RAID with memory

[HighwayAssassins]

I have heard things about RAIDing 2 sticks of memory, does anyone know how to do this? I have 2 sticks of 512 PC2100 memory...

 

[Vertigo Acid]

RAID = Redundant array of inexpensive/independent disks

AFAIK it's not applicable to RAM, perhaps you're refering to dual channel?

 

[4keatimj]

Nope, you can have RAID with two Hard Drives, and Dual-Channel with two sticks of the same RAM. Never heard of RAID-ing with RAM.

 

[Met-AL]

There was or maybe still are some devices that use PC133 SDRAM on a PCI card to act like a hard drive. Are you possibly refering to that? They were super expensive, and didn't really catch on too well.

 

[IoWnZa]

I would hope that he is talking about Dual Channel.

 

[BlindedByScience]

You could have "Dual Channel" RAM......

You could add RAM to a SCSI RAID controller's data buffer cache (some have it....some don't).....

....or?

Cheers - B.B.S.

 

[foreignkid]

Could this be a misinterpretation of Laforge's ram raiding (not sure what topic that was in, but its in a very long thread...)?

 

[Whatsisname]

Whatever it is you're describing, it wont work for anything besides a scratch disk.

Originally posted by Met-AL
There was or maybe still are some devices that use PC133 SDRAM on a PCI card to act like a hard drive. Are you possibly refering to that? They were super expensive, and didn't really catch on too well.

 

[HighwayAssassins]

Originally posted by foreignkid
Could this be a misinterpretation of Laforge's ram raiding (not sure what topic that was in, but its in a very long thread...)?

Possibly im not sure, i just heard that it was possible to do a RAID like thing to two sticks of memory...Just wanted to know if this was true

 

[Talonz]

Maybe he's talking about memory interleaving?

 

[jacuzz1]

Ram drives are very expensive yet very fast. Or you may be referring to back in the day when people used to alocate some of thier system memroy as mini ram drive for reasons that escape me now for it was so long ago

Anyway Raid was not a term used in either instance

 

[darktiger]

Raiding memory, are you talking about Dual Channel??

 

[Filter]

i think he means dual channel.

 

[HighwayAssassins]

Maybe i am refering to dual channel, is that the same as DDR?

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by jacuzz1
Ram drives are very expensive yet very fast. Or you may be referring to back in the day when people used to alocate some of thier system memroy as mini ram drive for reasons that escape me now for it was so long ago

Because it's uber-fast. Even today. The only problem is that today anything that would give you benefits if you put it on a RAM disk (game, page file, etc) is so big you'd need much more RAM than it's worth.

highway: DDR != dual channel.
DDR works by sending data at the rise and fall of each clock cycle, thus getting double the data through in each cycle (double data rate). Dual channel works by sending requests to the RAM, and if the first bank of RAM is busy processing a previous request, it sends it to the next bank, thus speeding things up.

 

[jaffy]

Maybe i am refering to dual channel, is that the same as DDR?

lol... DDR means "Dual data rate" It is a type of ram. Dual channel means you are running two sticks through two seperate channels, each with its own route to the memory controller. In laymans terms, instead of clogging up one pipe, you use two for the troughput.

 

[HighwayAssassins]

ok i get it now...so how do you go about setting up dual channel? through bios?

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by HighwayAssassins
ok i get it now...so how do you go about setting up dual channel? through bios?

your motherboard has to support it, if you have a motherboard that supports it it's just a matter of putting your RAM sticks in the correct slots and it should do it automatically.

Usually they put a message up on POST like "dual channel enabled"

 

[jacuzz1]

DDR = double data rate not dual channel

Dual channel is a system configuration facilitated by MCH (memory controller hub) support. "Dual Packs" are made up of two matched DDR modules for the purposes of being used in a dual channel configuration. Such configurations necessitate at the use of at least two ddr matched dims.

 

[jacuzz1]

If you have an Intel I875/I865 you will be automaticaly dual channel provided the correct dims slots are populated (follow your mother board manual)

If you have an nforce i am not sure if bios config is needed since i never used a mobo based on it

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by jacuzz1
DDR = double data rate not dual channel

Dual channel is a system configuration facilitated by MCH (memory controller hub) support. "Dual Packs" are made up of two matched DDR modules for the purposes of being used in a dual channel configuration. Such configurations necessitate at the use of at least two ddr matched dims.

yeah. However, it's good to know that you don't *have* to buy those "twin packs" you see for sale on newegg or whatever...dual channel will work as long as both modules are the same size, speed, and configuration (#chips per side, size of chips, etc). However, it's always better to run fully matched memory if you can.

 

[Vertigo Acid]

Originally posted by jagec
benefits if you put it on a RAM disk (game, page file, etc)

I just about fell out of my seat laughing. Think about it: A page file, which the computer swaps data in and out of RAM from, in RAM........... That's great, made my day