dual channel memory

Question

my inspiron 6400 came with 1 stick of 1gb  memory but ive been reading that i should be really using 2 identicall sticks. does it really make that much difference?  what sort of performance increase would i get with dual cannel mode? and when people say identical do they mean it has to be same size, speed or even make?   ta

fruitylooper · Answer

hmm,  i bought my 6400 from ebay and the retailer upgraded the memory for me so i have no way of telling. cpuz says im in single channel mode however

dbramlet · Answer

Maybe this will explain dual channel memory better if you go here:

http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Memory/Dual-Channel/

I will try to paste the information here also:

You may have heard about the advantages of running dual channel memory, such as increasing the speed of your system, particularly for video games. Does dual channel memory really make that big a difference, or is that just a lot of hype? Jkabaseball explains how dual channel memory works, and finds out the truth by running some solid benchmarks.

Have you been in the market for memory lately? You may notice that memory comes in standard, one memory modules, and also Dual Channel Kits. What’s the difference? There is really no difference other then Dual Channel Kits are two modules instead of one. These are meant to be run in dual channel. You can still get two single modules and run them in dual channel. The kits are sold as tested to work in dual channel. If the memory stick of any kind of memory is compatible to be run at stock speed with stock latency, it will work in dual channel mode. The kits are sold more for the novice, so they know that they are getting what they need. I know when I bought my RAM there were no dual channel kits available for my memory; I bought two one stick packages and have experienced no problems with them.

What is dual channel and what are the benefits? First you must see whether your current motherboard supports dual channeling. Whether or not your motherboard supports dual channel lies within the memory controller. Most modern day memory controllers support dual channeling, though there are a few which don’t: the AMD Athlon 64 series with the 754 socket does not support dual channeling, but the newer 939 socket does. On the Athlon 64 series the memory controller lies within the CPU.

Nearly all desktop Intel based PCs support dual channeling. Unlike the AMDs, the memory controller is located on the motherboard, in the North Bridge. The new NForce chipset for Intel motherboards is interesting; for more information, check out the review provided by DMOS here. The current plans are for the memory controller to be off of the North Bridge and located in its own chip. They claim that the current nForce boards that run on AMD don’t need to have a memory controller on the motherboard. This chipset isn’t currently available so nothing is set in stone. The only non-dual channel chipsets are for the mobile market. The current 400mhz FSB Pentium Mobiles do not support dual channel. The next version, however, which is going to hit the market soon, will.

Now that we have done a quick run down of what is and is not supported, let's talk about what dual channeling really is. Dual channel memory doubles the pipelines available to the memory controller. This allows more information to be recalled from the memory faster.

dbramlet · Answer

Well unless somebody corrects me dual channel memory does not mean 2 sticks of memory. Newer memory comes as dual channel memory and most likely if you system came with 1 stick it is dual channel memory. I do not know if your system will run any other memory but you can look up your service tag number and see if the memory shipped was dual channel. Identical sticks of memory will be the same brand, size and have the same part numbers on them. Don't know if this helps much but you need to see if the memory shipped is dual channel. It will say on the invoice.

dbramlet · Answer

Well, hopefully others will post but most systems I think will run either memory type. It is possible the upgraded memory was not dual channel. I am trying to remember for sure but I think there are also some systems that require a certain memory type. Is there a service tag on the bottom of the laptop? Id do under Dell support you can see what type memory you can run. But I think I remember that dual channel memory means chips on both sides of the stick that can run independently. I have never really seen where there is an advantage with running dual channel really. 1GB of memory is a lot and plenty really. But I hope others will respond also.

dbramlet · Answer

Ok, one more post that may mean I am wrong but sort of proves my point anyway. Here it is:

Any 2 sticks of memory (or 3 sticks depending on the Mobo) can be run in Dual Channel Mode, providing they are the same capacity (or same capacity per bank on some mobos e.g. 2x256 and 1x512), the same speed (e.g. DDR400 PC3200).

All a "Dual Channel Memory Kit" is, is 2 sticks of matching RAM, that has been guaranteed to run in a dual channel configuration. This is a ploy by the manufacturers to try and cut down on the amount of technical support they have to provide, because Joe User already has some memory, and hears about Dual Channel offering a performance boost, goes out and buys more memory (slightly different speed or latencies) and his machine does not work stably with it.

Therefore, buying a dual channel memory kit is probably not worth the extra cash to most experienced users, as aslong as you buy 2 sticks of branded memory (e.g. Crucial, OCZ, Kingston, Corsair, Geil etc.) at the same time from the same supplier, they are likely to be identical and work fine, and you will have saved yourself around $60.

rickmktg · Answer

dbramlet wrote:

Well unless somebody corrects me dual channel memory does not mean 2 sticks of memory. Newer memory comes as dual channel memory and most likely if you system came with 1 stick it is dual channel memory. I do not know if your system will run any other memory but you can look up your service tag number and see if the memory shipped was dual channel. Identical sticks of memory will be the same brand, size and have the same part numbers on them. Don't know if this helps much but you need to see if the memory shipped is dual channel. It will say on the invoice.

Ok, I'll correct you. There is no such thing as dual channel memory. Memory runs in dual channel mode on computers, like the OP's, that are designed for it.

dbramlet · Answer

Finally you actually posted and helped someone!

rickmktg · Answer

fruitylooper wrote:

hmm, i bought my 6400 from ebay and the retailer upgraded the memory for me so i have no way of telling.

cpuz says im in single channel mode however

And you'll stay in single channel mode until you buy a matching stick. Figure it's a 10% hit. Of course, adding a 1gb stick isn't cheap.

rickmktg · Answer

dbramlet wrote:   To add to a recent post, simply click on it, pick Message Options, then Edit.

Vbo1 · Answer

I recently purchased an Inspiron 6400 t7200 2.0 ghz 667 mhz, 2-1g ram sticks 667mhz. Radeon x1400 256mb & 100g 7200rpm hd I tried to but the fastest machine I could afford. Something that won't bog me down for the next 2 years or so.  No gaming. Cadd, spreadsheet, internet and Office Pro   I been reading about dual channel. Crucial says my laptop does not support dual channel. I'm confused. I thought I was purchasing a dual channel machine.   I'm learning something here.   Does anyone know the speed diff between the above configuration dual channel and not dual channel?

rickmktg · Answer

Vbo1 wrote:

I recently purchased an Inspiron 6400 t7200 2.0 ghz 667 mhz, 2-1g ram sticks 667mhz.

Radeon x1400 256mb & 100g 7200rpm hd

I tried to but the fastest machine I could afford.

Something that won't bog me down for the next 2 years or so. No gaming. Cadd, spreadsheet, internet and Office Pro

I been reading about dual channel. Crucial says my laptop does not support dual channel.

I'm confused.

I thought I was purchasing a dual channel machine.

I'm learning something here.

Does anyone know the speed diff between the above configuration dual channel and not dual channel?

Your laptop does indeed support dual channeling. Please provide a link to the info on Crucial that says it doesn't.

Vbo1 · Answer

Rick, Thanks for clearing that up for me.   I've emailed you the page save from the crucial site.   Thanks again,   Vbo1

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dual channel memory

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