Dual Channel???

Could someone please give me a quick rundown on dual channel mem? Pros/Cons, etc.

If you believe the highly regarded MemTest86 memory testing software, Dual Channel on an Nforce2 motherboard will yield a 48% improvement in memory bandwidth over Single Channel. IE

220 Mhz FSB 2-2-2-11

Single 512mb Stick of Winbond BH-5 Memory

1116 MB/S

Two Sticks of the same in Dual Channel Mode

1656 MB/S

As a DOS type application, I suspect that Memtest86 is not "shackled" by some of the constraints placed upon memory by more complex Operating Systems like Windows 2000 or XP. I say this because if I run a synthetic benchmark program under Windows XP, I do not see anywhere near that 48% improvement indicated in the synthetic benchmark results. Too bad

A detractor I've seen for Dual Channel is that from my experience, I can not overclock the FSB as far in Dual Channel mode as I can in Single Channel mode, for the same memory timings and Vdimm.

Hoot

So, in theory, if I run two sticks of dual channel 512 2100 DDR in a machine that holds 1 gig max I will hopefully see a performance increase?

IMHO, for PC2100 memory, yes, you will.

Hoot

IMHO?

Sorry, I usually avoid cyber-babble. " In My Honest Opinion "

Hoot

Sorry to keep this going on and on, but one more question.....

In your opinion what kind would be my best bet? Do I need to look for certain specs and numbers?

Boy, that's like asking whether Ford, Dodge, Chevrolet, etc makes the best pickup truck.

If you can find them, memory sticks that use the Winbond BH-5 chipset are pretty hard to beat. They certainly will not be the cheapest memory, but you get what you pay for. A couple of good sticks of memory will outlast several motherboards and an equal number of CPUs, so they, like a good power supply, are more of a long-term investment.

As far as brand loyalty goes, I can say that I've never been let down by Corsair XMS Memory, even though I'm not using it right now. I just happened to stumble into a great deal on some Buffalo sticks that had BH-5 chips a few months ago. There are a lot of people in this particular forum with more experience using different brands of memory than me. Wait for some of them to wade in on the subject also. Whatever you wind up getting, invest a few extra dollars to try to stay ahead of the trends and Good Luck.

Hoot

P.S. Ford

Pssst...me too....Ford

mushkin lvl II ram is always bh-5, Corsair nowadays uses ch-5 chips.. (see sig )

btw: you do know that your mobo needs to support DC in order to use it?

i though IMHO was In My Humble Oppinion

edit:

AMD rigs usually see a 10% increase in performance,
Intel rigs on the other hand, can see performance increase up to 75%!

my pc3200 ram running DC gives me a bandwith of 5800mb/s

Yeah, I knew about the mobo needing to support it. Looking at mobo's as we speak. Considering the new DFI Lan Party II

I have also seen the memory bandwidth increase using dual channel mem on intel 875 boards but i have been unable to see any gains in apps or benchmarks looking for fps increase.Any ideas?

I notice a diff in windows. Things just "snap to it" quicker. I prefer to use it. I don't get a higher clock not using dual chan than using it.. i cant get past 223 stable.. no matter what . :/ l12 wire trick. didnt help me at all

Jognt said:

-snip-
i though IMHO was In My Humble Oppinion
-snip-

Click to expand...

You are correct, but I'm rarely Humble, always Honest. The best gift we can give to one another in these forums is being Honest.

Hoot

Hoot said:

You are correct, but I'm rarely Humble, always Honest. The best gift we can give to one another in these forums is being Honest.

Hoot

Click to expand...

true

------------
i notice that with DC applications indeed start faster, it just stuffs things into the RAM a lot faster...