Basic RAM Questions

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware (More info?)

I recently ventured out to upgrade my ram and finally complete my
monster rig. I was planning on doubling my ram by buying another pair
of the exact same ram I have now. Apparently CompUSA doesn't carry
kingston ram. I asked the register monkey for an equivilant, and he
brought up the topic of dual channel ram. I'm now running on 2x 512
single sticks and 2x 512 dual sticks.

That's the backstory, anyway.
Will running a pair of duals and a pair of singles hurt preformance?
Just how much better is paired dual ram?

BTW, I bought a gig of Centon Gemini Dual Channel pc3200 (DDR400), and
started off with a gig of kingston valueram.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware (More info?)

Take a look here. PCStats had a good review of your Centon D.C. pc3200.
http://freepctech.com/articles/articles.php?ArticleId=148
"Annon" <AsylumEscapee5@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1121043915.734332.14330@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>I recently ventured out to upgrade my ram and finally complete my
> monster rig. I was planning on doubling my ram by buying another pair
> of the exact same ram I have now. Apparently CompUSA doesn't carry
> kingston ram. I asked the register monkey for an equivilant, and he
> brought up the topic of dual channel ram. I'm now running on 2x 512
> single sticks and 2x 512 dual sticks.
>
> That's the backstory, anyway.
> Will running a pair of duals and a pair of singles hurt preformance?
> Just how much better is paired dual ram?
>
> BTW, I bought a gig of Centon Gemini Dual Channel pc3200 (DDR400), and
> started off with a gig of kingston valueram.
>

 

[Sparda]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware (More info?)

"Annon" wrote:
>I recently ventured out to upgrade my ram and finally complete my
>monster rig. I was planning on doubling my ram by buying another pair
>of the exact same ram I have now. Apparently CompUSA doesn’t
>carry
>kingston ram. I asked the register monkey for an equivilant, and he
>brought up the topic of dual channel ram. I’m now running on 2x
>512
>single sticks and 2x 512 dual sticks.
>
>That’s the backstory, anyway.
>Will running a pair of duals and a pair of singles hurt preformance?
>Just how much better is paired dual ram?
>
>BTW, I bought a gig of Centon Gemini Dual Channel pc3200 (DDR400),
and
>started off with a gig of kingston valueram.

what do you mean by "I’m now running on 2x 512 single sticks and 2x
512 dual sticks" do you mean 2 of your ram sticks have 8 chips, and
the other 2 have 16 chips?

Anyway, what you need to look for to see if your RAM speed is limited
is when your computer is booting, you need to look for some thing
along the lines of "RAM Speed" or "memory speed and any variants,
if memory servs me well, the 3 posible speeds that could be given are
266MHz, 366MHz or 400MHz, 400 = as fast as fast can be, 266 = slower
then microsoft at realesing a patch for a critical problem in there OS
(about 2 months)

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[Tim]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware (More info?)

It probably depends on the motherboard and bios more than anything else.
With the Intel 865 and 875 motherbaords, early on, there were a lot of
issues getting any kind of stability out of RAM due to the lack of standards
for PC3200 when the chipsets were released.

IMHO, for dual channel not to work, you would have to have bad luck.

Essentially, there is no electronic design or implementation difference
between 'singles' and 'duals' in that the only difference is supposedly that
the Paired memory has been tested so has the assurance that the performance
of both sticks is close enough to each other to not be a likely cause of
failure for the ram to go into Dual channel mode. Thats it. You can get 2 x
singles and if they are not way off spec they will work. If they do have
different timings then obviously there is a greatly reduced chance that they
will. It is not impossible for 2 x singles of different makes to work as
dual - it depends on how well they 'mate' timing wise.

Some motherboards will not work as well with a second pair installed - even
if it is Dual. This depends on the motherboard, bios and chipset. For a
definitive answer check your motherboard manual.

If you find it does not work, check your bios version. If it is well out of
date (and particularly if it is Intel 865 or 875 based motherboard)
*consider* upgrading the bios. Do not upgrade the bios if you are happy with
the performance or you can't fix the situation another way (IE swapping the
RAM for dual tested after checking the manual).

- Tim


"Annon" <AsylumEscapee5@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1121043915.734332.14330@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>I recently ventured out to upgrade my ram and finally complete my
> monster rig. I was planning on doubling my ram by buying another pair
> of the exact same ram I have now. Apparently CompUSA doesn't carry
> kingston ram. I asked the register monkey for an equivilant, and he
> brought up the topic of dual channel ram. I'm now running on 2x 512
> single sticks and 2x 512 dual sticks.
>
> That's the backstory, anyway.
> Will running a pair of duals and a pair of singles hurt preformance?
> Just how much better is paired dual ram?
>
> BTW, I bought a gig of Centon Gemini Dual Channel pc3200 (DDR400), and
> started off with a gig of kingston valueram.
>

 

[Tim]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware (More info?)

