Simpleish question about dual channel

R

RS3RS

[H]F Junkie
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Dec 10, 2003
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I have an IS7-E, which has 4x DIMM slots. I currently have 2x256 sticks running in dual channel for 512 mb memory. If, say, I wanted to upgrade my memory, would the other 2 sticks running in dual channel together have to be exactly the same as my first 2? How about the same size? Could I go 2x 512 plus my 2x 256 and still have dual channel? My guess is they have to all be the same, just checking...

My other question is, I've heared that you should stick to as few sticks of ram as possible to avoid latency issues or something, does this apply to my current situation? Would 4 sticks of ram be slower than 2? Enough to matter anyway?

Thanks :)
 
You can throw basically any other 2 sets of RAM in those slots as you wish, but take note that your memory will run as fast as the SLOWEST module in the DIMM slots. Thus, if you have 2 sticks of PC4400 RAM and 2 other sticks of PC2700, the fastest latency and speed you will run with all 4 sticks will be at PC2700.

As the above statement verifies, you don't necessarily have to have matching modules of RAM, but it can't hurt.

Yes, more often than not, having fewer modules drastically reduces the possibility of instability. Also, it can help troubleshooting in the detection of possibly faulty RAM.

Another alleged claim is that 4 sticks of 256 RAM will run slightly better than 2 sticks of 512 RAM. I have yet to see that verified, but I thought I might as well inform you of the contingency.

Hope that answers your query.

Dark Assassin
 
Thanks, just checking... It seems dual channel is more sensitive than a pregnant female :)
 
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