Dual Channel RAM

[jcr40e]

Ok, i just bought an ECS A780GM-A v1.1 M-board
and I have 2 sticks of RAM one is Kingston 800 FSB the other one is Transcend with 667 FSB. I'm using XP, running in Athlon x2,
so my question is, why doesn't my dual channel work, is it because of the diff. FSB?? in the computer properties i only see 1.75 GB of RAM!! someone help me please? that would be great^^

 

[TheViper]

The onboard graphics card uses up a portion of the system RAM.

What are the exact models of the RAM? I'll match that against the qualified vendor list for the motherboard.

 

[carlhenry]

to be able to have dual channel work you should have 2 same mems (1gb, 2gb, 4gb a piece), same FSB (which you don't).
i believe you can only see 1.75GB of ram becoz you have an integrated graphics card which automatically allocates a part of your ram onto it.

 

[jcr40e]

i'm still new at this

 

[jcr40e]

to be able to have dual channel work you should have 2 same mems (1gb, 2gb, 4gb a piece), same FSB (which you don't).
i believe you can only see 1.75GB of ram becoz you have an integrated graphics card which automatically allocates a part of your ram onto it.

@ carlhenry so, if i buy another Kingston 800 FSB 1GB RAM, will this solve my prob???

 

[jcr40e]

The onboard graphics card uses up a portion of the system RAM.

What are the exact models of the RAM? I'll match that against the qualified vendor list for the motherboard.

@ TheViper so if the onboard GPU uses a portion of the RAM wat should I do?? watcha mean exact models of RAM, i'm still new at this xD

 

[blackhawk1928]

He means give the exact model number and specs of your memory, for dual channeled, they must be twins, identical, same...whatever you want to call it. Using different memory wont work. They must the same in every single capacity. And you are seeing less ram because apparently 256mb of RAM is allocated for your integrated graphics chip. You can set this number in your BIOS.

 

[jcr40e]

He means give the exact model number and specs of your memory, for dual channeled, they must be twins, identical, same...whatever you want to call it. Using different memory wont work. They must the same in every single capacity. And you are seeing less ram because apparently 256mb of RAM is allocated for your integrated graphics chip. You can set this number in your BIOS.

ok, so, if i use the same specs of memory like 2 sticks of 1 GB Kingston 800FSB, will this solve my prob?? will I able to see a 2 GB in my computer properties???

 

[blackhawk1928]

^Yes using 2 sticks of the same RAM will solve your problem, but you won't see 2GB in your computer properties because you are using an Integrated Graphics Chip which needs ram. You can lower this to however much you want but 64MB i think is the minimum for normal quality. You can turn it off ofcourse but you won't have any video so your 2GB can never be used as part is deticated for your video. You still have it but Task Mananger just won't show it as it only shows usable ram of you.

 

[jcr40e]

^Yes using 2 sticks of the same RAM will solve your problem, but you won't see 2GB in your computer properties because you are using an Integrated Graphics Chip which needs ram. You can lower this to however much you want but 64MB i think is the minimum for normal quality. You can turn it off ofcourse but you won't have any video so your 2GB can never be used as part is deticated for your video. You still have it but Task Mananger just won't show it as it only shows usable ram of you.

cool, so in short i am using 2GB or RAM but i'm still using the Integrated GPU memory, but i'm still using the 2 GB right??

 

[blackhawk1928]

Yep

 

[jcr40e]

Yep

so, what do you think, should I put 4 GB and use widows 7 or windows vista??? and as i have seen on my M-board, i saw 4 slots for RAM! 2 orange and 2 yellow i'll palce the 2 sticks of Kingston in the yellow part, and i'm planning to place 2 more Rams on the orange once, will i have more GB of ram?? will it work Dual channel on both SLOTS??

 

[blackhawk1928]

If you use 4GB then use 2 sticks of 2GB otherwise its not dual channel, its quadruple channel. And yes I recommend using windows 7

 

[mikrev007]

"quadruple" channel? Are you serious?

 

[jcr40e]

If you use 4GB then use 2 sticks of 2GB otherwise its not dual channel, its quadruple channel. And yes I recommend using windows 7

ok then, windows 7 it is, and i'll buy 2 sticks of 2 GB ram! atleast i'll see bout 3.75 ram right????

 

[blackhawk1928]

^It depends, if you get windows 7 32-bit then you will see around 3.5-3.75GB but if you get windows 7 64-bit (which is the same price so i don't see why not) then you will see all 4GBminus the space used by your graphics controller. And if you get 32-bit you will see 3.75GB minus your graphics controller since 32-BIT operating systems can only see a maximum of about 3.5-3.75GB of ram (not exactly sure of the specific number).

 

[jcr40e]

^It depends, if you get windows 7 32-bit then you will see around 3.5-3.75GB but if you get windows 7 64-bit (which is the same price so i don't see why not) then you will see all 4GBminus the space used by your graphics controller. And if you get 32-bit you will see 3.75GB minus your graphics controller since 32-BIT operating systems can only see a maximum of about 3.5-3.75GB of ram (not exactly sure of the specific number).

ok, uhhmm, whats the difference between windows 7 32 bit from windows 7 64 bit??? which one is better???

 

[TheViper]

64 bit allows you to use more than 4 GB's of RAM and operates applications faster for those written to take advantage of 64 bits.

And 32 bit applications are forwards compatible with 64 bit operating systems (there are a few exceptions) so even most 32 bit applications can be run on a 64 bit operating system (though never the other way around).

 

[blackhawk1928]

Well...lets start with this, hardware in the operating system takes up something called address. A 32 bit operating system has very limited addresses so it can only support approxamtly 4GB of ram, usually its a little bit less as i stated. A 64bit operating system has an infinite amount more addresses then a 32bit OS does. Thats why a 64bit OS supports some 14exabytes of RAm which is like a trillion GB if not more Moreover a 64Bit OS can only be better as its more responsive (based on my personal expirience) and supports the power of 64bit CPU's. Plus the 32bit and 64bit windows 7 are the same price so it doesn't matter either way, 64bit is your way to go.

 

[jcr40e]

Well...lets start with this, hardware in the operating system takes up something called address. A 32 bit operating system has very limited addresses so it can only support approxamtly 4GB of ram, usually its a little bit less as i stated. A 64bit operating system has an infinite amount more addresses then a 32bit OS does. Thats why a 64bit OS supports some 14exabytes of RAm which is like a trillion GB if not more Moreover a 64Bit OS can only be better as its more responsive (based on my personal expirience) and supports the power of 64bit CPU's. Plus the 32bit and 64bit windows 7 are the same price so it doesn't matter either way, 64bit is your way to go.

ok thanks for all of your info, one last question, if i add a single GPU on my A780GM-A M-board will i see bout 2 GB or ram??? and not 1.75??? cuz the single GPU has its own memory, and also, what do you think is best ATI or NVIDIA?? in terms of graphics performance and Price sorry for alot of question i'm just curious xD

i'm planning on adding an ATI 4770 GPU will it work?? pls send me some advice bout better GPU's ATI OR NVIDIA -^^-

 

[TheViper]

By adding a discrete GPU you will recover the RAM previously held by the onboard GPU. So if have 2 GB's installed, you'll see all 2 GB's again.

As for your card itself, it really depends on what resolution your monitor is and what power supply you have. With that information (and your budget) we can make proper recommendations.

Between ATi and Nvidia, both offer good products at certain price points but currently ATi has the price to performance advantage.