dual channel setup

[evs_13]

may nakakaalam ba ng dual channel set up para sa pc? ano requirements para magkaroon ka nito? what are the pros & cons of dual channel.....

sa mga tsikoters, may nakadual channel na ba sa inyo???

[Alpha_One]

I've got a dual-channel config.

Requirements: A pair of identical (i.e. exactly the same) RAM modules, inserted into the proper slots in a dual-channel capable motherboard.

Pros:
HUGE performance gains (today's processors are bottlenecked by the RAM bandwidth)

Cons:
Slightly less flexible configuration (you have to add/replace *two* sticks at the same time to upgrade, otherwise hindi gagana ng dual-channel)
Two sticks of small RAM are slightly more expensive than one big stck.

[boybi]

ano ba yang dual channel na yan?

[mikmik316]

1) Hanap ka ng Motherboard na may specific na Dual Channel Support

2) Hanap ka ng Memory na Dual Channel din...

One way to determine kung dual channel e most of the time you will notice every side of the memory module has chips....

Tama yung sinabi sa taas na nung wala pang DDR2 667 at 800 at puro DDR 333 at 400 pa lang e kailangan ng Dual Channel Memories dahil nga may bottle neck... kumbaga e transition technology that time ang Dual Channel... probably this time around kailangan na ulit natin ng Dual Channel Support dahil FSB ng Core 2 Duo ay 1066 at 1333Mhz... though may lalabas na lower end E4xxx series na 800 FSB... Thats also the reason why AMD changed its architecture to Hypertransport para wala ng bottleneck in terms of Front Side Buses... Sabi sa mga benchmarks sa current crop of AMD processors they dont exactly benefit from DDR2 kasi the memory controller is within the processor running the same clock speed...

[Alpha_One]

2) Hanap ka ng Memory na Dual Channel din...

One way to determine kung dual channel e most of the time you will notice every side of the memory module has chips....

False. Even one-sided modules can be used as a pair in a dual-channel setup.

Also, hindi naman kelangan na bumili ng dual-channel kit para gumana ng dual-channel. Basta pareho (as in exactly the same) yung modules gaganana yun. However, pag naka dual channel kit ka, pag nasira yung isa pwede mo palitan yung parehong module, which might make the extra few bucks worth it.

Take note, dun sa aking dual-channel rig nasira yung isang module. TwinMOS DDR400 double-sided siya, kaso yung spare ko na DDR400 na double sided (ibang brand) ayaw gumana kasama niya. Nung sinubukan ko yung spare Kingston DDR333 module ko gumana! So dual-channel ulit ako, only slightly slower, and the system's rock stable!

Ergo, it doesn't even have to be the same SPEED (or heck, even BRAND) of module para mag dual-channel! Ang importante, pareho yung internal layout ng circuitry nung dalawang module. If it's two pieces of RAM that are exactly the same, it'll 99% work in dual-channel (unless they're really crappy or somehow incompatible with your motherboard). Dual-channel kits basically GUARANTEE that they'll work as a pair (kaya pwede mo sila palitan pareho pag nasira yung isa).

EDIT: To further add to the confusion, two modules of the same brand, type, speed and model might NOT work if they came from different batches (due to subtle design or manufacturing changes).

[mikmik316]

what i was talkin about was pure dual channel setup that will provide you the maximum speed... sure you can have single channel memory in dual channel boards paired in twos and as you said hindi mo maximize ang theoretical maximum bandwidth speed...

to minimize confusion buy memory that has two sides filled with chips if you want to maximize bandwidth and of course a board that supports dual channel set-ups...

Anyway gamers lang naman ang interesado sa ganito... or just buy higher frequency DDRs... DDR3-1066 at 1333 are on the way to simplify setup...

[Alpha_One]

what i was talkin about was pure dual channel setup that will provide you the maximum speed... sure you can have single channel memory in dual channel boards paired in twos and as you said hindi mo maximize ang theoretical maximum bandwidth speed...

to minimize confusion buy memory that has two sides filled with chips if you want to maximize bandwidth and of course a board that supports dual channel set-ups...

