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☖ Forums → Discussion Forum → What is dual channeling?
What is dual channeling?
2004-05-05, 4:11 PM #1
Yea, question is in the topic. Buying new memory, and have been hearing this term, not sure what it means though.
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2004-05-05, 4:13 PM #2
Quote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">"Dual channel means that the motherboard has two memory controllers. If you have dual channal memory, which means either you buy a pack that comes with two identical sticks (it might say 512MB (256 x 2) if you ordered it from, say, www.newegg.com), or you buy two of the same stick, you put one stick in the first slot on the first channel, and the other stick on the first slot on the second channel. It still acts as 512MB if you have 256 MBs, but it's much faster. Most motherboards will support dual channel, but you need two identical (brand, model, everything) sticks of RAM to have dual channel enabled.</font>


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2004-05-05, 4:29 PM #3
And it's quite a large speed increase.

My PC 3200(which is rated with a maximum bandwidth of 3.2 GB/s) pulls over 5 GB/s in dual-channel mode(of course I'm also running 250 MHz FSB, which helps too).
2004-05-05, 4:46 PM #4
OK, well my motherboard has 3 DIMM slots which can support 1GB each for a max of 3GB. Right now I'm looking to purchase 1GB of PC2700 RAM for it. Now would it be smarter to get a single stick of 1GB, meaning I could max out to 3GB, or get two 512MB sticks, meaning the two 512s would be "dual channeled", but in the end I would only be able to max out to 2GB. (2x 512, and 1x 1GB)
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2004-05-05, 4:49 PM #5
Considering you won't really be using more than 1 GB of memory for anything right now, it's best to have it dual-channeled for more speed.

By the time you'd need 3 GB of memory for anything, you'll probably have a different motherboard and memory prices will be quite a bit lower.
2004-05-05, 4:50 PM #6
Why not two 1 gig sticks, duel channeled? Now that would be fast.

------------------
"No good can ever come from staying with normal people"
-Outlaw Star
"Some people play tennis. I erode the human soul"
-Tycho, Penny Arcade
"I'm a Cannabal-Vegitarian. I will BBQ an employee if there is no veggie option"
-DX:IW
A Knight's Tail
Exile: A Tale of Light in Dark
Scions of Light[/i]
The Never Ending Story Squared[/i]
A Knight's Tail
Exile: A Tale of Light in Dark
The Never Ending Story²
"I consume the life essence itself!... Preferably medium rare" - Mauldis

-----@%
2004-05-05, 4:51 PM #7
Wouldn't be any faster...

More capacity, yes, but most of it would be going to waste...

Not to mention more expensive.
2004-05-05, 4:54 PM #8
Yah, but i mean, think of the bragging rights!

[edit] Oh, by the way, i'm not being serious. He already said he was only buying a gig, and i know enough about computers to know how much of a waste it is.

------------------
"No good can ever come from staying with normal people"
-Outlaw Star
"Some people play tennis. I erode the human soul"
-Tycho, Penny Arcade
"I'm a Cannabal-Vegitarian. I will BBQ an employee if there is no veggie option"
-DX:IW
A Knight's Tail
Exile: A Tale of Light in Dark
Scions of Light[/i]
The Never Ending Story Squared[/i]

[This message has been edited by Noble Outlaw (edited May 05, 2004).]
A Knight's Tail
Exile: A Tale of Light in Dark
The Never Ending Story²
"I consume the life essence itself!... Preferably medium rare" - Mauldis

-----@%
2004-05-05, 4:57 PM #9
Right, well I was thinking my budget for memory was going to be $150, but the cheapest I can find a single stick of 1GB that my mobo supports is $170, while the cheapest I can find for two sticks of dual channeled 512 is like $185. So let's pretend and say I do eventually end up maxing out to 3GBs of RAM, would that be faster/slower or about equal than if I had 2 512 sticks dual channeled, and a single 1GB stick for a total of 2GB of RAM, 1GB being dual channeled.
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2004-05-05, 5:06 PM #10
Speed should technically be the same, though only 1/2 of your memory would be of the faster speed, while the other way, 2/3 would be faster.

But, I really doubt you'd notice a real difference for one, and it's unlikely you'll need that much memory for a while anyway. So I'd say go with what will benefit you more now and go with dual-channel.
2004-05-05, 5:42 PM #11
I have 1GB of Dual Channel DDR 400. [http://forums.massassi.net/html/smile.gif]

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