Would this be dual channel?

[Bop]

Ok I have a 512MB Kingston HyperX PC3200 module laying around as I await another stick. I currently am utilizing 2x256 Hyper X sticks. I read an article about dual channel and how it works at www.amdmb.com and came upon this interesting bit:

You can use three modules in Dual Channel Mode, by filling the third unoccupied slot. With three sticks, slots 1 remains as channel 0 while slot 2&3 become channel 1. To maintain 128-bit mode, with all three slots filled, each channel must have an equal amount of memory. For example, slots 1 should be filled with a 512Mb module, while slots 2 & 3 are populated 256Mb modules. If you were to use three modules of the same size, then only first two modules would be running in 128bit Dual Channel Mode. Example, using 3x 256Mb modules will have the first 512Mb running in 128bit Dual Channel mode, while the remaining 256Mb will be in 64-bit Single Channel mode.




Does this mean I can populate slot 1 with my 512MB and slot 2+3 with a 256MB stick and still utilize dual channel mode?

And when my 512MB stick arrives I could place the 512MBs in slots 1 and 3 and the 256 in slot 2 and still have the 512MBs in dual channel? BTW all sticks have the same latency.

 

[Mad_Pyro]

Yes in the first scenario, although I am not sure about the latter.

 

[Bop]

Alright, but when installing the 512MB and the two 256MBs, would I install the 256 MBs in slot 1 and 3 or 2 and 3?

If two 256Mbs and 1 512MB work, shouldn't 1 256MB and two 512MBs work?

I would really like to have 1280MB of RAM as Planetside sometimes takes up to 1.2GB of memory.


Would this slow down my games as the 512MB stick would be single channel, or would it be just as fast or faster? Some games I play are CoD, UT2k3 and KotOR for reference.

 

[Syphon Filter]

no that wont work...the reason that 1x512 and 2x256 work is because the 2x256 =512

So it address the 2x256 as tho it were one slot...so u effectively have 2 slots each running with 512 in...

with 1x256 and 2x512 there no such split therefore it will not work in dual channel.

 

[Bop]

Alright, I placed my 512MB in slot 1 and my 2x256 in slot 2 and 3. The BIOS reported the config as dual channel.


First thing that happens when I get into Windows, your hardware config has changed and you have 3 days to activate windows. Now that is really f'ed up, now I gotta make a phone call to MS. Then only after a minute windows has booted up I get a BSOD.

Windows says I got a PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA and reports win32k.sys as the culprit.


I just took out my 512MB stick and placed the 256MB stick back in slot 1. Could the problem be Windows, my stick of RAM or slot 2 on my motherboard?

Should I try slots 1 and 3 as 256 and slot 2 as 512MB?


EDIT: Alright I placed 2x256 in slots 2 and 3, so it is not my mobo. I remember getting the page fault error before my ram installation though, but it only happened once.

Could the 512MB stick be defective? It has been lying around on my desk for over a month or so sealed in its package, it didn't budge at all so it wasn't hit or anything.

EDIT 2: I just reseated all the sticks in the same configuration, so far so good and windows doesn't ask for re-activation. So I can keep it in this config and it will be as fast a 2x512MB?

 

[burningrave101]

Originally posted by Syphon Filter
no that wont work...the reason that 1x512 and 2x256 work is because the 2x256 =512

So it address the 2x256 as tho it were one slot...so u effectively have 2 slots each running with 512 in...

with 1x256 and 2x512 there no such split therefore it will not work in dual channel.

I can't seem to find the link to the post but someone asked this a while back and i found a link to a thread on a forum that tested this and it showed you can run in any configuration as far as the size on the third stick thats not in the dual channel configuration but the system has the highest performance if the third stick equals the size of the two in dual channel.