My comments above should be read with the understanding that I am referring
to 'singles' that are PC3200, have the same rated performance, the same
number of chips on each side IE are architecturally and by specification (IE
'CL' timings as well) the same regardless of manufacturer...



"Tim" <Tim@NoSpam> wrote in message
news:eab92OdhFHA.1460@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
> It probably depends on the motherboard and bios more than anything else.
> With the Intel 865 and 875 motherbaords, early on, there were a lot of
> issues getting any kind of stability out of RAM due to the lack of
> standards for PC3200 when the chipsets were released.
>
> IMHO, for dual channel not to work, you would have to have bad luck.
>
> Essentially, there is no electronic design or implementation difference
> between 'singles' and 'duals' in that the only difference is supposedly
> that the Paired memory has been tested so has the assurance that the
> performance of both sticks is close enough to each other to not be a
> likely cause of failure for the ram to go into Dual channel mode. Thats
> it. You can get 2 x singles and if they are not way off spec they will
> work. If they do have different timings then obviously there is a greatly
> reduced chance that they will. It is not impossible for 2 x singles of
> different makes to work as dual - it depends on how well they 'mate'
> timing wise.
>
> Some motherboards will not work as well with a second pair installed -
> even if it is Dual. This depends on the motherboard, bios and chipset. For
> a definitive answer check your motherboard manual.
>
> If you find it does not work, check your bios version. If it is well out
> of date (and particularly if it is Intel 865 or 875 based motherboard)
> *consider* upgrading the bios. Do not upgrade the bios if you are happy
> with the performance or you can't fix the situation another way (IE
> swapping the RAM for dual tested after checking the manual).
>
> - Tim
>
>
> "Annon" <AsylumEscapee5@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1121043915.734332.14330@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>>I recently ventured out to upgrade my ram and finally complete my
>> monster rig. I was planning on doubling my ram by buying another pair
>> of the exact same ram I have now. Apparently CompUSA doesn't carry
>> kingston ram. I asked the register monkey for an equivilant, and he
>> brought up the topic of dual channel ram. I'm now running on 2x 512
>> single sticks and 2x 512 dual sticks.
>>
>> That's the backstory, anyway.
>> Will running a pair of duals and a pair of singles hurt preformance?
>> Just how much better is paired dual ram?
>>
>> BTW, I bought a gig of Centon Gemini Dual Channel pc3200 (DDR400), and
>> started off with a gig of kingston valueram.
>>
>
>

 

[Tim]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware (More info?)

The message depends on the bios writer.
Normally it says clearly that it is running in "Dual Channel Mode".

OP: Before all else, make sure your system is stable. Run memtest86 to check
the ram is functioning correctly.
Use Prime95 to perform a system stability test.

Then, and only then worry about Dual Channel. I believe that Everest and
CPUID will tell you whats going on with your RAM.



"Sparda" <UseLinkToEmail@WindowsForumz.com> wrote in message
news:3_1765053_a2b8d75bfdf3a9912d9fcaf0cdc44507@windowsforumz.com...
> "Annon" wrote:
>>I recently ventured out to upgrade my ram and finally complete my
>>monster rig. I was planning on doubling my ram by buying another pair
>>of the exact same ram I have now. Apparently CompUSA doesn't
>>carry
>>kingston ram. I asked the register monkey for an equivilant, and he
>>brought up the topic of dual channel ram. I'm now running on 2x
>>512
>>single sticks and 2x 512 dual sticks.
>>
>>That's the backstory, anyway.
>>Will running a pair of duals and a pair of singles hurt preformance?
>>Just how much better is paired dual ram?
>>
>>BTW, I bought a gig of Centon Gemini Dual Channel pc3200 (DDR400),
> and
>>started off with a gig of kingston valueram.
>
> what do you mean by "I'm now running on 2x 512 single sticks and 2x
> 512 dual sticks" do you mean 2 of your ram sticks have 8 chips, and
> the other 2 have 16 chips?
>
> Anyway, what you need to look for to see if your RAM speed is limited
> is when your computer is booting, you need to look for some thing
> along the lines of "RAM Speed" or "memory speed and any variants,
> if memory servs me well, the 3 posible speeds that could be given are
> 266MHz, 366MHz or 400MHz, 400 = as fast as fast can be, 266 = slower
> then microsoft at realesing a patch for a critical problem in there OS
> (about 2 months)
>
> --
> Posted using the http://www.windowsforumz.com interface, at author's
> request
> Articles individually checked for conformance to usenet standards
> Topic URL:
> http://www.windowsforumz.com/Hardware-Basic-RAM-ftopict555420.html
> Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. req'd). Report abuse:
> http://www.windowsforumz.com/eform.php?p=1765053