Memory Channel problem :/

[Ninja_Mo]

i doing a run through on some of the specs of the Asus Sabertooth Z77 i just ordered and realized that the motherboard has a dual channel memory architecture (as they say).. as of now i am not sure if i am in trouble or not, i bought four 4GB memory modules which i am guessing are all single channel memory modules and i am wondering if i would be able to get the same optimum performance if i had just bought a memory set (4x4GB) that has dual channeling capabilities..

[eshbop]

Performance won't be the same. Will this will have a noticeable real world effect, probably not. Also, it is always better to buy your RAM kit at once, mixing kits can have problems, even with RAM that has the exact same parts number.

[Ninja_Mo]

Performance won't be the same. Will this will have a noticeable real world effect, probably not. Also, it is always better to buy your RAM kit at once, mixing kits can have problems, even with RAM that has the exact same parts number.

take into consideration that the memory modules i bought didnt come in kits but rather as single sticks... will that still be a problem when it comes to the channeling and performance??

[Tarkhein]

In terms of channels, you'll still be in dual channel (which refers to which channels are populated and not the number of sticks). As eshbop said though, there is a minor chance the four sticks won't work together, but the most likely scenario is you'll get the performance of a full set.

[eshbop]

In terms of channels, you'll still be in dual channel (which refers to which channels are populated and not the number of sticks). As eshbop said though, there is a minor chance the four sticks won't work together, but the most likely scenario is you'll get the performance of a full set.

Oops, I thought you needed kits designed for dual channel for them to run in dual channel.

[Eric1024]

You will be perfectly fine. The only way you might have a problem with mixing kits is if you're overclocking the snot out of them, and even then you just have to OC each stick individually. The "dual channel" and "single channel" and "quad channel" stuff refers ONLY to the memory controller which is on the CPU. Memory sticks are just memory sticks. As long as it's ddr3 in a ddr3 slot, you're golden. (Except perhaps in the case of ECC server memory, but that's irrelevant in this case).

Just as an example: Say I have an x79 board (which is "quad channel" but only because of the CPUs that is takes) with 8 dimm slots. I could take a "tripple channel" kit with 3 dimms, a "single channel" kit with 1 dimm, and two "dual channel kits" with 2 dimms each, put all that memory in my board, and it would purr like a kitten.

[Eric1024]

Performance won't be the same. Will this will have a noticeable real world effect, probably not. Also, it is always better to buy your RAM kit at once, mixing kits can have problems, even with RAM that has the exact same parts number.

Err... performance will be the same unless he's trying to overclock the crap out of them and maybe one sticks oc's higher than the rest...

[eshbop]

You will be perfectly fine. The only way you might have a problem with mixing kits is if you're overclocking the snot out of them, and even then you just have to OC each stick individually. The "dual channel" and "single channel" and "quad channel" stuff refers ONLY to the memory controller which is on the CPU. Memory sticks are just memory sticks. As long as it's ddr3 in a ddr3 slot, you're golden. (Except perhaps in the case of ECC server memory, but that's irrelevant in this case).

Just as an example: Say I have an x79 board (which is "quad channel" but only because of the CPUs that is takes) with 8 dimm slots. I could take a "tripple channel" kit with 3 dimms, a "single channel" kit with 1 dimm, and two "dual channel kits" with 2 dimms each, put all that memory in my board, and it would purr like a kitten.

Well there you go, learn something new everyday. This is why making assumptions doesn't work.

[AJRicho]

key thing to really not when mixing kits is the ram will all run at the speed of the lower rated stick. I.e if you have 2 ddr 3 1600 with timings of 9 9 9 20 then stick at ddr3 1600 with timings of 10 10 10 24. Then all the ram will run at the slow stick speed

[Ninja_Mo]

You will be perfectly fine. The only way you might have a problem with mixing kits is if you're overclocking the snot out of them, and even then you just have to OC each stick individually. The "dual channel" and "single channel" and "quad channel" stuff refers ONLY to the memory controller which is on the CPU. Memory sticks are just memory sticks. As long as it's ddr3 in a ddr3 slot, you're golden. (Except perhaps in the case of ECC server memory, but that's irrelevant in this case).

Just as an example: Say I have an x79 board (which is "quad channel" but only because of the CPUs that is takes) with 8 dimm slots. I could take a "tripple channel" kit with 3 dimms, a "single channel" kit with 1 dimm, and two "dual channel kits" with 2 dimms each, put all that memory in my board, and it would purr like a kitten.

i dont think i will be doing any overclocking any time in the near future.. i guess there is some hope to getting the best performance out of the memory modules.... thanks

[TheAsian1337]

Like everyone else said Memory is only delicate to timing and speed. Brand and anything else will not effect the RAM, but channels are the problem the motherboard has to support different channels but all motherboards run 1 channel some can only run 1 channel and dual channel. Main hold back is CPU and motherboard.

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