Anyway gamers lang naman ang interesado sa ganito... or just buy higher frequency DDRs... DDR3-1066 at 1333 are on the way to simplify setup...

You're confusing your terms. Double-sided and single-sided refer to memory DENSITIES, not bandwidth. And I think you mean DDR2-1333, which is very rare and expensive (at the moment).

Double sided memory is NOT dual channel memory.

The difference between single sided and double sided RAM (ceteris paribus) is that the former has HIGHER DENSITY CHIPS than the other. They both run at the same speed!

Two single sided modules running dual-channel will run at the same speed as two double-sided modules running dual-channel.

There's no need to look for double-sided chips or whatnot to run full-speed dual-channel. Just pair two IDENTICAL sticks of RAM.

"Dual-channel memory" is nothing but a marketing term used to sell a pair of sticks that are guaranteed to run in dual-channel (usually with a corresponding "dual-channel friendly" warranty). If you bought a dual-channel kit and the modules were double-sided, that has nothing to do with "bandwidth" and "full speed" and is purely coincidental. Note that most high-capacity modules tend to be double-sided anyway (due to manufacturing/technological considerations).

[evs_13]

kailangan din bang dual core na cpu mo para makapagset up ka ng dual channel???

[Alpha_One]

kailangan din bang dual core na cpu mo para makapagset up ka ng dual channel???

Nope. Setups as early as the (expensive) RDRAM-based Pentium III systems had dual-channel memory. Notably, the Pentium 4 (with its long pipeline and very aggressive memory prefetcher) benefited a lot from dual-channel RAM, because a single stick of old DDR1 couldn't keep up with it.

What you need is a dual-channel capable motherboard.

You'll see the most benefit from high-end dual-core CPUs however. The low end Intels have a low FSB ("outer bus" speed), which means you have to overclock (run above rated speeds) to see any benefit. Low-end systems may also benefit, especially those with integrated video (integrated video chips competes with the CPU for bandwidth).

[evs_13]

sir ano gagawin ko para maging dual channel ako,

specs ng pc ko

* intel P, D 805+, LGA775, 2.66GHz, 533MHz FSB, 2 x 1M L2 cache
* MSI PM8M3-V motherboard
* generic, one sided 512mb pc400
* fx5200 128mb/128bit agp 8x

tnx

[Horsepower]

I tried reading about your motherboard but i can't find one page that says it supports dual channel ram.

Ergo,

Replace your board. Good but cheap is Foxconn with 945 chipset, if you still need the onboard video, it has a version that has one too.

then get a pair for DDR2-667 RAMs to make 1GB or 2GB. Standard nowadays is 2GB.

As for your former board and ram, you can sell them or give them to your kins or siblings.

[mikmik316]

You're confusing your terms. Double-sided and single-sided refer to memory DENSITIES, not bandwidth. And I think you mean DDR2-1333, which is very rare and expensive (at the moment).

Double sided memory is NOT dual channel memory.

The difference between single sided and double sided RAM (ceteris paribus) is that the former has HIGHER DENSITY CHIPS than the other. They both run at the same speed!

Two single sided modules running dual-channel will run at the same speed as two double-sided modules running dual-channel.

There's no need to look for double-sided chips or whatnot to run full-speed dual-channel. Just pair two IDENTICAL sticks of RAM.

"Dual-channel memory" is nothing but a marketing term used to sell a pair of sticks that are guaranteed to run in dual-channel (usually with a corresponding "dual-channel friendly" warranty). If you bought a dual-channel kit and the modules were double-sided, that has nothing to do with "bandwidth" and "full speed" and is purely coincidental. Note that most high-capacity modules tend to be double-sided anyway (due to manufacturing/technological considerations).

Oh yes sir I got confused since my supplier who listed this item....

Model: Kingston 1 GB
SRP: 4,930.00
SIZE: 2 x 512 MB
CHANNEL: Dual
DDR: 533
LATENCY: 2.5-6-3-3

may actually be a "kit" as you said with all the marketing hullabaloo you describe and as I researched the exact product... it could be this one...

http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR533D2N4K2_1G.pdf

thus showing a high capacity module being single sided...

