Dual-channel capable board, with 4 DIMM slots in 2 different colors--questions

[DastardlyDan]

Okay, my board is as described. I have a black bank and a blue bank. I plan on upgrading to 8 gigs of RAM this spring. With my motherboard's setup, would I benefit more from 2 sticks of 4 gig RAM or 4 sticks of 2 gig RAM?

A link to my board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...8&cm_re=M4A785TD-V_EVO-_-13-131-398-_-Product

 

[Route44]

Link us to your motherboard's website. The manual should contain the correct memory configurations.

 

[rockyjohns]

Generally 2 sticks make for better overclocking of the graphics card, but cost more.

Additionally, how long do you plan to keep the board and what else if anything do you plan to do with it such as video editing? 8 MB may be more than adequate now for gaming but who knows 2 years from now. If you go with the 4 GB sticks now it will be easier to add more later.

The conventional wisdom has been that 4 MB total is mre than enough, but I have seen some reviews lately showing that as games improve multithreading more systrem memory can affect performance, especially while multitasking.

 

[mailpup]

It depends a bit on what you have now. Are you going to be completely replacing your current RAM? If you already have two sticks totaling 4GB, I would add 4GB more to bring the total to 8GB.

 

[DastardlyDan]

I've determined that I am not going to be overclocking due to the fact I can't afford to risk any damage to my system...money is too tight. So what is good for overclocking is a moot point right now.

I plan on keeping the board for a minimum of another year. I only look at building or upgrading my system once a year, around tax return time. In truth, I will most likely run this board until I have to replace it due to failure or lack of compatability with available replacement or upgrade parts.

With the 4 GB I've been running, I seem to do fine for what I have now. However, with the games I currently play (Civ 4 and Sins of a Solar Empire), on large maps things get laggy. I'm not sure if that is due to lack of a powerful graphics card or a lack of raw power in the machine. I'm guessing that it is a little bit of both.

I anticipate replacing my current RAM, and getting two matched pairs. That way I will have 4 DIMMs of RAM that all visibly match, for aesthetic reasons. I have a clear case that I like to show off, with LED fans and the like. The RAM I am looking to buy will have LED effects on it as well. I'm aware that there will be almost no difference performance-wise than If I just bought another pair of RAM to add to what I have now.

 

[mailpup]

I'm guessing you are talking about Crucial Ballistix Tracer RAM. If so, Tracer RAM doesn't come in 4GB sticks anyway. 2GB per stick is the largest. So the 2 x 4GB RAM sticks aren't really an option for Tracer LED RAM although maybe that might change in the future.

FWIW, in my most recent AMD build I have 4 sticks of 2GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer RAM. The color in this case is nominally green but it's much closer to yellow if you ask me.

 

[DastardlyDan]

I do have another question regarding RAM and multi channel. What would grant me the best results: having a matched pair of 4 GB sticks in one channel, or having two matched pairs filling both channels? At this point, I plan on buying two pairs of 2GB sticks.

When running a dual-channel system, should I but a 4-stick set packaged as a dual-channel kit, or will 2 sets of 2 dual channel sticks work just as well?

 

[mailpup]

Using two matched RAM modules in the appropriate slots will give you dual channel mode. Using two more will still be in dual channel. Anyway, a matched pair of 4GB sticks would probably be a little better than two pairs of 2GB sticks assuming all these sticks are of the same quality and speed but I doubt you would notice any difference.

A 4 stick set might be preferable to 2 sets of 2 but, again, I doubt you would notice any difference. In my case I bought 2 sets of 2 modules. At the time I bought them they didn't come in a 4 stick set.