Dualchannel help

ding5550123

Senior member
Jan 3, 2006
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I was wondering if on a dua channel board, do you need two sticks of memory, or can you live with one

(performance gaps are OK)
 

Bob Anderson

Member
Aug 28, 2006
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You need two sticks with the same timings. The best thing to do is to get an identical stick to the one you have.

Yes, a board which supports dual channel memory can use only one stick. It will run in single channel mode, of course.

-Bob
 

JE78

Golden Member
Jun 6, 2004
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The best thing to do is get a dual channel memory kit. I had stick of DDR 512mb PC3200 of Crucual RAM and got the same exact stick and it wouldn't run dual channel.
 

Bob Anderson

Member
Aug 28, 2006
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Originally posted by: JE78
The best thing to do is get a dual channel memory kit. I had stick of DDR 512mb PC3200 of Crucual RAM and got the same exact stick and it wouldn't run dual channel.


Yes, I have heard of that at least once before. It's a bit puzzling because both Intel and AMD say on their sites that only the timings must be the same, not the amount of RAM, nor the brand.

I agree that the best approach is two buy a so-called dual channel kit. Buying an second identical stick later should work, but apparently not always as you discovered. Perhaps it was because the memory chips were from different manufacturers.

-Bob