13 replies to this topic

[Afrika Korps]

Hello all, I'm considering upgrading my old Dell 8200 to an Alienware Bot­.

But, they have 2 different upgrades for RAM:

512MB Dual Channel DDR PC-3200 at 400MHz - 256 x 2

512MB Single Channel Low-Latency DDR PC-3200 at 400MHz - 1 x 512MB

Which is better?





Current Specs:

Dell 8200

1.7 GHZ Pentium 4 Processor

256mb RDRAM

32mb GeForce2 MX

40GB HD

---------

Alienware Bot

Intel P4 w/t HT 3.0GHZ

MOBO: Intel915G

512mb RAM (See Question)

Intel Integrated 900 Graphics (I will upgrade this)

80GB Serial ATA 7,200 RPM w/8MB Cache

This will cost me under $700. But then again, i need to upgrade the GFX card...?

[Wasabi®]

I would choose the 512 x1 because when you want to upgrade it to 1GB, you simply add another 512 and you run it on dual channel. If you want ot upgrade 256x2 to 1GB you can also add a 512 but it will not run in dual channel, thusly you will need to replace the 256MB modules. Also the more modules the more unstable the system. If you don't need 1GB in the future just get 256x2 and run it at dual channel.

[Ster]

Dual Channel, but get 512x2. You don't want to be stuck with half a gig

Wasabi: With that 512x1 stick, he wouldn't be able to take advantage of using dual channels in the future. It's better that he get a full gig of dual channel now, especially if he's playing BF2.

[Wasabi®]

But I thought with a base 512x1, if he adds another 512x1 stick later it would run in dual channel? I'm confused because that's what I did with my PC

1 gig was what I wanted to say for today's games, but he asked which was better of the two, so I said 512x1. I also wouldn't want to be stuck with 512MB--I believe Alienware doesn't rip you off on RAM as much as Dell and others do, so I recommend having them installing it.

[Ster]

It would IF it was dual channel ram. Single channel ram, even when run with another identical stick, does not take advantage of using dual channels.

[Wasabi®]

Edit: To avoid confusion I have deleted this. Dual channel=mobo.

[Soldaten]

Wasabi is correct, the motherboard is the determining factor for whether or not you can run dual channel (defined by the memory controller). Ram does not come with channels.

Dual channel usually means two ram modules have been tested together from the same production batch. They keep the modules together and sell them as a pair.

So yes, you can run two "single channel" ram modules together on a motherboard and achieve dual channel if your motherboard supports it. I currently have two corsair "single channel" 256Mb modules running on my system in dual mode. I play bf2 with no problems using this setup.

-S

[DeadlyDon]

I agree with Soldaten. My understanding is that Dual Channel is motherboard specific. Memory labeled as Dual Channel memory is more of a marketing gimic than anything else. However, when using memory that is not sold as a dual channel pair you need to make sure you use the exact same memory. In other words, if you have one PC3200 CL2 stick you want to add another PC3200 CL2. You want the timings, the CL2(or latency bullshit), to match. Preferable, I would use the EXACT make/model memory sticks.

[Limpnoodle]

I have a question to go with this thread.

My new comp has Corsair PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR RAM. It is 2 X 512MB. Well I just remembered looking through the side panel of my case and the memory wasn't right next to each other. I have 4 slots and it looked like this:

Memory stick
Empty
Memory stick
Empty

Do they have to be right next to each other in order for the MoBo to read them as a matched pair?

ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe MoBo

-Limp

[Afrika Korps]

But I thought with a base 512x1, if he adds another 512x1 stick later it would run in dual channel? I'm confused because that's what I did with my PC

1 gig was what I wanted to say for today's games, but he asked which was better of the two, so I said 512x1. I also wouldn't want to be stuck with 512MB--I believe Alienware doesn't rip you off on RAM as much as Dell and others do, so I recommend having them installing it.

This is why I chose Alienware over Dell. Dell charges $400 for 2GB, 512mb x 4.

If I were to add 1 x 512mb down the road, after I accumulate more funds will it run at Dual channel? Remember, this is Alienware's Low-Latency RAM. COuld I buy another piece like it and run it at Dual Channel?

Also, could someone recommend a good PCI-E x 16 card? But I will buy it this fall, after the Price Drop.

[adinar]

There's no such thing as "dual channel" RAM...as soldaten pointed out, it IS motherboard specific. You're basically running RAM in dual-channel mode. (512x2) is running 2 identical 512MB RAM in dual channel mode.

If I were you, I'd get a single 512MB right now and then another 512 when you can afford it. Here's why:

If you get 2x256 now, you're using up two slots w/two slots free. Let's say you upgrade w/2x512 in the future. THen you'll be using up all 4 slots and have 1.5GB of RAM. If you want to upgrade futher, you'll have to get rid of the 2x256 which makes them a waste.

If you get 512 now & 512 later, you'll still have 2 slots free & your original 512 won't be wasted.

Plus, the performance increase with dual-channel RAM is very very minor, so I think going single channel now with the plan to switch over to dual channel later will be just fine. Like previous posters have said, you just need to be running the same RAM.

4x512 for $400??? That seems pretty expensive to me. I can order some Kingston or Corsair 2x512 from newegg.com for $80. $400 seems excessive unless you're ordering some very low-latency RAM. And again, benchmarks have shown that RAM timings are a pretty small factor when it comes to performance. IIRC, the only reason to get expensive low-latency RAM is if you're wanting to overclock.

Videocard-wise...6600GT is dropped to less than $150 now...you may want to look at Radeon x800 or even maybe 6800GT.

Limp - check the manual for your motherboard - it will say in there which slots you want to use to utilize dual channel mode. It's probably set up in dual-channel mode already. The way you detailed it is pretty typical.

[Limpnoodle]

Limp - check the manual for your motherboard - it will say in there which slots you want to use to utilize dual channel mode. It's probably set up in dual-channel mode already. The way you detailed it is pretty typical.

It made sense to me because most people would only use 2 sticks, leaving air in between them for cooling purposes. I just wanted to see if that was right, thanks.

-Limp

[Soldaten]

I would like to add onto adinar's post

-Limp you can also look at the screen during bootup since you have an ASUS board and it should report whether or not your mem is running dual channel. It will be displayed right after it reports how much (and what type) of memory you have installed. As adinar suggested reading that book about your mobo written by spanish author manual is a good idea.

Afrika- I also agree you should get the 512Mb stick of memory in case you wish to upgrade later. You do NOT need 1 Gig to play BF2 or most games. The main reason a person would need so much memory is if they were doing graphic intensive design using photoshop, 3dmax or maya (animation software). You might think well, I would like 1Gig so I can run bf2 with all the pretty graphics but consider this: Many gamers turn down graphics in multiplayer to compensate for different types of bottlenecks or latency, especially in huge rooms with over 32 players all running different connectivity. I myself would rather have an additional 20fps by turning things down in order to improve my kdr. The less video data your system has to send to the gaming server the better IMHO.

As it has been said, if you do decide to upgrade your 512Mb to 1Gig later on, make sure you get the exact type of mem from the same manufacture. Do not go mixing apples & oranges. This is because the voltage and timings specifications vary across RAM manufacturers and you run the risk of creating an unstable system. As an example I bought a 256 stick from Corsair, then 1 year later bought another stick of the same type/make/model from Corsair.

Oh, and I would wait on the PCI-x card. As a rule I never buy technology until its been beaten up a bit & reported on by the community. That and of course the cost factor.

-Rambling S

[Ster]

Well screw my next door neighbor for telling me wrong then..

This is why I'm a software nerd, not a hardware geek >.>