[jimycad]

Hey all,

I am in the market for some more ram for my computer...

here are my choices (both are a single stick of ram):
512MB DDR PC3200 SDRAM or 1024 PC3200 Dual Channel DDR

What I'm going back a fourth about is this:

I want the 1024 Dual Channel, but can I use this as a single stick and is there any dis-advantage to only having a single stick of the Dual Channel

*(My current mobo is using SDRAM)

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You need to be sure that you know which type of SDRAM your system is using as the two are not compiatible. There's SDRAM and there's DDR SDRAM, commonly shortened to just DDR.

Easiest way to tell is to shut the system off, unplug it, take one of the sticks out and see how many notches it has across the bottom where the gold-plated connectors are. If there's only one notch, it's DDR SDRAM. If there's three, it's standard SDRAM.

If there are three notches you can't use PC3200 memory. If you are lucky enough to have a board that can take SDRAM and DDR, then okay. Otherwise, no go.

[Neil Jones]

You need to be sure that you know which type of SDRAM your system is using as the two are not compiatible. There's SDRAM and there's DDR SDRAM, commonly shortened to just DDR.

Easiest way to tell is to shut the system off, unplug it, take one of the sticks out and see how many notches it has across the bottom where the gold-plated connectors are. If there's only one notch, it's DDR SDRAM. If there's three, it's standard SDRAM.

If there are three notches you can't use PC3200 memory. If you are lucky enough to have a board that can take SDRAM and DDR, then okay. Otherwise, no go.

[jimycad]

I'm all set with the DDR... Will I be able to use the single stick of the Dual Channel DDR? Does Dual Channel DDR have to be used as Dual Channel?

[SRX660]

Heres the answer from the intel website.

Rules to Enable Dual Channel Mode
To achieve Dual Channel mode, the following conditions must be met:

* Matched DIMM configuration in each channel
* Same Density (128MB, 256MB, 512MB, etc.)
* Matched in both Channel A and Channel B memory channels
* Populate symmetrical memory slots (Slot 0 or Slot 1)

Note: Configurations that do not match the above conditions will revert to Single Channel mode.

A single stick of memory cannot be run in dual channel mode. It will revert to single channel mode. It might be some people can notice the difference but since i'm not into gaming i cannot notice any difference running in single or dual channel mode in any of my puters. All 3 of my latest puters have 2 sticks of matching 512 MB PC3200 memory. Any setup i run is still faster than what i can see.

SRX660

[jimycad]

Lets say that I do not have dual channel capabilities on my mobo, can I use this single stick of 1024mb Dual Channel DDR as a regular stick of ram?

[SRX660]

Any dual channel memory will run as single channel.

SRX660

[jimycad]

Awsome, so if I buy this single stick of the dual channel it will work just like a single stick of standard DDR SDRAM

So this dual channel ram:
http://www.radioshac...oductId=2211681

Will work the same as this ram:
http://www.bestbuy.c...d=1077630669390

Edited by jimycad, 03 March 2006 - 09:14 AM.

[Samm]

Remember, there is no such thing as 'dual channel ram'. In other words, to run dual channel, you use two or four sticks of identical, normal DDR ram. There is nothing special about the actual ram itself.

So, if you buy a dual channel 'kit' (i.e 2 sticks of ram) but you have a motherboard that only supports single channel, then both sticks should work fine together in single channel.

[SRX660]

Yes, it will. By the way in the last few years i have had so much trouble with PNY brand ram that i will not buy it anymore no matter how cheap it is. I have 3 sticks of PNY 256MB PC133 ram that i bought new They did not work at all and crashed my puter to a black screen. PNY refused to live up to their warranttee. So far i have found 11 sticks of different varieties of bad PNY ram.

SRX660