Memory Question

tKnilans · September 21st, 2006

I currently have 1 gb of DDR400(PC3200) RAM installed on my system(specs in sig). I am thinking about adding another 2gb of RAM to my system but this time buying dual channel. My question is, can I put the new RAM (dual channel) on two of the three other DIMMS and leave the existing RAM installed? Or do I have to remove the existing RAM stick regardless of where I install the new ones?

yurimxpxman · September 21st, 2006

With your system, you can only run two or four sticks of RAM in dual channel mode. You could always run them all in single channel mode, of course, however.

**One4yu2c** · September 21st, 2006

And just to clarify, you don't necessarily need a "dual channel kit" to run dual channel. A dual channel kit just means that the sticks/chips are identical and are guaranteed to work together. Since you already own a 1GB stick, you could simply pick up another identical 1GB stick, put it in the appropriate slot, and be cruising with 2GB in dual channel. So for example if you own a Corsair ValueSelect stick of PC3200 rated a 2.5-3-3-8, then purchase another Corsair ValueSelect stick of PC3200 rated at 2.5-3-3-8 and you should be golden.

yurimxpxman · September 21st, 2006

It's also important to note that just because your motherboard claims to support 4GB or RAM doesn't mean that you can actually use that much system memory. You may get as much as 3GB if you put in the sticks, but it could end up at 2.5GB or less.

Jokerswild · September 21st, 2006

I have a question along this line also. I have 2 sticks of PC4000 in dual channel and I can no longer buy this ram at the same speed 2.5-3-3-8 but I could get PC4000 running at say 3-4-4-8 or something like that would the new and old ram run in dual channel since their in different sets of slots and what about if the first set is 2x 512mb and the second set is 2x 1gig?

yurimxpxman · September 21st, 2006

AFAIK, it should run just fine because (as I understand it) the two pairs of RAM run independently of each other when in 4 stick dual channel mode.

Jokerswild · September 21st, 2006

Thanks yurimxpxman, thats what I thought but I wasn't sure.

polobunny · September 21st, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by yurimxpxman

AFAIK, it should run just fine because (as I understand it) the two pairs of RAM run independently of each other when in 4 stick dual channel mode.

Not exactly. I wouldn't match unmatching sticks in a "performance rig". Not only by adding 2 stick you have to disable 1T command rate (which gives a significant boost in read and write) but also you "break the sync".

**Capper** · September 21st, 2006

yes, you are always better off with matched sticks....the difference between single channel and dual channel is much less than most people think

tKnilans · September 22nd, 2006

Ok guys thanx. I thought the two sets of DIMMS ran independantly also.

September 21st, 2006	#1
tKnilans Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 12	Memory Question I currently have 1 gb of DDR400(PC3200) RAM installed on my system(specs in sig). I am thinking about adding another 2gb of RAM to my system but this time buying dual channel. My question is, can I put the new RAM (dual channel) on two of the three other DIMMS and leave the existing RAM installed? Or do I have to remove the existing RAM stick regardless of where I install the new ones? Mobo: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 CPU: AMD FX60 running @ 2.6 Ghz (not overclocked yet, want to learn!) PSU: Ultra Dual Rail 600W PSU SATA/SLI ready RAM: 1 Gb PC3200 RAM (3 empty DIMMS) Video: 2 X nMidia 6600GT (2 X 512mb DDR3 vRam/SLI configuration) HDD: Maxtor DiamondMax 10 (250Gb IDE configuration) CD/DVD: Plextor 716a CD/DVD R/RW Dual layer Cooling System: Stock (came with CPU)

September 21st, 2006	#9
Capper We take both criticism and positive comments very positively Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 6,070 Blog Entries: 6	yes, you are always better off with matched sticks....the difference between single channel and dual channel is much less than most people think INTEL QX9650 // Gigabyte EP45 Extreme // 8GB PC2-8500 // BFG GTX260 MaxCore // DD Torture Rack // Seagate 750GB HDD // OCZ Vendetta // PC Power & Cooling 620W PSU

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September 21st, 2006	#2
yurimxpxman Banned Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: /home/yurimxpxman Posts: 1,695	With your system, you can only run two or four sticks of RAM in dual channel mode. You could always run them all in single channel mode, of course, however.

September 21st, 2006	#3
One4yu2c I don't know how to put this, but, I'm kind of a big deal. Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Land of the Lounge Lizards Posts: 2,735 Blog Entries: 3	And just to clarify, you don't necessarily need a "dual channel kit" to run dual channel. A dual channel kit just means that the sticks/chips are identical and are guaranteed to work together. Since you already own a 1GB stick, you could simply pick up another identical 1GB stick, put it in the appropriate slot, and be cruising with 2GB in dual channel. So for example if you own a Corsair ValueSelect stick of PC3200 rated a 2.5-3-3-8, then purchase another Corsair ValueSelect stick of PC3200 rated at 2.5-3-3-8 and you should be golden.

September 21st, 2006	#5
Jokerswild ButtHead Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 5,211	I have a question along this line also. I have 2 sticks of PC4000 in dual channel and I can no longer buy this ram at the same speed 2.5-3-3-8 but I could get PC4000 running at say 3-4-4-8 or something like that would the new and old ram run in dual channel since their in different sets of slots and what about if the first set is 2x 512mb and the second set is 2x 1gig?

September 22nd, 2006	#10
tKnilans Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 12	Ok guys thanx. I thought the two sets of DIMMS ran independantly also.