RAM Confusion? Why do Four slots even exist?

LilWhiteChris · Apr 16, 2016

Basicly I hate the look of 2 sticks of ram.
I wanted to fill all four slots on my Z170 (i7 6700k CPU) motherboard with 8gb sticks in each lane/slot.
But I'm getting so confused. Some people are saying it will work some say it won't and some say it will only work on half. What's the deal here? And what the hell is a channel?

Can I fill all 4 lanes with ram and will it work properly yes or no?
If no then why do they make boards with 4 lanes on them! Ahhhh help!

Archaic59 · Apr 16, 2016

You don't have to use just 2 slots. Using all 4 slots puts more stress on the memory controller so using 2 slots is optimal. You can use all 4 slots if you want.

weberdarren97 · Apr 16, 2016

Normally, there are four slots for a reason, to use each one if you want to.

I would need to know the brand and model of your MOBO in order to tell you whether it's capable of taking advantage of four sticks of 8GB.

A channel is how ever many DIMMs the memory controller can access at a time. A dual channel board like the Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 can have all four DIMMs installed at once and is dual channel so it can access two DIMMs at a time instead of just one. For dual channel to work, the board has to support it and the number of DIMMs installed needs to be divisible by two and also they need to be installed in the proper order (unless they're all the same) and slots (usually color coded). For triple channel to work, the board needs to support it and the number of installed DIMMs needs to be divisible by three and they need to be installed in the proper slots (usually color coded). For quad channel to work, the number of installed DIMMs needs to be divisible by four and installed in the proper order and slots (usually color coded).

If all slots in a channel are not populated then multi channel will not work. If one channel is fully populated but there are other DIMMs taking up just part of another channel then the MOBO will resort to single channel architecture (multi channel will not work). These two points apply to all multi channel setups.

LilWhiteChris · Apr 17, 2016

weberdarren97 :

Normally, there are four slots for a reason, to use each one if you want to.

I would need to know the brand and model of your MOBO in order to tell you whether it's capable of taking advantage of four sticks of 8GB.

A channel is how ever many DIMMs the memory controller can access at a time. A dual channel board like the Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 can have all four DIMMs installed at once and is dual channel so it can access two DIMMs at a time instead of just one. For dual channel to work, the board has to support it and the number of DIMMs installed needs to be divisible by two and also they need to be installed in the proper order (unless they're all the same) and slots (usually color coded). For triple channel to work, the board needs to support it and the number of installed DIMMs needs to be divisible by three and they need to be installed in the proper slots (usually color coded). For quad channel to work, the number of installed DIMMs needs to be divisible by four and installed in the proper order and slots (usually color coded).

If all slots in a channel are not populated then multi channel will not work. If one channel is fully populated but there are other DIMMs taking up just part of another channel then the MOBO will resort to single channel architecture (multi channel will not work). These two points apply to all multi channel setups.

I Was going to go with the either the:
Asus Z170 Premium 90MB0PK0-M0EAY0
Or
Asus Maximus VIII Formula z170 90MB0MV0-M0EAY0

weberdarren97 · Apr 18, 2016

I would go with the Maximus Formula

hang-the-9 · Apr 28, 2016

LilWhiteChris :

You don't need to listen to "some people", check with the motherboard vendor support and documentation.

Tradesman1 · Apr 28, 2016

Yes you can use all for slots and have 32GB. All will run in Dual Channel mode (each channel has 2 slots available). With your CPU can go with about any DRAM I'm running the GSkill TridentZ in 3200/14 which are the best I've used so far, their RipJaws V line of DRAM is also very good and offers the tighter 14 CL at 2800-3000 and 3200

Search

RAM Confusion? Why do Four slots even exist?

LilWhiteChris

Distinguished

Tradesman1

Archaic59

Polypheme

weberdarren97

Glorious

LilWhiteChris

Distinguished

weberdarren97

Glorious

hang-the-9

Titan

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page