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Dual/Single Channel question

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M-Bonez

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Joined
Oct 8, 2004
I Have a stick of 512 ram Single channel. but i want to get dual channel ram if i was to put 256x2 dual channel ram in my computer WITH the single chalnnel stick will the duals work as dual channel or withh they all work as single
 
ram isnt really single or dual channel, what makes it that depends on the slots you put it in, these dual channel packs arent much more than matched sticks that are rated to run up to the same speed. If you want to run dual channel I would suggest getting another stick of 512 that is the same speed rating as the one you already have. that would be a much better choice than getting a 2x256 pack.
 
Dual channel is a feature of the motherboard chipset. Basically the memory controller system can access two sticks of RAM at the same time, rather than just one, increasing performance.

To enable dual channel, ideally you want two identical sticks of RAM (or as close as possible).
 
If you are using nVidia Ultra 400 chipset, then following will answer your question:

Take a look at this sticky:

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=257741

The most important part of that sticky that answers your question is:

Most dual channel capable nforce2 motherboards come with three slots. On these motherboards the first memory controller controls only the first slot (or the slot by itself), while the second memory controller controls the last two slots (which are usually closer together). Name them slots 1, 2 & 3 respectively. To implement Dual Channel, it is necessary to occupy the slot 1 (channel 0) and either one of the two slots that are closer together, slots 2 or 3 (channel 1). The entire config would be running in 128 bit mode.

You can use three modules in Dual Channel Mode, by filling the third unoccupied slot. With three sticks, slots 1 remains as channel 0 while slot 2&3 become channel 1. To maintain 128-bit mode, with all three slots filled, each channel must have an equal amount of memory. For example, slots 1 should be filled with a 512 Mb module, while slots 2 & 3 are populated 256 Mb modules. If you were to use three modules of the same size, then only the first two modules would be running in 128 bit Dual Channel Mode. Example, using 3x 256 Mb modules will have the first 512 Mb running in 128 bit Dual Channel mode, while the remaining 256 Mb will be in 64-bit Single Channel mode.
 
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