Question about dual channel performance!

genjigenji
edited February 2007 in Hardware
Hey guys,

I'm thinking of upgrading my RAM to 2 GB.
I Currently have 2 sticks of 512mb dual channel.

Now the question is, to get optimal performance, should I get 2 dual channel sticks of the exact same speed as my current ones? or can I get faster RAM without it crippling my performance.


Thanks,
-JP

Comments

  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited January 2007
    Get the same sticks. Your RAM will go as fast as your slowest stick(s).
  • genjigenji
    edited January 2007
    All right, thank you mmonnin
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited January 2007
    Are you adding 2 more sticks or replacing the 2x512 w/ 2x1024?
    Do 4 sticks run dual channel?
  • RyderRyder Kalamazoo, Mi Icrontian
    edited January 2007
    csimon wrote:
    Are you adding 2 more sticks or replacing the 2x512 w/ 2x1024?
    Do 4 sticks run dual channel?
    Yes, 2 or 4 sticks run Dual Channel. Most boards will revert 3 sticks to single channel (if the board has 4 slots) and of course its pretty hard to have dual anything if you only have 1 :)
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited January 2007
    You will take a performance hit with 4 sticks though... the command rate goes up on most boards I have seen which gives a decent performance hit. I'd recommend running just the two 1GB sticks instead.
  • genjigenji
    edited January 2007
    ok ty:D
  • RyderRyder Kalamazoo, Mi Icrontian
    edited January 2007
    RWB wrote:
    You will take a performance hit with 4 sticks though... the command rate goes up on most boards I have seen which gives a decent performance hit. I'd recommend running just the two 1GB sticks instead.
    Only if you are running AMD.... Intel chipsets are always 2T
  • NaudianNaudian
    edited February 2007
    Lo.

    I just registered because I have the same situation as genji and wanted to make sure that running two 1GB sticks would really be better than four 512MB sticks.

    Currently I have 1 gig of memory: 2x Kingston 512MB PC3200 sticks running on a DFI Infinity NF4 Ultra board. (w/ A64 3700+)

    I bought all this about a year ago, and was thinking of buying two more identical sticks to give me 2GB total.
    But after reading RWB's post I guess that wouldn't be a great idea.
    So would I be affected by this performance hit and should I just by two 1gb sticks instead?

    EDit: Another thing is I'm not even sure my current setup is running in Dual-channel mode, although it likely is. Is there any way to do a definite check for dual channel mode?
  • mas0nmas0n howdy Icrontian
    edited February 2007
    CPU-Z should tell you if you are currently in single or dual channel mode on the "Memory" tab.

    Sorry, I'm new and not allowed to post links yet, google will take care of you tho.

    Most boards will tell you during POST if they are running dual channel as well.

    As far as performance goes, I saw a 15-20 percent increase in memory bandwidth between 4 sticks at 2T and 2 sticks at 1T, but those are benchmarks. Real world performance does indeed feel a little quicker, and It seems like I can switch between apps faster (alt tab out of FEAR to check email with almost no delay, etc...)

    Hope that helps.
  • NaudianNaudian
    edited February 2007
    Thanks mas0n!

    CPU-Z indicates that they're running in Dual Channel :cool:

    I think it would be best to go with two 1gig sticks, but I'm gonna go google some more because it seems theres a lot more to memory that I should know anyway :D

    Edit: Ah hell, after reading a bunch of forum posts elsewhere I think I'm just gonna save money and go with 2 more 512 sticks.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited February 2007
    2 X 1GB is almost always faster than 4 X 512MB, given all the modules are the same specification (other than size). For overall system performance though, just about any 4 X 512 dual channel is better than 2 X 512MB. You shouldn't have a problem selling your 512MB modules once you have the 2 X 1GB installed.
  • wh1te3arpwh1te3arp NICE
    edited February 2007
    Hello there,
    concerning the choice of the memory, here is my own experience with them.
    I'had the same problem like you and i'learn about the different types of memory - using four sticks of 512mo in dual channel. At first, the memory must be identic - pair by pair, or all. Second, there is the difference about single-slide or double-slide memory. What does it means... and what will
    happen by using them ?!? Well, contrary what you think - four identical sticks of double-slide [DD] will increase the memory speed by more as 33%. Now, by using one paire of double-slide and one pair of single-slide [SS] the memory speed will be increased by 25%. The last possibility will show, that by using four identical sticks of singe-slide [SS] the memory speed will "only" lost 10% !!! For my part, i'use the last exemple and it works fine - just fast enough to support my overclocked AMD 3700+ [2200Mhz o/c 3028Mhz]
  • NaudianNaudian
    edited February 2007
    That chart seems to indicate that the 4xDS is running slower than the 4xSS, which is different from what you said in your post Wh1te :confused:


    That's okay though, I'm buying 2 more 512 sticks whatever the case, when I get around to it.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited February 2007
    That chart is misleading in more ways than I can even possibly begin to explain.
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