RAM DIMM placement Slot A or B

[kyungxmin]

Just a quick question... Unfortunately due to my large heatsink (Sunbeam Core Contact), and my decision to go with Corsair Dominators with the extended heatsink of their own, I am not able to fit two of my memory sticks in slot A. Now the question is, would the system still perform just fine if I put the memory in B slots instead of A? Being further away, I think I can get the parts to work that way.

Thanks!

 

[Billb2]

Depends on whether dual channels on your motherboard are slots A+B/A+B or A+A/B+B.

 

[kyungxmin]

I think it's A+A/B+B? (They are setup in A1(yellow) A2 (black) and B1 (yellow) B2(black). I am working on the Asus P5Q SE/R board. The manual was instructing I should put the chips 'from' the yellow slots for better overclocking availability. So maybe it's not A+A/B+B. Either way, if I don't get to put both of my memory into the yellow slots (A1 slot is the most impacted one from the heatsink), would it have a drastic change on the performance of the overall system?

I'm not really a big overclocker.

 

[taltamir]

it actually varies by motherboard maker... you MUST read the motherboard manual and see what is the configuration it uses.

 

[kyungxmin]

well, other than these memory configuration information:

1. You may install varying memory sizes in Channel A and Channel B. The system maps the total size of the lower-sized channel for the dual-channel configuration. Any excess memory from the higher-sized channel is then mapped for single-channel operation.

2. It is recommended to install the memory modules from the yellow slots for better overclocking capability.

3. Always install DIMMs with the same CAS latency. For optimum compatibility, it is recommended that you obtain memory modules from the same vendor.

I can't find any other information regarding memory slot configuration. From what I'm reading, other than the overclocking tidbit, it doesn't seem to indicate anything about specific ram placement.

There is also information specific to my memory stating:

1. Supports one module inserted in any slot as Single-channel memory
2. Supports one pair of modules inserted into either the yellow slows or the black slots as one pair of Dual-channel memory configuration
3. Supports 4 modules inserted into both the yellow and black slots as two pairs of Dual-channel memory configuration

Is there another information that I should be looking for in the manual?

 

[NXIL]

2. Supports one pair of modules inserted into either the yellow slows or the black slots as one pair of Dual-channel memory configuration

Is there another information that I should be looking for in the manual?

No; that says you can put your two modules into either set of slots--and for dual channel, you want to put them in the same color slots, yellow-yellow or black-black, whichever will fit your whopping tall mem modules.

 

[kyungxmin]

ah awesome. I shall give this a try once I get all of my parts in order.