Anyway I may not be the only one confused... I think there really is a DDR3-1333... just google DDR3 and you will get this sample articles...

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=29669
http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/09/25/mi...s_ddr3_memory/

[evs_13]

I tried reading about your motherboard but i can't find one page that says it supports dual channel ram.

Ergo,

Replace your board. Good but cheap is Foxconn with 945 chipset, if you still need the onboard video, it has a version that has one too.

then get a pair for DDR2-667 RAMs to make 1GB or 2GB. Standard nowadays is 2GB.

As for your former board and ram, you can sell them or give them to your kins or siblings.

OK, STICK NA LANG PALA AKO SA SINGLE CHANNEL. wala pa budget para sa bagong MOBO

tnx for the info bro

[Alpha_One]

Oh yes sir I got confused since my supplier who listed this item....

Model: Kingston 1 GB
SRP: 4,930.00
SIZE: 2 x 512 MB
CHANNEL: Dual
DDR: 533
LATENCY: 2.5-6-3-3

may actually be a "kit" as you said with all the marketing hullabaloo you describe and as I researched the exact product... it could be this one...

http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR533D2N4K2_1G.pdf

thus showing a high capacity module being single sided...

Anyway I may not be the only one confused... I think there really is a DDR3-1333... just google DDR3 and you will get this sample articles...

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=29669
http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/09/25/mi...s_ddr3_memory/

It is indeed a kit... according to the text I bolded above the memory is sold as a pair. And yes, they're single-sided.

DDR3 does exist, but at the moment only as engineering samples. DDR2-1333 on the other hand, is high-end "overclocker" RAM that is very expensive.

[metatron]

False. Even one-sided modules can be used as a pair in a dual-channel setup.

Also, hindi naman kelangan na bumili ng dual-channel kit para gumana ng dual-channel. Basta pareho (as in exactly the same) yung modules gaganana yun. However, pag naka dual channel kit ka, pag nasira yung isa pwede mo palitan yung parehong module, which might make the extra few bucks worth it.

not entirely true.

on some motherboards such as gigabytes' ga-7n400-l (for socket a amd cpus), even modules of different speeds work with a dual-channel setup (i have one working at 333mhz bus speed using 2 sticks of kingston 333mhz 256mb valuerams paired with 2 sticks of 400mhz 256mb pqi oems).

however, most recent mainstream motherboards (such as msi's k8n neo4-f for socket 939 amd cpus) specify the need for dual channel memory kits especially if you want to utilize all 4 dimm slots (i tried to setup a dual channel config with 4 sticks of 1gb 400mhz pqi oems but ended up with 333mhz single channel bus. dual channel only worked when 2 sticks of the pqi ram was used - no such problem encountered using 2 pairs of corsair dual channel xms modules). have yet to try a 4 dimm setup on msi's p965 platinum for intel socket 775 cpus. so far it's behaving like the k8n neo-4.

[mikmik316]

OK, STICK NA LANG PALA AKO SA SINGLE CHANNEL. wala pa budget para sa bagong MOBO

tnx for the info bro

I think sir based on your specs I will do 2 things...

1) Overclock your Pentium D 805 since according to Tom's they are ideal for overclocking up to 3.8-4.0Ghz... but probably a 3.4Ghz is fine for you...

2) Change your video card to an AGP Geforce 6600, or Radeon X800, X1300 or X1600... no bottleneck on your bus since its 128-bit pero since its a 5200... its part of the low end spectrum of cards.... kaya real upgrade ang mid-end cards from Nvidia & ATI.

[mikmik316]

DDR3 does exist, but at the moment only as engineering samples. DDR2-1333 on the other hand, is high-end "overclocker" RAM that is very expensive.

I guess your looking at non-standard memory modules like the OCZ as the industry is sure to use the DDR3 specs when they release their 1066 and 1333 counterparts... Oh well gamers will be gamers...