The article comparing 13 boards, KT266A and nForce 420D, claims that if all three slots are used on an nForce mobo, the memory access reverts to 64-bit mode.
What is correct, and what is wrong? From what I see at Anandtech and Aceshardware, it is only when one stick is used, that the memory access is 64-bit wide. If two or three (doesn't really matter), it is 128-bit wide. But in case of uneven memory size per controller (say, 128+128+128 in three sticks, or 128+256+0 in two sticks), the first part of memory (up to 256 MB in our examples) will be addressed as 128-bit, and the remainder as 64-bit. But in a, say, 256+128+128 configuration, the memory is the same per each controller (256=128+128), so all of it is 128-bit wide, even though all three slots are taken.
Leo
What is correct, and what is wrong? From what I see at Anandtech and Aceshardware, it is only when one stick is used, that the memory access is 64-bit wide. If two or three (doesn't really matter), it is 128-bit wide. But in case of uneven memory size per controller (say, 128+128+128 in three sticks, or 128+256+0 in two sticks), the first part of memory (up to 256 MB in our examples) will be addressed as 128-bit, and the remainder as 64-bit. But in a, say, 256+128+128 configuration, the memory is the same per each controller (256=128+128), so all of it is 128-bit wide, even though all three slots are taken.
Leo
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