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Do "dual channel" boards use all three slots??

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  • Do "dual channel" boards use all three slots??

    OK, I read on somebody's post that if you get a dual channel board like the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe, you need to use all three memory slots? For example: If I wanted to get this board I would need all three channels filled with the same memory size: such as PC 2700 333mgz (128mb lets say) for each of the slots. Is this correct? Or have I got it all wrong?
    Here are my specs:
    System Specs: ATX generic case with Antec 550 watt power supply. ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Motherboard. Western Digital 7,200 RPM 40 gig IDE Hard Drive.(NTFS- file system) AMD Athlon XP 2600 processor.(standard fan and heatsink-Thoroughbred Core-standard speed-NO OVERCLOCK) 1 gig of Samsung DDRAM(PC 2700- 333 mhz....2-512mb sticks running in dual channel mode).Ati Radeon 8x 9600 XT (8x is enabled on motherboard). Soundblaster Audigy 2 sound card. Motorola sb 5100 cable modem (Insight Communications-Cable Connection) BenQ 16x DVD- RECORDER.(records -R/-RW or +R/+RW and CD-R formats) LG 52x32x52 CD Burner. Zip 100 internal drive and a generic 3.5 floppy drive. Windows XP Professional Operating System. I also have a HP Deskjet 3520 inkjet printer and a KDS X Flat 17 inch CRT monitor.

  • #2
    No, you only have to use two slots for dual channel, but they must be the designated slots, and i belive, that if you use all 3, it goes back to single channel.

    But to run in dual channel , you must have two identical sticks (speed, maker, size)

    Comment


    • #3
      already answered this once today:

      http://forums.tweaktown.com/showthre...968#post161968

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by minibubba

        Thanks for clearing that up! Now I know I only need TWO identical sticks of memory! ONE MORE QUESTION: Is there really THAT much difference between the dual channel memory (that is, memory that already comes in two sticks that is supposed to be optomized for performance) and regular memory if you just bought two identical sticks seperately???? The reason I ask is because I can probably get two independant identical sticks of memory cheaper than I can get a set of "dual channel" memory!
        Here are my specs:
        System Specs: ATX generic case with Antec 550 watt power supply. ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Motherboard. Western Digital 7,200 RPM 40 gig IDE Hard Drive.(NTFS- file system) AMD Athlon XP 2600 processor.(standard fan and heatsink-Thoroughbred Core-standard speed-NO OVERCLOCK) 1 gig of Samsung DDRAM(PC 2700- 333 mhz....2-512mb sticks running in dual channel mode).Ati Radeon 8x 9600 XT (8x is enabled on motherboard). Soundblaster Audigy 2 sound card. Motorola sb 5100 cable modem (Insight Communications-Cable Connection) BenQ 16x DVD- RECORDER.(records -R/-RW or +R/+RW and CD-R formats) LG 52x32x52 CD Burner. Zip 100 internal drive and a generic 3.5 floppy drive. Windows XP Professional Operating System. I also have a HP Deskjet 3520 inkjet printer and a KDS X Flat 17 inch CRT monitor.

        Comment


        • #5
          I'm not sure dual channel is all that great unless you really need to protect your Bios from a virus or are afraid you might screw something up with on a flash update (like a power outage or you use the wrong flash update ). Man I've never seen a virus that can destroy a bios anyway, most of them just screw up Windows.
          I might be wrong but I think dual channel memory isn't going to make a difference in performance other than the fact that you will be running twice the RAM in your system.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by segageo64
            I'm not sure dual channel is all that great unless you really need to protect your Bios from a virus or are afraid you might screw something up with on a flash update (like a power outage or you use the wrong flash update ). Man I've never seen a virus that can destroy a bios anyway, most of them just screw up Windows.
            I might be wrong but I think dual channel memory isn't going to make a difference in performance other than the fact that you will be running twice the RAM in your system.
            do you have any idea what dual channel is? It sounds like you are getting dual channel confused with the dual bios on gigabyte mobos. Dual channel also has little to do with how much ram you are using

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by minibubba
              do you have any idea what dual channel is? It sounds like you are getting dual channel confused with the dual bios on gigabyte mobos. Dual channel also has little to do with how much ram you are using

