Should I buy OCZ Dual Channel Mem?

[flowrider]

Or some other variant of dual channel memory?

Or can I just use my current 2 sticks of ddr333 in the two colour coded slots? For some reason I think that in order to run dual channel you have to have the dual channel mem. Am I out to lunch?

[CrashOveride]

No you don't. It's essentially a gimmic. Though new OCZ memory would probably get you a better OC...

[batboy]

Any pair of RAM that is the same brand, same speed, and same type will work. The so called "dual channel" RAM supposedly has extra testing to ensure the RAM is matched and plays well together.

[hepp]

Essentially true.

But since each stick is different and 2 sticks running in dual channel will not necessarily reach the speed that the slower stick can run single channel, there could be such a thing as a matched pair.

I just read the Twinx 4000 FAQ (http://www.houseofhelp.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=15019) in the Corsair forums, they were talking about the "data signal eye"s of two modules being skewed.

It seemed to make sense when I read it....

Maybe not an issue in this thread but if I was trying to reach the maximum speed for my system(as I guess I am or I would not be reading this forum) I'd be prepared to pay a small premium for the sticks being tested and certified as a matched pair, rather than RMA'ing until I have 2 sticks with a similar "eye diagram". The question is if these tests actually take place or if it is just marketing b/s ;) I suppose in any case these tests are only done at the spec speed for the memory so it might not be worth that much.

I know you've been around these forums for a long time and probably have an informed opinion about this.
Has there ever been an exhaustive test to check if a bunch matched pairs perform better than a bunch of individual modules?
Or is it still just luck.

Br
hepp

[wannaoc]

Alot of people say its a gimmic and all that but it pays off to buy the set in the end. At least for me it does. Buying a set means you have a better chance of the two being manufactured at around the same time and not having one be worse than the other.

I had to rma one of my sticks for it not doing too well and that was right before the BH-5 went out of stock everywhere. Hence I only have one stick of my duel set untill I find a used one and have wasted more money on shipping.

Besides in some cases the duel sets are cheaper.

[flowrider]

Thanks for all the replies guys! In Canada anyway, Dual Channel Mem is not cheaper but about 20% more expensive than regular stuff. Wouldn't it be nice if Dual Channel mem came with test results from different test batches so you could identify according to steppings like cpus?