Dual Channel RAM

[agissi]

My Friend has a AthlonXP 2500+ (barton) and a Soltek mobo that supports Dual Channel RAM. Hes got two 512MB sticks of RAM in there, both DDR333, the mobo supports upto DDR400 RAM.

How can we tell if his mobo/pc has gone into Dual Channel mode?

Couldnt find anything in the BIOS, and theres 3 dimms for RAM. Slot 1 and Slot 2 are Yellow and Black. But slot 3 is also yellow. So I thought DC mode, I'd put the RAM in slot 1 and 2, or both of the yellow slots. So I tryed both, having the RAM in slot 1/2, then benchmarked. Then left 1 stick in slot 1/one of the yellow colored slots, and took the other stick out of slot2/the black slot and put it in slot 3/the other yellow colored matching slot.

After benchmarking both, the results were identicle. So it isnt in DC mode.

btw, the brands are diffrent. One is Kingston, other is another brand I forget....not Crutial tho!

 

[wicka_wicka]

Well Ash, to have RAM run in dual-channel mode you should (you don't have to, put should) have paired RAM (like this Corsair) so they are guaranteed to work together in DC mode. If I may quote a paragraph :

What are some of the benefits of using paired memory? Since the memory sticks are packaged together after they have been tested together makes sure the modules that the end-user receives will be stable and perform well. Mixing different memory could lead to system instabilities or the memory modules might not run together due to compatibility issues. This takes the guesswork out of choosing memory for a dual channel motherboard. In addition, we feel that since memory speeds are not getting much faster, this give memory manufacturers another stepping-stone before moving to faster memory. Recently many other manufacturers have also started producing these paired memory kits.

 

[agissi]

Well Charles, I knew that What I dont know, is what dimms to put the RAM in, for it to run in dual channel mode (I have 3 dimms)

 

[JSR]

you have to

run equal size 256 modules in slot 1 and slot 2, which combine for the first channel, then a 512 module in slot 3, which represents the second channel.......make your fsb, ram, cpu run in sync....

 

[agissi]

You gotta be s***ing me, you need 3 sticks of RAM for DC mode to work? He has 2 512MB sticks.

 

[Nic]

You should go the mainboard manufacturer's website and download the mainboard manual. In there you should find your answer.

 

[agissi]

Well can you just tell me, is it possible to run DC mode with 2 sticks of RAM?

thanks

 

[JSR]

after you flash your bios

slots1&3......or2&3.......with like ram.....2&3 preferred......it will tell you dual channel on the POST screen........ver. 1.03/04/06....update 1004......ver. 2.0...update C1004

 

[agissi]

ok ty!

 

[wicka_wicka]

Yeah, there's always designated slots to run DC RAM in on the mobo.

 

[bretty]

You wont be able to run DC DDR with an odd number of sticks.

You need either, 2 or 4 or 6.

 

[crazyspector]

i have a question i run dual channel is there anyway to turn that off? i went to upgrade and was told that dc ment nothing so i matched my specs and baught a new stick. well when i installed it my computer runs fine for like 2-3 min then the screen flashes and it starts booting up like i just turned it on. my friend tells me that if i buy another of the exact same memory it will work is this true or do i need to buy specificly dc ram

 

[IronDuke]

The ram is not dc. It is the way the motherboard treats it.

 

[Joylaine]

Not quite sure

I have two sticks of ram

A DDR 3200 256MB says it is running on Single channel.

I just bought a stick of 512MB

I have a GiGabyte MO.. It has 2 orange and 2 purple slots.

Is it possible to run dual channel and if so what slots do I put it in and how
do I "turn on" dual channel?

Thanks so much.
Joylaine

 

[benken2202001]

sorry

I did some of this RAM stick configuration myself.

I have a Gigabyte P4 Titan with 4 slots with 2 orange and 2 purples.

I had a 256 DDR, and got a 512 stick from my friend. i was pretty happy with it but it would only run at single channel. Then i found a nice deal online for 2x 512s with Dual Channel. So i bought that.

the config i had was like this (O = Orange. P = Purple)

O:512 DC
P:512 old

O:512DC
P:256 old.

During boot the mobo decided to run at Single Channel.

I then removed the old cards. Booted at Dual channel without any change in BIOS settings. Gigabyte mobos should auto sense Dual Channel memory, however it wont work unless the memory sticks are the same size. 2x256 or 2x512. I haven't tried with 2x1024.

 

[Joylaine]

Hi.
Well I have a 256 and a 512 also.. So if I go out and purchase a new
Stick of 512, and remove the 256 then it will run Dual Channel?

Thanks so much

 

[benken2202001]

Sorry Joylaine, i don't think it works that easily. Timing might be different between the two sticks.

 

[acoroian]

As was posted in the initial posts if anyone wants to run dual channel memory it is best that they buy them in the dual channel packages. When you buy the ram ask for dual channel. Basically they are tested to be same timing so they work well together. Even if you buy the same brand but two separate sticks they might not work as well.

Also the dual chanel slots are usually the first ones on the left. If you have pairs of slots then its first on the left. If you have all 4 together then every other one.

You cannot run 2 x 256 and 1 x 512 or anything of the sort.

Think of it like RAID (if you know raid) you cant run drives that are different sizes or speeds in raid =/

Also your Board must support DUAL CHANNEL to run dual channel.

 

[mike1974]

dual channel memory question

I have a gigabyte motherboard thay supports dual channel memory. I have installed 2 X pc3200 512 mb ddr400. one tbrand of memory is hynix and the other brand is elixir I have inserted one in channel 1 and the other in channel 3 but when the pc boots up its detect it as 1gb single memory instaed of dual do I need to configure the bios to change it as dual or should the bios detect it automatically.

 

[benken2202001]

first i'd try switching the two sticks. One stick may have timings to respond to the other stick.

if that doesn't work, i'd check your bios for a forced RAM Dual Channel boot.

 

[Tedster]

it's never a good idea to mix brands of memory.

 

[95 Starter]

I'm going to go in a slightly different direction. I have DDR which supports dual channel. My FSB = 800mhz But my RAM runs at 400. Is it possible to go from a 200 pin pc3200 SoDimm that runs at 400mhz to something like a 200 pin Pc5300 SODimm that runs at 667 Mhz?

 

[Tedster]

no. Your motherboard will only support the max type specified. If you mix ram, it will run at the slowest speed available if it doesn't work or burn out your system first.

read the ram guide in the guides forum.

 

[Hendo]

I have a weird problem when I try to run dual channel RAM, when I boot the computer up it runs for about 4 seconds then shuts itself down for a few seconds, then boots itself up again, and the process goes on until I cut the power. I know dual channel mode works because the computer has actually worked with dual channel a few lucky times. Anybody have any ideas on what is wrong?

 

[hynesy]

Some BIOS come with the option of setting dual channel on or off, turn it on only if you have two matching sticks. Remember as far as matching RAM goes, size doesn't matter, you can have dual channel RAM with a 512 and 256 sticks and still be dual channel if they are matched.
(Hendo, please start your own thread and do not hijack other peoples threads.)
cheers
Hynesy