What's the point of going Dual Ram instead of 4 at a time?

Just want to know, because most people are using dual. Also, I want to know what's the performance gained using this compare to 4 stick of ram?

It just cost alot to get two 512 then 4 256. Also, was trying to get 4 512ram for my htpc, so I can do all sort of stuff at the same time. Recording, gaming, encoding, etc.

Well, anyone that has an AMD 64 939 platform usually goes with dual because it allows the processor to utilize the dual channel. Most people here just stick with a gig of RAM because usually for gaming purposes, it is better. The problem with filling up all of those slots, is that your memory controller will not be able to access the memory banks as fast, hence slower communication between the processor and cpu. Usually, running 4 sticks of Ram means running a 2t command rate instead of 1t. Today's gaming and personal use generally do not use more tha a gig. The only time that an amount of Ram such as 2 gigs will help, is when you are accessing so much random access hungary applications, that you are using virtual memory. Now some people like to run two sticks of 256, because they run faster than 2 x 512, but, this may not be enough for today's apps. (IMO) .