see the difference?

It mimics having DDR800 while you only have DDR400 in reality.

dead7iestweap0n · 12-09-2006, 06:39 PM

so with dual cahnel, if i wanted 2 gigs of ddr i would have to put in 4 1gb sticks?

Tumbleweed36 · 12-09-2006, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dead7iestweap0n

so with dual cahnel, if i wanted 2 gigs of ddr i would have to put in 4 1gb sticks?

Hi,

I really think you did not understand what was said. If you want 2 gigs, you could either use 2 - 1gig sticks or 4 - 512 sticks. However, they must be matching sold as matched pairs.

**TheMatt** · 12-09-2006, 08:38 PM

And to get dual channel, they must be in the correct RAM slots in the motherboard. Most modern motherboards have RAM slots color coded, so put matched pairs in the same color slots for dual channel.

**Kalim** · 12-09-2006, 09:39 PM

*Find out if your motherboard supports a Dual Channel setup - manual
*Look at the maximum size per bank (per side), per slot and total max for RAM it will accept - manual
*Look at the max DDR rating it will accept - manual
*Decide on how much you want, of which and obviously, how much to spend.
*Look for Low Density RAM, compatible with all mobo's.
*If you decide on 2GB and your Mobo supports that with lets say 4 DIMM slots, you can either get 4 RAM sticks x 512MB of the same make/model put in OR 2 RAM sticks x 1GB of the same make/model put in.

That will be a dual channel setup and you'll reap the maximum performance as being advised by all.

12-09-2006, 09:37 AM	#1 (permalink)
rick737 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: phoenix arizona Posts: 25 OS: XP My System	single vs dual channel I put a single stick of corsair value ram (1 gig ) in my system ( gigabyte mobo, amd 3700 ) and when I boot it says my ram is running in single channel. Should I have bought 2 sticks of 512 mb instead? Do you think I'll see a big difference by adding another 1 gig stick to bring it to dual channel? I do a little gaming and a lot of internet surfing.

12-09-2006, 12:59 PM	#3 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,571 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	yes aadding another one gig EXACT matching stick (same manufacturer, model # the whole speil) will yield very nice improvement! if you dont match the stick perfectly you wont get dual channel even with two sticks installed nowdays two gigs of memory is really benefical __________________ IF YOUR HARD DRIVE DIED RIGHT NOW; WOULD YOU CRY ??? ASK US FOR HELP DEVELOPING A DATA BACK-UP METHOD

12-09-2006, 08:38 PM	#7 (permalink)
TheMatt Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,605 OS: Windows 3.1, 98, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	And to get dual channel, they must be in the correct RAM slots in the motherboard. Most modern motherboards have RAM slots color coded, so put matched pairs in the same color slots for dual channel. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

12-09-2006, 09:39 PM	#8 (permalink)
Kalim Roaming To Help Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5,538 OS: Many	Find out if your motherboard supports a Dual Channel setup - manual Look at the maximum size per bank (per side), per slot and total max for RAM it will accept - manual Look at the max DDR rating it will accept - manual Decide on how much you want, of which and obviously, how much to spend. Look for Low Density RAM, compatible with all mobo's. If you decide on 2GB and your Mobo supports that with lets say 4 DIMM slots, you can either get 4 RAM sticks x 512MB of the same make/model put in OR 2 RAM sticks x 1GB of the same make/model put in. That will be a dual channel setup and you'll reap the maximum performance as being advised by all. Last edited by Kalim : 12-09-2006 at 09:40 PM.

12-09-2006, 10:33 AM	#2 (permalink)
xarglaph Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Southern CA, US Posts: 88 OS: Windows XP SP2 My System	some motherboards don't let ram operate at its full speed unless it's in dual channel mode. my abit aw8d makes my ddr2 800 stick run at 533mhz... i'm waiting to get another one, but yeah, most likely upgrading to dual channel will increase your performance unless your board doesn't nerf like mine does.

12-09-2006, 03:13 PM	#4 (permalink)
Kalim Roaming To Help Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5,538 OS: Many	Get Dual Channel i.e. for DDR400 Single Channel: PC3200 = 3.2Gb/s Dual Channel: PC6400 = 6.4Gb/s With the SAME matching sticks, see the difference? It mimics having DDR800 while you only have DDR400 in reality.

12-09-2006, 06:39 PM	#5 (permalink)
dead7iestweap0n Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Kentucky, USA Posts: 69 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x64 My System	so with dual cahnel, if i wanted 2 gigs of ddr i would have to put in 4 1gb sticks?