Triple Channel question - number of sticks

[somerandomguy2]

Ok, i've looked around and couldn't find the answer to my question. I am in the middle of selecting components for a new build and i am going to get 4GB of ddr3 for an Asus P6T LGA 1366. Can i buy two triple-channel 2GB sticks and still have the triple channel benefits from ddr3 or do i have to buy a triple channel kit? I saw the article on memory and 4GB is the optimum for gaming. I dont' want to pay for 6GB as it is not needed for games but 3GB seems to have slightly less performance.

 

[endorphines]

Tripple channel needs 3 sticks, if you get a 2 stick 4 gig kit (2x2gb) it'll only be dual channel. if you're running an i7 your machine's probably in the price range where a 6gb (3x2gb) kit is what you'd want.

 

[cjl]

There's nothing special about a stick of DDR3 that makes it a "triple channel stick." Tri channel means the memory controller can access 3 sticks at once to get greater bandwidth. For this to work though, the memory has to be in matched sets of 3.

 

[somerandomguy2]

ok, that's what i figured. So i can't use two 1GB sticks and one 2GB stick? If that's the case, i'll have to buy the 3 stick 2GB kit for 6 gigs. I'm trying to buy at the pricebreak and keep all the parts close to each other performance wise. I mean, there's no sense spending $450 on a video card if your processor can't keep up with it, etc.

Reason i picked 4GB is that article i read here about very little gaming performance increase with anything more than that right now.


Edit: Well, i just looked at that article about the head to head benchmarks of 3GB and 6GB. I might have to take a look into that.