              Well I am no expert, but that is what THEY call it! I am just talking abot the RAM packs made by corsair, ultra and a few others that go into a nforce 2 board that uses dual channel memory! Like the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe. These usuallly consist of two sticks....either two sticks of 256 for 512 mb of ram or two sticks of 512 for 1 gig of ram.

              http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...al+channel+DDR

              You can go to this web address to see what I am talking about!
              Here are my specs:
              System Specs: ATX generic case with Antec 550 watt power supply. ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Motherboard. Western Digital 7,200 RPM 40 gig IDE Hard Drive.(NTFS- file system) AMD Athlon XP 2600 processor.(standard fan and heatsink-Thoroughbred Core-standard speed-NO OVERCLOCK) 1 gig of Samsung DDRAM(PC 2700- 333 mhz....2-512mb sticks running in dual channel mode).Ati Radeon 8x 9600 XT (8x is enabled on motherboard). Soundblaster Audigy 2 sound card. Motorola sb 5100 cable modem (Insight Communications-Cable Connection) BenQ 16x DVD- RECORDER.(records -R/-RW or +R/+RW and CD-R formats) LG 52x32x52 CD Burner. Zip 100 internal drive and a generic 3.5 floppy drive. Windows XP Professional Operating System. I also have a HP Deskjet 3520 inkjet printer and a KDS X Flat 17 inch CRT monitor.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by minibubba
                do you have any idea what dual channel is? It sounds like you are getting dual channel confused with the dual bios on gigabyte mobos. Dual channel also has little to do with how much ram you are using

                I might be, I'll have to check into that.
                I do have a board with dual channel (Yes its Gigabyte and I was thinking of Dual Bios information in conjuction with dual channel) and beleive me when its enabled I notice absolutly no difference in speed, but maybe there is more to it than I once thought. :confused: . Maybe I'm not using any software yet that needs more memory bandwith or maybe someone would notice the benifits more if they have a faster processor than my 2.4 ghz CPU. Please enlighten me on the subject.

                Comment


                • #9
                  :mad:
                  Ok this is real simple as far as DDR is concerned frist
                  things frist DDR runs 1600---3200+ for now
                  So get the DDR thats right 4 Ur board As per Asus Spects out on there web site
                  As far as the 2 bank v 3 bank fill
                  If Im not mastaken U got an on board Gpu vnida 2 eng grifics.
                  Now You will need to asign some memory to handle this in the bios Your mem. banks r set 1 then 2Twin banks
                  so yes you should get matched pairs Of DDR 3200 512 each
                  Totaling 1024Mb of DDR in 2 banks
                  got to have over 1 gig of memery on this newer boards to allow the Os to operate freely SEE Overclocking Forms

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    :blah:
                    My Bad
                    The asus a7n8x
                    does not have grifics But yes go with match Memory :blah:

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      straight outa the A7N8X-Deluxe manual (page 14 for those that have one)
                      "Note: To enhance system performance, utilize dual-channel feature when installing additional DIMMs. You may install DIMMs in the following sequence: Socket 1 and 3 or Sockets 2 and 3 or Sockets 1, 2, and 3."

                      this leads me to believe you can use all three in dual channel mode.

                      Or, am i reading it wrong?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        /Fires Missiles

                        Originally posted by Brian508
                        :mad:
                        Ok this is real simple as far as DDR is concerned frist
                        things frist DDR runs 1600---3200+ for now
                        So get the DDR thats right 4 Ur board As per Asus Spects out on there web site
                        As far as the 2 bank v 3 bank fill
                        If Im not mastaken U got an on board Gpu vnida 2 eng grifics.
                        Now You will need to asign some memory to handle this in the bios Your mem. banks r set 1 then 2Twin banks
                        so yes you should get matched pairs Of DDR 3200 512 each
                        Totaling 1024Mb of DDR in 2 banks
                        got to have over 1 gig of memery on this newer boards to allow the Os to operate freely SEE Overclocking Forms
                        For a mere 10-25$ /unit, many local community colleges teach a wonderful class that aides in everyday life. Depending on your job siuation, it can also get you a raise. The class is titled Communications 101: HOW TO MAKE SENSE.

