DDR equal number sticks?

primuslesler · Jun 17, 2005

i was under the impression that with DDR you had to either have 2,4,6,etc.. sticks for your system to run.. this is what i was told but i have been looking for mobos and they have say 3 slots.. umm whats up with this?

dicecca112 · Jun 17, 2005

doesn't matter. You can run three sticks. Perhaps you were thinking of dual channel?

johan851 · Jun 17, 2005

/\ Right. Dual channel takes an even number of identical sticks. Outside of dual channel, you can run as many sticks of DDR as you want, provided your motherboard will handle it.

AlabamaCajun · Jun 17, 2005

On Athlon boards, such as Nforce 2, you can have 2DC sticks and 1SC stick in the 3 slots and the 2DC run as Duals. MSI K7N2 Delta 2 is one example that I have running now in DC with 2 sticks and an empty slot. Most P4 and A64 mobos running DC have 4 slots. What happens in the 3 Slot mobos is that the 2 sticks running DC are using a 128bit path and the single is running on a 64 bit path. You will also notice that when its just 3 singles all 3 slots are evenly spaced. If it supports DC then 2 slots are together and the 3rd is seperate.

rseven · Jun 18, 2005

Excuse the off topic question, as it looks like the original question was well answered, but Johan, how do you like your Trinitron? I have been looking at them and Mitsubishi Diamomdvisions. Any recommendation?

primuslesler · Jun 18, 2005

umm well that does answer my question but heres another question

is ddr not dual channel and if not whats dual channel

excuse the noob im still learning

rseven · Jun 18, 2005

primuslesler said:
umm well that does answer my question but heres another question

is ddr not dual channel and if not whats dual channel

excuse the noob im still learning

You need at least two sticks of DDR for dual channel. Here is a link to a simple explanation.
http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20030401/ram_wars-06.html
There will be a quiz tomorrow!.....LOL

primuslesler · Jun 18, 2005

hey thanks for the link but im still a little confused... does it have to be ddr400 to be dual channel and if not if you mobo only has two slots would that make it dual channel because i have ddr266 2x512 and my mobo has 2 slots so would it be dual channel and if not im still confused

AlabamaCajun · Jun 18, 2005

primuslesler said:
hey thanks for the link but im still a little confused... does it have to be ddr400 to be dual channel and if not if you mobo only has two slots would that make it dual channel because i have ddr266 2x512 and my mobo has 2 slots so would it be dual channel and if not im still confused

Speaking of DDR1:
Your mobo has to specify dual channel. If you have DC then your northbrige uses slots in pairs meaning at least 2 dims must be installed in the mobo specified slots to run DC. What is DC? Same as regular DDR, but the maker tested 2 sticks together to match speed and response. It's like Ford would take several Mustangs(tm) and race them to find the 2 that match in rubber laid, 0-60 response, top end speed, torque etc. Once they found 2 that were closest then they would declare them dual lane Mustangs. All the chips left over sent off as single channel or value ram. All DDR have an eprom with the settings tested for the SPD settings your MOBO reads. More than likely settings are added to optimize for DC also.

primuslesler · Jun 19, 2005

im still confused as whether mine is dual channel or not

my mobo is gigabyte 2004-rz model# 8vm533m-rz
and my ram is viking 2x512 ddr266 pc2100 and my mobo has 2 slots

batboy · Jun 19, 2005

Your Gigabyte mobo uses a VIA P4M266A chipset. I believe it is not dual channel. If you are looking for a socket 478 mobo with dual channel, I suggest getting an Abit or Asus mobo with an i865/i875 chipset. If you are seeing Intel mobos with 3 dimm slots, it ain't going to be dual channel.

primuslesler · Jun 20, 2005

alright thanks what about nforce chipsets do they use dual channel and can just like say my ram be dual channel?

XReaLm · Jun 20, 2005

PHP:

Dual Channel requires at least two modules for operation. It is recommended that the modules you use be of the same size, speed, arrangement etc. Dual Channel is optional on the original nforce2 motherboards and nforce2 ultra400. You can choose to run in single channel mode on these motherboards. (Nforce2 400 boards are singe-channel only).

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 128bit 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 512Mb module, while slots 2 & 3 are populated 256Mb modules. If you were to use three modules of the same size, then only first two modules would be running in 128bit Dual Channel Mode. Example, using 3x 256Mb modules will have the first 512Mb running in 128bit Dual Channel mode, while the remaining 256Mb will be in 64-bit Single Channel mode.

Intel dual-channel systems are different. The have either two or four slots, and to run dual channel mode must have either one or two pairs of (hopefully) matching modules. Running three modules on a P4 system will force it to run in single channel mode, and is therefore to be avoided.

Consult your motherboard manual for instruction on exactly which slots exactly to use.

i hope this answers your question

primuslesler · Jun 20, 2005

XRealm thank you so much now i am informed!

DDR equal number sticks?

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