Core i7 memory question

DaddyDC650

Limp Gawd
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Dec 31, 2005
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Does a Core i7 based PC require 3 sticks of DDR3 to get maximum memory performance?
 
Socket 1366 high performance based i7 yes.

Socket 1160 for the masses , launch next year , requires only 2.
 
Socket 1366 high performance based i7 yes.

Socket 1160 for the masses , launch next year , requires only 2.

But thats not "MAX performance" as he asked.

Whats funny is... moving to an integrated memory controller just added a ton of bandwidth I'm sure. Why did they have to add another channel..... oh wait.... 8 cores on one socket are in the wings! :eek::cool:
 
But thats not "MAX performance" as he asked.

Whats funny is... moving to an integrated memory controller just added a ton of bandwidth I'm sure. Why did they have to add another channel..... oh wait.... 8 cores on one socket are in the wings! :eek::cool:

San.png


It does seem like overkill doesn't it. Now that was DDR3-1066, imagine DDR3-1600! :cool:

In all seriousness, I doubt you'll lose much performance at all going down to dual channel.
 
2x2GB DDR3-1333 cl7 is less than $200, and good sticks should clock to 1600 with the same settings. Sounds like the best choice right now. You lose the third channel, but can drop in another stick whenever you feel like it or it gets really cheap.
 
San.png


It does seem like overkill doesn't it. Now that was DDR3-1066, imagine DDR3-1600! :cool:

In all seriousness, I doubt you'll lose much performance at all going down to dual channel.
Geez that's a lot of bandwidth! Thanks for the replies!
 
You sure about that on socket 1366? As tripple channel, wouldn't three dimms be required to even POST?

So it may not be just a MAX performance issue, but a POST issue. Can someone confirm this on current engineering release hardware, not just speculate?
 
You sure about that on socket 1366? As tripple channel, wouldn't three dimms be required to even POST?

So it may not be just a MAX performance issue, but a POST issue. Can someone confirm this on current engineering release hardware, not just speculate?

Why would it be? Dual-channel motherboards today can boot with only a single channel of RAM (I have two doing it right now). Do you have information that suggests otherwise?
 
You sure about that on socket 1366? As tripple channel, wouldn't three dimms be required to even POST?

So it may not be just a MAX performance issue, but a POST issue. Can someone confirm this on current engineering release hardware, not just speculate?


You can post with a single DIMM , the channels are independent.

Intel makes the best memory controllers and that tradition is likely to continue with IMCs too.
 
You sure about that on socket 1366? As tripple channel, wouldn't three dimms be required to even POST?

So it may not be just a MAX performance issue, but a POST issue. Can someone confirm this on current engineering release hardware, not just speculate?

Reviewers have confirmed the flexibility of DDR3. You can run any configuration you want, as you can now w/ DDR2, but you will only get dual- and tri-channel operation with the right configs (obviously).
 
Socket 1366 high performance based i7 yes.

Socket 1160 for the masses , launch next year , requires only 2.

DO you mean once LGA 1366 is released and in a year then will replace it with LGA Socket 1160 ?
 
DO you mean once LGA 1366 is released and in a year then will replace it with LGA Socket 1160 ?

No, they will co-exist, LGA 1366 be high end and LGA 1160 will be mainstream. TBH I'm not a fan of 2 seperate sockets for the same CPU (IIRC S754 and S939 didn't work out that great) but on the bright side it should mean cheaper mobos for LGA 1160.
 
You sure about that on socket 1366? As tripple channel, wouldn't three dimms be required to even POST?

Are you required to have to be in dual channel to post on a P4, AXP, A64/X2, Phenom, or C2D/C2Q? There goes your answer.

btw the answer is no ;)
 
No, they will co-exist, LGA 1366 be high end and LGA 1160 will be mainstream. TBH I'm not a fan of 2 seperate sockets for the same CPU (IIRC S754 and S939 didn't work out that great) but on the bright side it should mean cheaper mobos for LGA 1160.

Yea got to agree, I've been thinking the same thing. Having two separate sockets just seems like a bad idea.
 
LGA 1366 is also the DP socket (aka s771). So a skulltrail system equivilant will be using standard CPUs. They just wanted a little more distinction I think. Make 1-2 socket servers simple to build as well. thats probably the root cause right there. They are just making everything thats using the most common QPI setup as one socket.
LGA1567 = s603/s604 x>2 socket
LGA1366 = s775/s771 1-2 socket
LGA1160 = s775 1 socket mainstream / onboard GPU
 
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