hi fellows, i have a RAM module with following specs: Kingston 256 MB PC3200 DDR RAM (KVR400X64C3A/256) 256 MB, Non-ECC Unbuffered PC3200 DDR RAM, 400 MHz, CL3, DIMM 184-pin, 1 Module Now i want to buy another 512MB ram, someone told me to buy the ram module with the same specs as above, so that it will make it dual channel. In that case, i 'll have to buy it in 2 modules of 256+256, so plz suggest me what should i do ? whether i should purchase one module of 512Mb + 256Mb(old one) , and will it become Dual Channel ? or 2 modules, 256+256Mb + 256Mb(old one). and will they be dual channel ? Furthermore, will it be the cause to increase speed like this: 400Mhz+400Mhz = 800Mhz ??? or 400Mhz+400Mhz+400Mhz = 1200Mhz ??? Further more i want to use it for gamming purpose. i hope u ppl will advise me, thanks in advance. BaBye
It is actualy the motherboard which enables you to benefit from dual-channel. Normaly such a board will have two designated slots for each module, i.e. slots 1and3 or 2and4 etc. However, it might be that you can only use identical modules in those slots to be able to enjoy dual-channeling. Please post your motherboard's specs if you are not sure. In any case the frequency rate of the memory will not change. Dual channel will only affect the rate of data transfer.
hi & thanx for replying, My motherboad is : Intel 915GAV it's specs are as follows : motherboard for Pentium 4 processor. features LGA775, 4 DDR400 slots, 1 PCI Express slot, 4 SATA ports, built-in GMA900 video Ok, now plz suggest me whetheri should purchase one module of 512 in addition of old 256, will it be dual channel ? or i should purchase 2 more modules of 256 with same specs ??? will it be dual channel ??? Further more i want to use it for gamming purpose. regards ESHBAN
as the other poster said, it really comes down to the motherboard. it decides whether it can support dual channel, and from what i can read from the intel website, it can't, or at least it doesn't mention that it could. Besides that, you can only run dual channel with two same speced ram modules. eg. 256 + 256 DDR400 not 256 + 512 DDR400. so i suggest you buy a same speced ram module. But i don't think your mobo supports dual channel.
The 915 chipset does support dual-channel memory. However, you have to have equal amounts of RAM in each channel for it to work. The speeds are not added up, so you will not get anything but 400MHz speeds.
Thanks a lot for ur suggestions, (and anoter question) so, according to above discussion i 've concluded : i should buy 2 modules of 256 with same specification as i have already a module of 256 too. i think i 'll be able to get the Dual Channel Feature, and the total memory will be 256+256+256 = 768Mb, can anybody tell me in which order i 'll have to insert these 3 modules in my mobo, coz someone told me it's very important to maintain proper order to get dual channel feature. waiting 4 ur replies, Regards ESHBAN
you can only make use of dual channel if you have at least a pair, so your suggested setup won't work (256+256 = 1 dual channel setup but where does the other module go?) you need 2 pairs to make 2 dual channels eg. 256 + 256 = 1st dual channel setup, 256 + 256 = 2nd dual channel setup. Note, you can't have 2 256 modules and 2 512 modules, they must have the same memory and speed. about where you should place them. your mobo manual should indicate which socket you should insert the pair of modules, but if you plan to use up the four sockets with 256 modules, that won't matter. EDIT: i saw, on the website, your mobo had blue and black sockets. simply put one pair on each of the blue sockets and the other pair on the black ones, which ever is the first channel.
The only way you'd be able to get 768MB in dual channel is if you have two 256MB and two 128MB. You'd have 256MB+128MB and another 256MB+128MB paired off in separate channels. i.e Channel A: 256MB+128MB Channel B: 256MB+128MB Even then, I'm not entirely sure that would work. Nonetheless, dual-channel memory operation requires an even pair of RAM sticks to work. Basically, you have two options with your given plans: 1.)Use 2x256MB for 512MB in dual-channel or 2.)Use 3x 256MB for 768MB in single channel. It's one or the other. There's no way to have dual channel with two different amounts of RAM in different channels.
Oh, it means, i can't use 3 modules of 256+256+256 is it possible to use a pair of 256+256 for a dual chanel, and 1 256, just to increase the quantity in my mobo ? and plz tell me one more thing : Quantity of Ram is important or the quality(speed) maters ? as i want to play games and i just have budget to buy 512 Ram to increase my already used 256 Ram upto 768. Now people are saying i can't make it dual chanel with 256, so please tell me wheather i should consider the quantity of Ram or the speed ? i mean which option i should select : 1. buy a 512 Ram to increase Quantity upto 768 (no dual channel) 2. buy a 256 Ram to increase Quantity upto 512 (having dual channel) 3. buy a 256+256 Ram to increase Quantity upto 768 (not sure about dual channel) please suggest me, waiting 4 ur good response. regards ESHBAN
Thanks Big B: now plz tell me for playing games: Quantity of Ram is important or the quality(speed) maters ? i mean should i consider the dual channel feature or should i increase the quantity of Ram ? Which option will be best for me ? as i don't want the above solution 256+128+256+128 now i just have 2 options to purchase Ram: 1. 256 (total memory=512 with dual channel) 2. 512 (total memory=768 not having dual channel) which is the best for me ? regards ESHBAN
In your case, RAM quantity > RAM speed. You're going to get much more of a benefit running the 768MB in single channel. Optimally, you'd want both, but in real world performance, having more RAM is going to help alot more in gaming than running dual-channel. Assuming you use all the same memory, you could always grab another 256MB of the same stuff and be running 1GB in dual-channel down the road. Speed is nice, but only to a certain point. You're going to get a lot more out of Doom 3, FEAR, etc with more RAM than running it in dual channel. Going from 512MB to 1GB has been one of the best improvements I've made in a long time. You may not be able to get a noticeably better benchmark score, but the extra RAM made gaming a lot smoother.
Enabling dual channel memory functions require the same amount of RAM in each channel. If you compare setups with the same amount of RAM in single and dual-channel modes, the dual-channel will win out. However, if larger RAM amounts are needed, speed won't do much good. You might notice it in a benchmark with dual-channel, but ultimately, 768MB SC > 512MB DC. In otherwords, option 3 is your best bet.
hi, Now i think it's time to Mark this topic as [SOLVED]. i am really thankful to all of you people who participated, specially BIG B, who 've finally solved my problem. Now, for the future sake i am going to purchase one module of 512 which will increase my RAM upto 768. Once again thanks to all of u. Love u, see u soon, Regards WAQAS
