Triple-channel mode from 3 dual-chanel kits

[LePhuronn]

Hi all

Something I've been pondering while speccing a new build - if I get 3 dual-channel kits of DDR3, will they work in triple-channel mode, or do I still need triple-channel kits?

As we know, when dual-channel memory first came out, you 100% must have a matched pair of sticks in order for the dual-channel to work. Are things more leanient now? I read on Wikipedia that as long as the sticks are of identical speed and timings triple-channel will work fine.

I bought some Patriot Sector 5 Viper II for a simple Phenom II build and I'm very impressed with it, so I was looking at getting the same for my upcoming i7 920 build, but you can only get the RAM in dual-channel kits. 3x4GB kits is the 12GB I want, but I'll get something else if triple-channel won't work this way.

Thanks all!

 

[GhislainG]

Wikipedia are correct.

 

[LePhuronn]

Thanks GhislainG

A second confirmation anybody?

 

[JDFan]

That is correct - the only advantage to buying a triple channel kit is that the 3 modules have been tested to ensure that they all work together - but if buying 3 dual kits at the same time from the same manufacturer you should be getting 6 sticks from the same production and not have any problems with them working together

Figure it is the same as if you had purchased only a single module and then wanted to add a second module to run in dual channel mode - as long as you bought another module that was rated the same as far as voltage and timings was concerned they would work in dual channel as long as they are placed in the proper paired slots on the MOBO !

 

[LePhuronn]

Thanks to both of you

I didn't think things would be as restrictive these days given that multi-channel memory operation is a mainstay of modern computing, but it's always good to check these things.