How much jump from dual channel ram

[CletusTheDwarf]

Can anyone point me to some good benchmark comparisons online to show the difference between 512 mb of ram in single channel and 256x2 ram as dual channel? i'm trying to decide which way would be the best for me to go with a new comptuer.

 

[Hendrietta]

Have exactly what you're looking for . http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20031107/index.html

Dual ddr makes almost no difference in the real world. Shouldn't worry too much about gaining around 3% more performance. You should go for the cheapest board, be it single or dual.

 

[CletusTheDwarf]

that was pretty helpful, however i have already picked out a board that has dual channel. I was more womdering what ram i should buy. should i get 2x256 and use the dual channel or should i get 1x512 and save a little money and not bother with dual channel?

 

[4x4expy]

It depends on whether your talking AMD or Intel. It makes only a little difference on an NF2 chipset, nothing you would actually feel. The Intel MB's get a sizable increase in memory bandwidth, making the investment more worthwhile.

 

[CletusTheDwarf]

it'll be amd

 

[CletusTheDwarf]

OCZ basic series 512 stick 3200, 2.5 latency - $94
OCZ performance series 512 stick 3200, 2-3-3-6- $105
OCZ premier series 256 stick 3200, 2.5-3-3-7 2T - $51 x 2 = $102

is the 2 vs 2.5 timing on the 512 stick worth money, will i notice a difference? I'm not going to be overclocking to the full potential, just some. and if I were to go with dual channel, i'd get these 256 sticks. any recomendations?

 

[Echo3]

I would go with an AMD chip myself XP 3000+ and 3200+ are great buys for the money -

My rig is a P4 -2.4B OC'd to 3.0ghz single channel and it's very fast....
As compared to a 2.4C OC'd to 3.0ghz - dual channel will get you a little bonus - yada, yada you can get a little bit better bench mark, but that's it - If you are thinking about overclocking then latencies are a factor pending how much you want to O/C. And yes Intel P4 chips yield a marginal result per se - in dual channel mode - but it's nothing to write home about - Trust Me!


But as I mentioned earlier, go with an AMD cpu and some very fast ram DDR400 or better and you'll be golden -

okie - dokie

 

[Soulkeeper]

even if it is only 5% in most things i think it is valuable enough to enable
2x256 chips is about the same prices as 1x512
2x512 is much cheaper than 1x1024

it's worth it to me

 

[CletusTheDwarf]

but is the ocz performance over the ocz basic woth it?

 

[Echo3]

No, probably not - 533FSB more bancwidth headroom to grow - sometimes 800FSB - the memory - is luck as with your other two components -

I have used the OCZ performance from newegg - with the same cas setting as you mentioned above -
and found it to be excellent with 533FSB mobos , again I found that it is pure luck if you get a good mobo and chip, Although I am big ABIT fan I would go with ASUS P4p800 deluxe - E (I think, they have so many versions of that mobo) -

Right now I am using OCZ EL -Enhanced Latency - mem - my settings are 2-2-2-6. But you have to remember that my mobo is running DDR333 /p4 2.4B OC'd to 3.0ghz - and ther's a big difference in performance from DDR266 - I am using PC3200, but my mobo is only able to go to DDR333 - which for me is fine, because I can always push my FSb's higher - DDR400 - if you benchmark - and it makes you feel special - as far as gaming goes - DDR333 is excellent - now DDR500 could be different I suppose...

Just remember that you are not guaranteed anything when it comes to OC'ing - I had an Abit IC7 and P4 2.4C and did not get very far with OCing that thing - some people are lucking while sometimes many are not - You could get a great chip and although your mobo model is great the two might not mix - that's all -

What makes a fast system - Good cpu - great memory - Great mobo - Excellent Vid card - and A SLAM'N Hard drive - perferably WD or Hitachi - A fast Hard drive will make up for alot! and that's a fact Jack - ok I am just rambling again...

