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Dual Channel

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Ergnas

Registered
Joined
Mar 1, 2004
Location
PA
I am currently running 2x256Mb of RAM in my computer, and it is the Mushkin with the BH-5 chips in it, which they don't make anymore. As I am playing games such as Far Cry, I am getting major lag, and It has to be the RAM acting as the bottleneck, and so I need to get more, most likely 2x512Mb.

If I do this will I have to get rid of the 2x256 to get dual channel to work, or could I put any 512Mb in along with it, as long as they are all running the same speed, or would that not work? Thanks in advance.

**Edit

If I am running the ram, one set in CH. A and one set (of different make) in CH. B would that work, or would it have to be 4 sticks of the ram in my sig?
 
no, with most you can take one stick of 512 and put it on one channel, then take the 2 x 256 you have and put it on the other channel.
 
Dropping a 512 MB stick in with your 2x256 setup will take it to single channel, which is not a good idea on your P4 board.

Save up money for a 1 GB kit and sell what you have now when you have enough.
 
What if I dropped two 512 sticks in, of some other manufacturer so I would have : 2x512Mb in CH. A and 2x256Mb in CH. B. Would that work?
 
I could be wrong but I think you can only have two sticks for dual channel to work. I am in the AMD world so maybey in Intel you can have two channels of dual channel which would be damn cool.
 
Using 4 sticks of the same RAM will work in dual channel, I've done this with 4X256 before on an IC7 mobo, but you get your best overclock potential if you only use 2 sticks of RAM. With Intel chipsets, if you install just a third stick, that will only be single channel. Not sure if you can mix different speeds and different size RAM, but you probably should stay matched for best results.
 
Ergnas said:
I am currently running 2x256Mb of RAM in my computer, and it is the Mushkin with the BH-5 chips in it, which they don't make anymore. As I am playing games such as Far Cry, I am getting major lag, and It has to be the RAM acting as the bottleneck, and so I need to get more, most likely 2x512Mb.

If I do this will I have to get rid of the 2x256 to get dual channel to work, or could I put any 512Mb in along with it, as long as they are all running the same speed, or would that not work? Thanks in advance.

**Edit

If I am running the ram, one set in CH. A and one set (of different make) in CH. B would that work, or would it have to be 4 sticks of the ram in my sig?

So I did the right choice getting 2x512MB BH-5s (KHX3000) a month ago from akiba.fi :) It was a helluva price, but I guess it was worth it, as Far Cry runs great (well, if I don't OC too much...).

Anyhow, take into account that usually bigger sticks (512MB) are less overclockable than smaller ones.

Oren
 
FarCry is a memory hog and prefers 1 gig of RAM. If you only have 512 total RAM, you'll need to lower your vid settings a little and make sure you have a lot of virtual memory set up in Windows. Another thing that helps is to set the AGP aperature to 256 in the BIOS.
 
unforgiven said:
A little off-topic but how's that Game (FarCry), I hear It's better than any FPS ever made ??

The graphics are the best ever in an FPS, no doubt. About the gameplay, well I should play it a bit more to reach a final conclusion, but it's great anyhow. It also has some innovations not seen before in any FPS, like being able to tilt left and right, something which lets you shoot behind cover.
 
disk11 said:
Leaning is in SOF2, R6 Rogue Spear, Raven Shield R6-3, and probably more that I'm not aware of.

Really? So I've been misinformed. I vaguely remember reading something about that. So what's in Far Cry is really innovative?
 
On an Intel board, if you were to plug matching 256MB dimms into slot 0 of both channel A and B and then plug matching 512MB dimms in slot 1 of both channel A and B, you will preserve dual channel. What this means is that as long as the RAM in both 0 slots match each other, and the RAM in both 1 slots match each other, dual channel is preserved. Some boards with Intel chipsets actually perform better with all slots matched and populated (if I can find the link I'll post it). I have not seen any benchmarks with all slots populated but each channel different.

For more info check out this document.

ou_phidelt: On nForce boards, as long as both channels have the same size and speed, dual channel is preserved. Slot 3 is one channel and slots 1 and 2 comprise the other channel. If you put a 512MB in slot 3 and a 256MB in both 1 and 2 then you get 512 in each channel and dual channel is preserved (provided they are set at the same speed). Slot 1 and 3 may be switched on some nForce boards. Check out this site for more info. They have a nice forum as well.
 
So you are saying I could buy 2x512 of some other brand, and as long as I am running them at the same speed it will work?
 
That is correct. They do not have to match the other pair, they just have to match each other. However, you will have to make sure you populate the RAM slots properly. On most boards, the slots are seperated so that slot 0 of channel A is next to slot 1 of channel A (so it is like this 0A-blue 1A-black --space-- 0B-blue 1B-black). Populate the slots so that 0A=0B and 1A=1B (or blue=blue and black=black). However, you may want to check your mobo manual to ensure it is the same for your board (can't always rely on standard compliance).
 
lright, thanks...when I get enough money I wil invest in 2x512 to at do my system.
 
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