dual channel?

I am running two sticks of Kingston PC3200 in my Gigabyte GA-7N400pro2 MoBo. My particular MoBo supports dual channel ram. I guess my question is, do you specifically have to purchase DC DDR and pay the extra $50 per stick that they (manufacturer) want or is PC3200 dual channel capable as is. The reason that I ask is that I have my two sticks in the specified DC memory banks and my BIOS states that dual channel is enabled. There is a going argument at work that PC3200 is already dual channel and I dont need to spend the extrs bucks on something that says its DC. OR....is my BIOS lying to me. Thanks

PC3200 is not dual channel, it is dual data rate. Two sticks that are the same will run in dual channel like you have. Those dual channel kits are not that expensive like you say and they guarantee that the two sticks are identical. The more similar the sticks are, the better for dual channel. My opinion is that it is a waste of money though.

Dual channel is a motherboard function, not RAM. A stick of RAM is a stick of RAM, there is no "dual channel" RAM.

AC

guess my question is, do you specifically have to purchase DC DDR and pay the extra $50 per stick that they (manufacturer) want or is PC3200 dual channel capable as is.

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No, duel channel will work so long you have two of the same sticks (PC3200, PC3500, etc). Keep in mind though that in some cases duel channel has hurt overall ram overclock speeds. Both sticks have to be able to run at the same speed which some can't. Thats where the "kits" come in. They are tested to be equal in speed no matter how low or fast they are.

With all due respect, I know what DDR stands for and its capabilities, but manufacturers still want to label DC(dual channel) with their DDR modules. And yes, it is that expensive. Go to Corsairs site and see how much they want. And, as you can tell by the posts left already that there is no clear answer. As to the person who left the post that dual channel is a MoBo feature, would you explain more. Thanks for the responses. And by the way, I meant no offense. This whole DC thing is frustrating.

I mean that the motherboard itself has two memory controllers and can therefore access two banks of RAM at once ie: dual channel. And what the others say is true also, some manufacturers label the RAM modules "dual channel" because they match the sticks up for maximum compatabilty.

AC

Manufacturers label the RAM modules "dual channel" because they match the sticks up for maximum compatabilty, this is also a marketing strategy.

If u want to save money, buy 2 sticks of RAMs that are identical with the same RAM chips, preferably the same batch of RAM chips, then u can have better compatibility.