dual channel 4 dimm kit in 4 channel x99 mobo?

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shmoo

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Oct 25, 2013
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Hey all,

I did a fair bit of searching and couldn't find a good, consistent answer. I have a 2 channel, 4 dimm kit:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232092

However in the midst of planning my build I switched from z270 to x99. I want to know if I should keep this dual channel kit or return it and get a quad channel kit.

I've read a lot of posts where people ask if 2 dual channel kits can be used together in 4 channels, and the general consensus is "maybe", however I know that quad channel kits are tested in quad channel motherboards, and my dual channel kit has only been tested in a dual channel configuration.

Should I assume all will be well since they technically are the same dimms, and return it if it doesn't work, or should I return it now and get a 4 channel kit? Am I safer getting a 4 channel kit right now? Can I screw anything up by using this dual channel kit?

Thanks

 
Solution
Karadjgne
Op has 1x kit, 4x DIMM for a lga1151 board. It's basically 2x kits of dual channel ram that have been factory tested for use in lga1151, since lga1151 is only dual channel setup, but factory combined as a full, working 4x DIMM kit.
However, Op changed his mind and went 2011-3, which not only will accept dual channel kits, but also quad channel.
So what op wants to know is if his 2x2 dual channel rated - 4 DIMM kit, will work in quad channel or if it'll be resigned to basically as is, 2x dual channel.
That about right?
To the best of my knowledge, it might work, But. (big But.) in the ram bios in a quad channel kit designed specifically for quad channel usage, there will be slight differences in the secondary and tertiary timings and...
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shmoo

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Little confused here - I would be getting the same performance by placing the dimms in the correct quad channel slots, it's just the 4 dimms haven't been binned and tested to work together in a 4 channel configuration (however they have been for a dual channel configuration.)
 
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shmoo

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Strange. If you click the link you can see that it's a 4 x 16GB kit, but if you click on specifications, down by "multi-channel kit" it says "dual-channel kit". There are plenty of 4 x 16GB kits that state "quad-channel kit"
 
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elbert

elbert

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Jan 11, 2005
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Unless youv'e already test the 2x dual kit and got quad channel working I would opt for a quad channel kit. Here is the performance differance.
memory_bandwidth_sisoftsandra-100613939-large.png

memory_bandwidth_handbrake-100613938-large.png

memory_bandwidth_7zip_938-100613932-large.png
 
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shmoo

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Oct 25, 2013
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It's not 2 dual channel kits, it's a single dual channel kit with 4 dimms, designed for dual channel motherboards that have 4 ram slots.

From what I've read, and please correct me if I'm wrong, the memory itself isn't any different regardless of whether it comes in a dual or quad channel kit. Putting 4 dimms from a dual-channel kit into a quad channel motherboard (1 dimm per channel) will make the memory run in quad channel mode. I've heard that the difference is just that the dimms in a quad channel kit are actually tested together in a quad channel configuration, and some things such as timings or minor deviations in specifications (i.e. no 2 dimms are exactly the same) can cause stability problems with un-matched dimms.
 
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elbert

elbert

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There is differences in every chip per the silicon lottery. Mixing DRAM from different packages is a crapshoot, even when its two identical packages of the same exact DRAM model. For memory to work correctly in quad channel the voltage effected by the silicon lottery is a major influnce.
If you dont know for sure it works by testing you should get a quad channel kit.
 
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shmoo

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Even when it's 4 sticks in the same package?
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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Op has 1x kit, 4x DIMM for a lga1151 board. It's basically 2x kits of dual channel ram that have been factory tested for use in lga1151, since lga1151 is only dual channel setup, but factory combined as a full, working 4x DIMM kit.
However, Op changed his mind and went 2011-3, which not only will accept dual channel kits, but also quad channel.
So what op wants to know is if his 2x2 dual channel rated - 4 DIMM kit, will work in quad channel or if it'll be resigned to basically as is, 2x dual channel.
That about right?
To the best of my knowledge, it might work, But. (big But.) in the ram bios in a quad channel kit designed specifically for quad channel usage, there will be slight differences in the secondary and tertiary timings and such things as VCCIO voltage settings built into the XMP that will maybe require manual adjustments to get stable in quad channel mode. The ic's are the same, they'll work just fine in 2x dual channel mode (all 4 sticks on same side of the cpu) but for actual quad channel (1/3-5/7) they'll probably fail. It's not a ram issue as such, it's the ram bios issue on the sticks.
I'd send them back and get a certified kit of quad channel ram. Better to be safe than sorry, since there's nobody I know around this town (including myself) who really would have any inclination to start messing around with secondary and tertiary timings, combined with unknown VCCIO voltage settings. Basically it would entail a custom XMP profile which is definitely not for beginners.
 
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Solution
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shmoo

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Oct 25, 2013
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Thanks. Now freakin newegg wants $70.00 in restocking fees for an unopened product. never again.
 
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