Which RAM shall I get for my motherboard?

[coolvaibh2012]

Hello friends,
This is my first post on this great forum, i hope my query will be entertained.

I just got a new mobo MSI G41M-P26 and planning to buy Intel Core 2 Duo E8400. Now the only question is that what and which RAM shall i get for these two so that i can utilize their efficiency to the maximum extent.

I googled for that & i got this topic as 'Dual Channel RAM". I don't have the faintest idea what is it and how it can be configured. I want to get 8 GB DDR3 RAM. I also searched CORSAIR website for the same but didn't got any clue about this 'Dual Channel' memory.

So please, if any one of you can help me out what this term means and can i use it on my CPU and mobo assembly and if yes then how shall i achieve it.

It would be of great help for me if my question is answered here.
Thanks.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Multi-channel architecture

Multi-channel architecture is a technology that increases the transfer speed of data between the RAM and the memory controller by adding more channels of communication between them. Theoretically this multiplies the data rate by exactly the number of channels present. Dual-channel memory employs two channels which theoretically doubles the data transfer rate. Higher-end chipsets like the Intel i7-9x series and various Xeon chipsets support triple-channel memory. Intel has released (2011) chipsets that support quad-channel memory.

MSI G41M-P26

DDR3 Memory - DDR3 800/1066/1333*(OC)
Memory Channel - Dual
DIMM Slots - 2
Max Memory (GB) - 8

MSI states that your board supports 2 modules of Dual Channel DDR3 at 800, 1066, and 1333 frequencies for a max of 8GB memory.

To get Dual Channel look for a kit labeled as followed:

• 2GB -> 2x1GB
• 4GB -> 2x2GB
• 8GB -> 2x4GB

I personally would probably settle with a DDR3 1333 2x2GB Kit. But then the extra 4GB would only cost half what you spent on the first 4GB. At the end of the day it will be your decision and you may never even use over 4GB of memory.

 

[Great1122]

Well, cliff explained the technical side to dual channel, in layman's term its basically two ram sticks with the same memory, also ddr3 ram is cheap, you could get 8gb for about $50, its what I would do personally, just like having the extra cushion even though task manager says im only using 1.86 gb of my 4 gb most of the time (I have a 64 bit windows 7).