[scottportraits]

Wed Apr 11, 2007
1.45p est

Hello again,

I have two 512MB RAM sticks installed. Both are series 3200, both have identical specs, but are different brands, put in at different times.
When I was looking over BIOS settings I noticed it said 'single channel' and I thought it was supposed to be a dual channel set-up. Isn't dual channel the correct (and superior) setting? If so, I'll need to change that to the most efficient setting possible....how do I do that ???

Also, a techie in a chat room said you could tweak the RAM latency settings for each stick....or ascertain what they in fact are....is this true? How do I check and set them for optimal results? What are 'SPD' settings for RAM sticks, and are they optimally adjustable in BIOS ?


- Scottportraits

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For dual-channel, it depends on the main board. Sometimes they have to be in a certain set of slots.
In any case, the speed advantage is so minute its not worth worrying about.

SPD speed settings are what the sticks have told the board they will work happily with. They're often not the fastest but they're the most stable.

[Neil Jones]

For dual-channel, it depends on the main board. Sometimes they have to be in a certain set of slots.
In any case, the speed advantage is so minute its not worth worrying about.

SPD speed settings are what the sticks have told the board they will work happily with. They're often not the fastest but they're the most stable.

[IO-error]

Hello there,

Maybe some other reviews and stories will help you:

http://directron.inf...amp;m=268109013

Having two of exactly the same sticks will work better.
I have 2x Corsair and 2x Kingston, 512 MB 400 Mhz.

And I'll quote form a poster there:
Do take into mind one thing: Memory prices CONSTANTLY fluctuate.

It's true, you can get VERY good memory, for a good price.
I'll point you to some signals that might predict the price goes down.

-Rule 1, The more there is from, the cheaper it is.
This means that if RAM is stopped being made, the shops can ask ANY price, no matter how high, because the power is then in the shops hand, no live competition possible.
It also means that new ram, which is just being made, still has a high price.
Ask the shop owners *about their prediction of the success that memory card will make and if they say they don't know yet, it means it's already fluctuating.
If they say it'll be cheaper in a about a month or so, wait that time out and see if it really did go down.
(don't really wait the month, just keep yourself updated on the price every 2-3 days or so)
Most of the time, own experience, the shop owners will say it'll go up the first time, then down, then it'll get cheaper and afterwards, there is not enough time to make use of the discounts, because it's already pulled out of production and made place for a new serie of ram.

-Rule 2
Try to bargain (only if you have experience with it, it's harder than you think if you know nothing about it.)

-Rule 3
Stay to one shop, don't go out to all shops there are, for the cheapest, because if you stay to one shop, they might discount you on sales.
The art is to find such a shop, which is hard in a big city with a lot of customers.

-Rule 4
The best signal to look out for is how well the shop runs.
If the shop has a bad time, don't count on cheap RAM.
RAM is the fastest selling computer product, because it sells in units of 2, mostly. It's not hard to earn on it, so shop owners can use that to their benefits, it makes it easier to stretch or eliminate bankruptcy.

Thazzit, good luck.

These are my own experiences and I'm completely confident about this information.

Edited by IO-error, 12 April 2007 - 03:05 AM.