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3gb ram?

Z

Zoom123

Member
Hello,

I have an older Core 2 Duo system running win XP. This computer has 2GB DDR2 RAM. (1GB x 2). I was initially planning to get another 2GB, but since win XP doesn't support 4GB (and since I am not planning to upgrade to 64bit OS), I thought that maybe I should just get 1GB RAM, for a total of 3GB.

The question is: Since RAM is dual channel, will this additional 1GB RAM run in single channel mode, and will this make all the RAM run slower?

Thanks!
 
for xp x86, yes 2 is fine. will run faster in dual channel than single.

edit: you could go to 4GB and keep dual channel and make use of the whole 4GB by using the ram above ~3.2-3.5 for a ramdisk to store your internet cache and such.
 
Last edited:
A double sided 2gb stick and a double sided 1gb stick should work just fine in dual channel. That's how my laptop currently is.
 
zagood said:
eh?
Click to expand...
My memory is a bit hazy but you can get a one stick of ram with 2 banks of memory. This would let you run dual channel with only 1 stick. This is how my laptop currently does it with a 2gb stick + 1gb stick and is still capable of running dual channel.
 
Bryf50 said:
My memory is a bit hazy but you can get a one stick of ram with 2 banks of memory. This would let you run dual channel with only 1 stick. This is how my laptop currently does it with a 2gb stick + 1gb stick and is still capable of running dual channel.
Click to expand...
You need separate sticks of ram for multiple channels. You can't just use a single double-sided stick of ram for dual channel.

I'm under the impression that if you have two sticks of ram, but they're not equal, like the 2GB stick and a 1GB stick, then the first 1GB from each stick runs together in dual channel mode, and the leftover 1GB from the 2GB stick ends up in single channel.

I think this configuration is similar to having three sticks of 1GB memory. Two sticks operate in dual channel mode, but the odd one left runs in single channel mode.
 
Usually, when this question comes up, one assumes there are four memory slots for dual channel, and you'd use 2x1GB + 2x512MB kits . . .

My Mom's system uses a Gigabyte mATX board with a C2D. The mATX board only has two slots for dual-channel.

I ended up putting a 4GB kit in it which I had on hand. Seems like a waste, but then, so is running a 32-bit OS if you think you'd "been to the mountain" and seen 64-bit versions work. But try and get an aging parent to change. She ain't gonna move to Win 7-64 anytime soon!

It works fine though . . . . Now . . . to get her to let go of the machine (and her "internet" and genealogy friends) for a day so I can replace the old E2140 C2D with an E6700 dual-core Wolfdale. . . . . [And that's the only way I can improve performance further, until she decides to let go of XP-Pro . . ]
 
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