                        mjmnam: thanks for busting out the manual, it does seem to be that you are correct in that 3 slots can still utilize dual channel.

                        webe3: dual channel capable motherboards have chipsets (like nForce2) that can utilize two RAM sticks better than one. This means that on one clock cycle, the North bridge can access both sticks for reading, rather than one after another. Its more complicated thatn that, but i dont do well remembering that stuff. Don't think this is double the speed thou. Dual channel environments tend to be 4-8% faster than single channel environments, because of the way chipsets work. Oddly, dual channel runs faster with 333MHz RAM rather than 400MHz RAM (Athlon at stock 166 FSB)

                        Comment


                        • #13

                          High all :smokin:
                          I beleave that all 3 will run dual channel on a 333 bus speed
                          Now correct me if Im wrong :cheers:
                          Its when we try to get the bus up tp 400 That only 2 sticks max is allowable
                          the board is O\c (OverClocked) to run a 400 bus
                          THIS is when we run, memory that the board mfgs suggest
                          to achive the 400 bus speed
                          What DDR, is just dubbleing the bus speed(Clockwavel) of a 133 mem chip.
                          Back when 133 was out with the 1 gigs DDR started at like 1600 now to day it's at 3200(seen some at 3700)dont Know how good it would run Hell they now got aM/B bus at 600

                          When will it ever Stop

                          : peace2: : peace:

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Brian508
                            Its when we try to get the bus up tp 400 That only 2 sticks max is allowable
                            I think your wrong.
                            You can use 1-3 slots of DDR in ALL boards, and still overclock well. The height of the overclock is dependent on your components, but for the most part, the slots you use aren't priority #1 in overclocking. When trying to acheive a 200 FSB (400MHz, DDR3200) overclock, your main concern is that your RAM is 3200 or higher compliant (not necessarily labeled 3200) Which slots you use is irrelevant.

                            ALL DDR memory can be used on ALL DDR capable boards. However, to increase the FSB to anything above 100MHz (DDR1600) which is standard on most boards, one would need to purchase RAM that has been tested and complies with standards to run at that speed. Say for example, you buy DDR3500 and a new Athlon XP with a 166MHz FSB. You can run that DDR with that processor all day long at 166MHz (333MHz, or DDR2700) even thou the DDR is 3500, it will run at 2700 in that environment. When you begin to overclock you raise the operating rate of both CPU and RAM (and every other component in the system if you dont know what your doing) and the weakest chain will break first, most likely the CPU, which is what we want. We want to know the limits of the CPU, not the cpu and the RAM, or the cpu and my old modem. Same example two years later. (Hypothetical) You own the same RAM, but you just bought the newest board and CPU on the market which is capable of a 600MHz (1200MHz, DDR 4800) You CAN run that board and that RAM and that CPU together. Except this time you wont be able to run standard speeds. You would need to underclock the CPU to match speeds with the RAM (barring odd ratio settings) The DDR will work, but not as well as DDR purchased at the same time as the new CPU.

                            So if homeboy buys the Asus and DDR3500, than it WILL work regardless of what Asus says. But you will be running the RAM at 2700 and not 3500. Thats where the headroom comes in. Start to overclock and you'll go above 2700 and begin to creap up on 3500. But the RAM dont care. It will go to 3500, so its less of a headache when you get into 200+FSB speeds, because thats when DDR3200 will start crapping out on you. 3500 will hang in there for longer.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              :smokin: 1>[\]]\]\]\]\](+$+) : peace2:
                              JediAgant
                              I agree with you all the way
                              I See that you come well trained by your
                              master L-1/L-2( R2-D-2 )
                              The argueible points on O\cing
                              R on a system by system bases hay the mfgs say to use 2 sticks max not me lol
                              :laugh:
                              but yes he should use match memory same lot and all that
                              :shoot3: Not some mixed matched ****:shoot3:
                              That was the Question was it not and weather or not the bios changed from daul to single fuction when all three banks R filled
                              Some of the cheper boards will clock down when all three banks r used that what they say Mfgs.
                              (Thats what they always
                              say just before they die):cheers:

                              Comment

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