Advantages of running RAM in Dual Channel?

[Guest]

The title says it all, or does it run in dual channel automatically?

Sorry I don't really have any prior knowledge to dual channel and whatnot,

[Enderman]

4 stick = dual channel

2 sticks = single channel

 

4 sticks looks better

2 sticks leaves room for upgrades

[Guest]

4 stick = dual channel

2 sticks = single channel

 

4 sticks looks better

2 sticks leaves room for upgrades

Okay, so once you put in another stick

(2x8) will it automatically run in dual channel or will I need to go into the Bios and set it to run in dual channel? 

[DevilishBooster]

4 stick = dual channel

2 sticks = single channel

 

4 sticks looks better

2 sticks leaves room for upgrades

Wat? No....

2 sticks of RAM = Dual Channel

4 sticks of RAM = Quad Channel

 

 

The title says it all, or does it run in dual channel automatically?

Sorry I don't really have any prior knowledge to dual channel and whatnot,

It depends on what your mobo is designed to run.

[Enderman]

Okay, so once you put in another stick

(2x8) will it automatically run in dual channel or will I need to go into the Bios and set it to run in dual channel? 

yes, using 4 sticks of ram automatically makes it dual channel

 

Wat? No....

2 sticks of RAM = Dual Channel

4 sticks of RAM = Quad Channel

 

 

It depends on what your mobo is designed to run.

no

this is quad channel:

2 sticks of ram = 1 channel

[beach_boy98]

In theory it adds more bandwidth but in everyday applications it has no real effect.

[Guest]

Wat? No....

2 sticks of RAM = Dual Channel

4 sticks of RAM = Quad Channel

 

 

It depends on what your mobo is designed to run.

Mine supports dual channel according to ASRocks website, Again, will I need to go into the bios to enable Dual channel or will it automatically enable when I put in the second stick? 

[DevilishBooster]

Okay, so once you put in another stick

(2x8) will it automatically run in dual channel or will I need to go into the Bios and set it to run in dual channel? 

You can have a mobo with dual channel RAM configuration that has 4 dimm slots.  Even if you populate all 4 dimms it will run in dual channel mode.

[DevilishBooster]

Mine supports dual channel according to ASRocks website, Again, will I need to go into the bios to enable Dual channel or will it automatically enable when I put in the second stick? 

It runs in dual channel by default.

[Guest]

In theory it adds more bandwidth but in everyday applications it has no real effect.

 

 

You can have a mobo with dual channel RAM configuration that has 4 dimm slots.  Even if you populate all 4 dimms it will run in dual channel mode.

 

It runs in dual channel by default.

Okay thank you two c:

[pwn_intended]

The title says it all, or does it run in dual channel automatically?

Sorry I don't really have any prior knowledge to dual channel and whatnot,

 

2 sticks runs in dual channel, AS LONG AS they are the same size and in the same coloured slots. 4 sticks will also run dual channel as long as they are the same size.

Dual channel is in theory twice as fast but will only really make a difference if using built in graphics instead of a GPU OR in some memory specific workloads. So basically if you have a discrete GPU, single or dual will make no practical difference.

Quad channel is on the X99 platform only.

[pwn_intended]

Mine supports dual channel according to ASRocks website, Again, will I need to go into the bios to enable Dual channel or will it automatically enable when I put in the second stick? 

Automatic.

[DevilishBooster]

yes, using 4 sticks of ram automatically makes it dual channel

 

no

this is quad channel:

2 sticks of ram = 1 channel

Yes, that is quad channel. That is why you need to populate all 4 matching color dimm slots by default. If you are only populating 2 of the dimm slots in a quad channel board then you are basically running it in a gimped dual channel mode. That is why dual channel mobo's have at minimum 2 dimm slots, often 4 dimm slots that are in matching pairs.

[Whorax]

4 stick = dual channel

2 sticks = single channel

I actually did not know this.

 

Well now I do.

[pwn_intended]

I actually did not know this.

 

Well now I do.

 

Its not true, so dont listen to it.

[FAQBytes]

The title says it all, or does it run in dual channel automatically?

Sorry I don't really have any prior knowledge to dual channel and whatnot,

Surprised how little people know. By running in dual channel you are effectively doubling the bandwidth of the ram. No matter how many dimms you have in a channel, you are staying in the channel, not increasing bandwidth, only increasing quantity. Most consumer boards are dual channel. 1366 boards are tri-channel per CPU, and modern LGA-2011 have 4 per CPU.

