Tom's Hardware > Forum > Motherboards & Memory > Memory > Dual Channel 2Gb Vs 3Gb Non Dual channel

Dual Channel 2Gb Vs 3Gb Non Dual channel

Forum Motherboards & Memory : Memory - Dual Channel 2Gb Vs 3Gb Non Dual channel

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stenno   08-06-2008 at 05:22:59 PM

- ASUS P5E3 Deluxe
- INTEL Core 2 Duo 3.16GHz E8500 [ LGA775 - 6MB - 45nm - 1333MHz]
- 2x DDR3 2GB [2x1GB] DDR1333 (PC3-10666) - CORSAIR DHX [TWIN3X2048-1333C9DHX]
- ASUS Extreme N8800GTS/HTDP ( GeForce 8800GTS 512MB 2xDVI HDTV HDCP )
- SATA150 74GB - 10000 WESTERN DIGITAL RAPTOR (16MB) [WD740ADFD]
- English Windows XP PRO SP2b OEM

Hey there,

this is a quickie (i hope)... title says it all really. For various reasons I can not use all my RAM sticks (4x 1Gb in matched pairs). What is more effective; Using two sticks thus having 2Gb using dual channel, or 3Gb but filling 3 of the 4 RAM slots and not using dual channel?

As an afterthought.... will the latter option cause any H/W damage?

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bpogdowz   08-06-2008 at 05:54:05 PM
- 0 +

3GB is more beneficial running single channel than 2GB in dual channel I believe and no it's safe.

quote from wiki: "Tom's Hardware found no significant difference between single-channel and dual-channel configurations in synthetic and game benchmarks (using a "modern" system setup).

source: http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 05-11.html

Reply to bpogdowz
Shadowthor   08-06-2008 at 06:22:39 PM
- 0 +

3gb can run in dual channel as well. 1x2Gb and 1x1gb.

Message quoted 1 times
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Nik_I   08-06-2008 at 06:44:13 PM
- 0 +

Shadowthor wrote :

3gb can run in dual channel as well. 1x2Gb and 1x1gb.



don't the modules have to be the same size for dual channel to work?

Reply to Nik_I
stenno   08-06-2008 at 07:47:53 PM
- 0 +

i thought they did have to be the same...???

but i already have 4x1Gb sticks... the only other thing i'd get is vista 64 bit to actually use all my RAM...

Reply to stenno
titaniumcloud   08-06-2008 at 08:06:00 PM
- 0 +

I had problems using 4 sticks in my mobo as well, I could post with 3 but not the 4th. I was wondering the same thing as you about dual-channel and single, but didn't run any benchmarks to actually find out.

Now, if you have Vista, I'd say the more RAM, the better, but since you're on XP, I guess it depends on what applications you're using.

I finally got my 4 sticks to work by raising the voltage a bit on the RAM and also the northbridge chip. Works great now.

Reply to titaniumcloud
blckvec   08-07-2008 at 09:23:09 AM
- 0 +

Wouldn't 2x512mb and 2x1gb pairs run in dual channel ?

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