Buy AMD, and enjoy life -

Dan

 

[Hendrietta]

Forgot I was referring to Amd systems when I was advising you . If you already have a dc board might as well use dc cuz there's almost no price difference between 2x256 and 1x512. Here's another useful link:http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20040119/index.html

It explains how these days memory timings only make a small difference. So if you're on a budget or wanna save $$, go for basic ram.

 

[BlindBartimaeus]

Go with the 512 stick...you won't notice the difference except in benchmarking AND it will allow you to upgrade to 1 gig later...that is the way to go IMHO

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: BlindBartimaeus
Go with the 512 stick...you won't notice the difference except in benchmarking AND it will allow you to upgrade to 1 gig later...that is the way to go IMHO

1 gig DC=

 

[Rukkian]

Go with the 512mb stick, then when you have some more cash, get another 512.

 

[bootoo]

Second that single 512, I've got one that's just waiting for a little friend - then I'll go dual channel.

It's not a big deal, though, but your fsb o/clock is a LITTLE less with dual channel although overall performance is better slightly. You just don't have quite the same bragging rights in terms of total speed.

 

[Duvie]

For a sidenote to better show the difference between amd and intel on this topic.....

On my p4 2.6c@3.24ghz I tested single channel and dual channel.....I saw a 5-10% gain in apps I run which lean more towards CAD 3D rendering, Video editing and encoding, etc.....

The main difference to remember is the AMD cpu and its fsb is the bandwidth limiter why Intels higher fsb gives much more headroom thus why there was a nice gain when we started to switch to the dual channel setups.

I too have an amd system (NF2) and I saw no gain in most everything when I got an extra stick and ran it in dual channel mode...However since I did not have good ram I bump the fsb up and dropped the ratio of the ram and so when I ran 2 sticks I was able to gain a bit over having just one stick downgraded cause it could not run synch in ram speed. That is an example of the benefit it could give. It allowed me to act as if I had synch ram....

 

[Tango57]

Originally posted by: myocardia

Originally posted by: BlindBartimaeus
Go with the 512 stick...you won't notice the difference except in benchmarking AND it will allow you to upgrade to 1 gig later...that is the way to go IMHO

1 gig DC=

yeah go with 512 mb for now and get another 512 mb later. that will leave you with an extra free dimm slot for future ram upgrades. i'm running 768 mb right now but all my dimm slots are used up. trust me though, the extra 256 over my 512 really helps especially if you'll be doing any gaming.

 

[joe2004]

Huge difference for Intel and not much of a difference for AMD though there is some, say 4-5%. But if you get one bank 512 you can overclock higher than with 2x256.

 

[Echo3]

With regards to Intel - I am not sure that there is a huge difference per se, maybe a slight difference if that - 3-5% at most, dual channel may be signifcant as memory starts to match fsb speeds - Basically when you have memory and CPU FSB speeds run Synchronously - that's when there will be increases until then - the cpu is waiting for the memory - that's the CAS and RAS part that everyone talks about, but really never knowing what it means....

I'm done, turn me over....

:camera:

 

[TGHI]

Some people get a 5%-10% gain in overall performance with the nForce2...at least my 7NNXP does...however, my friend's MSI K7N2 Delta gets lower scores in sandra...go figure. Dual channel just wasn't meant for AMD systems.



TGHI

 

[Chu]

Originally posted by: TGHI
Some people get a 5%-10% gain in overall performance with the nForce2...at least my 7NNXP does...however, my friend's MSI K7N2 Delta gets lower scores in sandra...go figure. Dual channel just wasn't meant for AMD systems.



TGHI

5-10% in what? Theoritical or Real World benchmarks? The nForce2 can top out at 5-10% gain in sandra, but in more real world benchmarks (3DMark, The Ziff-Davis Suite) we're talking 2-3%.

-Chu

 

[FelixDeCat]

The biggest advantage to dual channel is the increase in memory bandwidth, which allows you take full advantage of your chips output.

Its kind of like putter better exhaust on your engine. A dual exhaust allows the engine to breath better increasing horsepower as opposed to single exhaust.