Is dual channel RAM designed exclusively for Dual Cores or Dual processors?

[NaiMan]

"ahh i see" said the blind man...

I just saw a ram package that stated "dual channel" and got confused...i guess it's a marketing thing.

another ram question...

i have 1 gig (2x512) that's 2.5-3-3-8 Kingston HyperX and now i see a deal for mushkin 512 with 2-3-3.

if i bought 2x512 of mushkin, will it have a better affect along side my kingston, or should i just buy another 2x512 of HyperX RAM? which would be better?

 

[ahurtt]

Originally posted by: NaiMan
How can you tell if your Ram is Dual Channel or not?

I have the Kingston Hyper X 2x512 kit.

Right now i have them installed as one channel...channel A

Your motherboard manual should specify which memory bank combinations to use for dual channel configuration and which kind of modules it supports.

 

[ahurtt]

Originally posted by: NaiMan
"ahh i see" said the blind man...

I just saw a ram package that stated "dual channel" and got confused...i guess it's a marketing thing.

another ram question...

i have 1 gig (2x512) that's 2.5-3-3-8 Kingston HyperX and now i see a deal for mushkin 512 with 2-3-3.

if i bought 2x512 of mushkin, will it have a better affect along side my kingston, or should i just buy another 2x512 of HyperX RAM? which would be better?

Yes, it is a marketing thing RAM manufacturers do. They sell matching pairs of memory sticks for people who want to set up their RAM in dual channel so that they will be more compatible for dual channel configuration. There is nothing special about the RAM itself that makes it "dual channel." It's not necessarily a bad thing to buy ram in matching pairs if you plan to set them up dual channel but it isn't always necessary to do so. The "dual channel" labeling on the package can be misleading if you don't already know this. But if you do understand dual channel, then you know what that label really means is just "this is a matching set of sticks."

 

[Brunnis]

Originally posted by: ahurtt
Yes, it is a marketing thing RAM manufacturers do. They sell matching pairs of memory sticks for people who want to set up their RAM in dual channel so that they will be more compatible for dual channel configuration. There is nothing special about the RAM itself that makes it "dual channel." It's not necessarily a bad thing to buy ram in matching pairs if you plan to set them up dual channel but it isn't always necessary to do so. The "dual channel" labeling on the package can be misleading if you don't already know this. But if you do understand dual channel, then you know what that label really means is just "this is a matching set of sticks."

It's probably worth mentioning that it's highly unlikely that the manufacturers even test the sticks together. They just put two sticks in the same package and stamp them as matched and people believe there's something special with it.