The infamous 3 x DIMM slot configuration

[Murasaki]

Alright so I have 2 x 4gigs of ram installed on my system and have wanted to upgrade it to 16. I've done a few attempts at getting 8 more gigs (2 x 4gig) of ram but they're always sold out and now I'm forced to get a single 8 gig stick. I'll swallow the fact it will run on single channel for now until I get another 8 gigs to pair them.

 

My question is which configuration is better, let the 2 x 4gig sticks run in dual channel with the 8 gig one in single channel on the 3rd slot or pair an 8 gig and 4 gig stick to let only 4 gigs run on single channel? Will it make any difference whatsoever?

 

[Jurrunio]

using different capacity sticks together can lead to crashes at times. Since you already have the three sticks, why not use them and try it out?

[Princess Luna]

Needs more information about the specs.

[Jurrunio]

2 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

Needs more information about the specs.

in his profile

[emosun]

3 minutes ago, ModuleLFS said:

let the 2 x 4gig sticks run in dual channel with the 8 gig one in single channel on the 3rd slot

The hell kind of motherboard runs multiple channel types?

[Princess Luna]

1 minute ago, Jurrunio said:

in his profile

Nobody is obliged to go through someone's profile to find information that should be on the OP.

[Sakkura]

1 minute ago, emosun said:

The hell kind of motherboard runs multiple channel types?

Any kind with flex mode.

 

OP, you should be able to put the 8GB stick in one channel and the two 4GB sticks in the other, so the full 16GB are in dual channel.

[Murasaki]

Just now, Princess Cadence said:

Needs more information about the specs.

Asus H170 Pro Gaming  2 x 4 GB Kingston HyperX HX421C14FBK2

[Princess Luna]

1 minute ago, ModuleLFS said:

Asus H170 Pro Gaming  2 x 4 GB Kingston HyperX HX421C14FBK2

go 2x4gb on one channel and 1x8gb on the other channel and it should work flawlessly.

[emosun]

3 minutes ago, Sakkura said:

Any kind with flex mode.

wow thats odd

 

be weird to have memory be sometimes fast and sometimes slow based on how much is taken up at the time. idk if i would ever want a config like that it might drive me nuts lol

[Murasaki]

Just now, emosun said:

wow thats odd

 

be weird to have memory be sometimes fast and sometimes slow based on how much is taken up at the time. idk if i would ever want a config like that it might drive me nuts lol

I've read that somewhere so no idea if thats true or not, so you can say I don't know what I'm doing!  

 

1 minute ago, Princess Cadence said:

go 2x4gb on one channel and 1x8gb on the other channel and it should work flawlessly.

Awesome, glad to hear that.

[Lord Nicoll]

Provided that the 8GB DIMM is dual rank, and the two 4GB DIMMs are single rank, it will run in dual channel dual rank mode, and should be fine with interleaving. 

[Murasaki]

4 minutes ago, Lord Nicoll said:

Provided that the 8GB DIMM is dual rank, and the two 4GB DIMMs are single rank, it will run in dual channel dual rank mode, and should be fine with interleaving. 

I've searched and indeed the 8gig is dual rank and the 2x4 ones are single, thanks for the info!

[Lord Nicoll]

1 minute ago, ModuleLFS said:

I've searched and indeed the 8gig is dual rank and the 2x4 ones are single, thanks for the info!

If they're the same ICs too (with the same clock speed and timings) then they should also overclock alright given the odd ball config