Ok i got a dual channel question

Ok Right now i have 1GB Dual channerl of Corsair XMS 3200... anyways, i picked up another stick of 3200 (512 stick) for free, and was wondering if i could throw it in to one of the two open slots, or would that harm me by ruining the dual channel, or would it? im confused how it works so just let me know. thanks.

it wouldn't harm the two sticks in DC, the alone stick will not be in DC though.

It wont be in a true DC state, the other stick would be in something half way between SC & DC, wouldnt it?

I thought you either had DC, or not. How can you have "almost DC"? If the controller can't talk to both channels properly, I thought it went back to regular single channel operation? Is there like a "Floating" channel avalible? I thought 2 of the RAM slots were on 1 "channel", and the other 2 RAM slots would be on the other "channel"? I dunno either...

so would it be better to have 1024 pc3200 in dual channel or 1536 pc3200 in whatever it ends up being? is my question.

I always prefer DC, but this is in relation to bandwidth, not RAM capacity. 1 Gig is plenty for my DAW useage, so the DC makes a big difference for me. If I added another stick of 512 and lost DC operation, my DAW performance would likely suffer. Tough call - I guess this will depend on what your are running? Maybe the experts will chime back in?

personally, i like the prospect of more ram, i see a great speed increase (note i said speed, not performance) going from 1-1.5gb of ram, but things seem to RUN slower.. (ie games load faster, change maps faster, but have lower fps).. hope this helps, oh also, afaik, there can only be Dual or Single.. nothing inbetween

Careface*

so the question is, put it in? or not? what will be the ups and downs, and just should i or shouldnt i?

You'll definately lose your dual channel, but if you have a free stick try it out.

I asked around the web about adding another gb of ram ( total of 4*512 )because it's cheap now, But the gist of what I heard is that it wouldn't be as fast. People were saying that I couldn't keep my tight timings, although it would still be dual channel.

Bench your system without the extra stick, then put it in and see how it performs. Also play some games and do what you normally do with your comp to see how it feels. That's the only way you'll know for sure.

I think my case might help you:

Im using a Nforce3 board with three dimm sots (made for dual C). Im running 2 x DDR400 and can go up to 228 FSB this way - stable (tested with Prime95 blend 24h). I too, just like you, have an extra DDR400 stick that I decided to put in the remaining slot. I had to decrease the OC back to 200FSB in order to finnish the blend test with no errors. Still, POST screen, CPUZ, AIDA, Everest all report Im running in DC (which is impossible AFAIK). I also tried testing both settings with photoshop which I am using daily and dint find any big differences (guess I aint working with realy huge files). So my advice would be:

- If you are running processor intensive applications, stick with two sticks in DC - try getting the FSB as high as you can
- If you are running memory intensive applications (PS, graphics in general), I would give all three sticks a chance. Mind though, that (for example) PS uses a lot of CPU when processing data so I guess its a tough call...

Do as folks told you - bench, test the system with the programs you're using daily - a cool tip is to use a stop watch to time how fast certain applications start, photos open, archives unzip/rar etc...(you get the idea).

Btw, DC or SC? AFAIK, on nforce boards DC only brings up up to 2,3 % so...:/

I have an Abit NF-7 and it only has three dimm slots so from what I heard, in my situation, it would have no choice but to run in DC. My question has been should I buy a 512 or a 1Gb stick for the remaining open slot and from what I read everyone agreed to get a 1Gb. stick so they would be balanced AND in DC.

i put it in seems better, and faster, it is in sc, might just get another 512 to stick in there with it? yah or nah?

OW, I see...you're using Intel. Hmm, you can profit a lot with these, using DC - unlike AMD owners (slower FSB speed). I would try adding another one, yes (you have four slots if Im not mistaken?), lets just hope your board manages it...

I just (well, recently) decided to go for more ram myself. I had to lower the FSB back to 200 (from 227) :/. I did that cause Im mostly using Photoshop and every stick counts! (tri slots board - supports up to 1.5 GIG = what I have now)


Cheers