using RAM in DUAL CHANNEL

[noob with an RS 10+ year member]

hey im in the market for some RAM.. right now i have a gig.. two 512 sticks. i got them a long time ago. i was wondering if any identical sticks of RAM will work in DUAL CHANNEL mode? or does the RAM have to state that it is dual channel? if so, i think im going to get two sticks of 512 dual channel and have 2 gigs total (4 sticks, 2 of which are dual channel) and then later on replace the non-dual channel with dual channel sticks.. sound good?

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[bamaboy 5,000+ posts]

dual channel ram is having 2 identical sticks in the same bank, there isnt a certain type of ram made for dual channel

llll

each color is a bank

you have to have the same amount of ram in each color for it to run dual channel

say you want to run dual channle with 2 512 sticks, put 1 stick in each blue

 

[noob with an RS 10+ year member]

so i might as well get TWO of these then huh?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1071020&Sku=ULT31664

or willl these sticks turn out to be crap? i want more RAM for gaming!

 

[krouchchocolate 10+ year member]

so i might as well get TWO of these then huh?
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1071020&Sku=ULT31664

or willl these sticks turn out to be crap? i want more RAM for gaming!

do u have a fry's in ur area? They have a 1 gb corsair dual chan memory on sale. You shoudl look into it.

 

[noob with an RS 10+ year member]

i do and shall look into it. is it the XMS series? cuz i see the xms is 69.99 after rebate on newegg.com (for a gig)

 

[krouchchocolate 10+ year member]

i do and shall look into it. is it the XMS series? cuz i see the xms is 69.99 after rebate on newegg.com (for a gig)

or get it from newegg. I thikn newegg is cheaper. Not sure.

 

[Eugenics 5,000+ posts]

meh, its best to get matched memory

 

[noob with an RS 10+ year member]

meh, its best to get matched memory

the gig of RAM for 69.99 i was reffering to was two sticks of matched memory (2x512 MB) you faggot i still hate you.

 

[Eugenics 5,000+ posts]

if you know all this shit, then why are you still asking the questions... fuckwit

 

[Blunt 10+ year member]

just because it is matching brands/size/speed/timings doesnt mean it will work in dual channel. most of the time it will. but i have 2 xms sticks that are the exact same except they we're bought seperatly. they have the same chips and everythign but do not work in dual channel together. but i would still try to run them dual channel if you can. like i said most the time it will work. make sure all your ram is the sme brand in both banks i've had troubles with certain motherboards not likeing different pairs in dual channel. ie xms in one bank dual and kingston in the other.

 

[noob with an RS 10+ year member]

you think 2 gigs will be enough? (4x512) or are there a lot of games cming out that generally require more RAM?

 

[Raven 10+ year member]

A local machine I took part in had trouble recognizing 2 GB of RAM (2x 1gb) and it was on a DFI Lanparty board. The owner doesn't even care that it's not recognizing an entire gig of RAM (took it home before we could fix it). Anyway what I'm trying to get at is that this thing will play any game out there and then some without breaking a sweat with only 1gb. So if you ask me if 2gb will be necessary in the future, I really don't think so (unless you're planning on buying Vista =\ ).

Also, IMO 4x512 is a bad idea. You're not going to get quad channel out of it and going with 2x1024 is going to be at least $20 to $40 cheaper. That Ultra deal is only good for ONE stick of ram, so go with the matched pair. (same price, guaranteed to work together)

 

[noob with an RS 10+ year member]

kk thanks a lot for the replyraven.. but im skeptic about going with the ultra RAM cuz its SO cheap.. im thinking maybe it doesnt perform as well as other name-brand RAM? do u think i should cough up an extra 20 dollars or so and go with the corsair xms thats on sale at my local Fry's???

 

[Raven 10+ year member]

Hard to say. While I'm always recommending better RAM at the shop I work at, I've had this 512 meg stick of cheap as hell generic RAM in my machine that hasn't given me a moment of grief since I got it 2 years ago.

Personally, I'm seriously considering the Ultra RAM. That's a good price for 2gb (Assuming you'll jump through the hoops of a mail in rebate) and it has a lifetime warranty.

EDIT: If you're not willing to go after a mail in rebate (I don't blame you) go with Kingston Value Ram. Corsair ValueSelect 2x1024 gig chips are samsung and have a high failure rate.