Think of this like this.

One channel at 1333 GHz allows for 16 GB/s.(Not actually, but just as an example)

Dual channel doubles it to 32GB/s.

Tri-channel triples it to 48GB/s,

Quad-channel quadruples it to 64GB/s.

[Altecice]

2 sticks runs in dual channel, AS LONG AS they are the same size and in the same coloured slots. 4 sticks will also run dual channel as long as they are the same size.

Dual channel is in theory twice as fast but will only really make a difference if using built in graphics instead of a GPU OR in some memory specific workloads. So basically if you have a discrete GPU, single or dual will make no practical difference.

Quad channel is on the X99 platform only.

 

Not to be nitpicky but that section is not correct anymore. For awhile now -since like 2004- Intel has had FlexMemory technology allowing (for example) a 8GB stick and a 2GB to run in Dual Channel asynchronous mode.

[pwn_intended]

Not to be nitpicky but that section is not correct anymore. For awhile now Intel has had FlexMemory technology allowing (for example) a 8GB stick and a 2GB to run in Dual Channel.

 

 

I was not aware of that, good to know.

Thanks!

[STRMfrmXMN]

Its not true, so dont listen to it.

Except it is so you should.

[pwn_intended]

Except it is so you should.

 

2 sticks will run in dual channel, not single....So youre wrong. 4 sticks will also run in dual, so that part was at least right.

[Oshino Shinobu]

 

I actually did not know this.

 

Well now I do.

It's incorrect (partially, at least. It is true that 2 DIMMs does not = dual channel, but it also doesn't mean that 2 DIMMs can't run in dual channel. 4 DIMMs also does not guarantee dual channel, depending on the board and the spacing, it can be running in Quad channel) , and often not as simple as x number of DIMMs = X channel. 

 

2 DIMMs is the minimum for dual channel operation, but it can also function with 3 DIMMs in some cases. Having 4 DIMMs does not mean that you're running in Quad channel. It will depend on the board's support for dual and quad channel (most consumer boards are dual channel). Even with two sticks, you're not guaranteed dual channel operation, as they must be in the correct DIMM slots (can vary, depending on the board). Usually, it is DIMM-Space-DIMM. 

 

EDIT: There is also a misunderstanding about the requirements for dual channel operation. A lot of people say you must use the same size DIMMs, and that it must be an even number of DIMMs. I can confirm this is not the case (at least, with Z77 and up boards), as I've run and have seen various configurations of 4GB DIMMs running in dual channel with 8GB DIMMs, as well as 3 4GB DIMMs running in dual channel just fine in my own system after one died. 

 

While it's not necessary for the DIMMs to be matched and even, it is generally a good idea to match them as close as possible to avoid issues. 

[DevilishBooster]

yes, using 4 sticks of ram automatically makes it dual channel

 

no

this is quad channel:

 

2 sticks of ram = 1 channel

I think you and I are kind of talking about the same thing in different ways. Yes, you are kind of correct in that using 2 sticks is a "single channel" if you are looking at a dual channel mobo like on a Z97 chipset. On a X99 mobo you have quad channel memory. What is actually meant as a channel is a single dimm slot. That is why dual channel mobos have 4 dimms in matching pairs and why you need to populate 2 of the 4 dimm slots, and why quad channel mobos have 8 dimms slots and why you need to populate 4 of the 8.

[STRMfrmXMN]

2 sticks will run in dual channel, not single....So youre wrong. 4 sticks will also run in dual, so that part was at least right.

What I mean by this seems to have been lost in translation. Dual channel can be achieved with two DIMMS but you have to space them properly in a board. If you put them directly next to each other then it doesn't make a difference in performance.

[STRMfrmXMN]

It's incorrect, and often not as simple as x number of DIMMs = X channel. 

 

2 DIMMs is the minimum for dual channel operation, but it can also function with 3 DIMMs in some cases. Having 4 DIMMs does not mean that you're running in Quad channel. It will depend on the board's support for dual and quad channel (most consumer boards are dual channel). Even with two sticks, you're not guaranteed dual channel operation, as they must be in the correct DIMM slots (can vary, depending on the board). Usually, it is DIMM-Space-DIMM.

@pwn_intended

Ninja'd