Maxing RAM and utilizing dual channel

For some reason I´ve begun to believe that the new iMac with Intel Core 2 Duo and 3 GB of RAM doesn´t support dual channel. This reason is because I´ve seen that the new low end iMac requires dual channel because of it´s integrated graphics chip and there is not an option to upgrade RAM to more than 2 GB. So, if one want to have dual channel: Don´t use more than 2 GB RAM.
This is a bit speculative, of course. Some people might be angry to know that they can´t utilize dual channel because of maxing their RAM. I repeat: This is mostly speculation, but does seem to make sense in my eyes. What do you think about this?

Sorry. This isn´t much of a question really. If I could remove it then I would.

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P7N SLI Platinum Unstable with over 2GB ram and/or dual channel memory on.

Hello need some help or to report something to MSI regarding blue screens, freezes when booting Vista 64 (SP1 + all fixes installed) with more then 2GB ram. Single channel mode works (either 1 stick of 2 GB or 3 sticks of 2GB) and is rock stable. Booting with 2 x 2 or 4 x 2 yields instability and blue screens.
I read over Microsoft's hotfix KB929777 however it appears this patch was applied during SP1. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929777 - when I attempted to apply this hotfix I got the message this update does not apply to your system.
Memory tested in other gaming system using 4 sticks of G.Skill 1066 DDR2 ram and still have the same issues. Other forums like Evga.com, Tom's hardware and 411overkill.com tend to suggest some problem with this new bios version 2.0, written by Nvidia. Some others mention possibly an Nvidia nforce driver issue.
Therefore, under duress during testing - with 1 stick or 3 sticks of ram, all tests perfect and passes all stability tests, good marks in Sandra, plays any game. With 2 or 4 sticks of ram, very unstable won't stay up but for seconds.
Any ideas? (Tested 7 ways until Sunday!)
My other rig, rocks solid and stable with Vista 64.... It's the Evga new mainboard 780i with triple SLI (132-CK-NF78-A1), 8gb of Gskill 1066ddr2, MSI 8800GT (x2 sli mode) Q6600 @ 3.2 ghz - Raid 0 on dual WD caviar 640 gb/sata 3.0gb/sec. Seasonic 700w p/s. 8gb of memory and not a hiccup. Ram 2.0 volts, cpu @ 1.36v. Will handle the memory from both systems with out fault.
Considering I can swap memory back and forth and confirm it's not the sticks, swap graphics boards (own 3 of them!) and rule out that....
Fyi. Any help is appreciated!

Dump question, but have you pickup the correct update e.g. for 64bit? ==> http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=91672C7C-614B-404C-850C-377541E93C18&displaylang=en
"This comes inside SP1 for vista 64, as noted with my other system during the build. "
Better double check it.
Install all four memory sticks and do a memory check with >>Memtest86<< 1st, ensure that no error(s) will comes during testing.
Also how about that?:
Quote from: BOSSKILLER on 07-April-08, 23:55:36
Remove your OC then see how its goes.
"When the system boots in single channel mode (only 2 or 6gb of ram meaning 1 or 3 sticks installed into the 4 slots) its' rock stable. When it boots into dual channel mode (2 x 2 sticks or 2 x 4 sticks) extemely unstable. "
That means, timings are too tight, or they need a bit more vcore help, or some of the memory stick has failure.
"MSI P7N SLI Platinum - MS-7380 - Bios 2.0 on Vista Ultimate 64-bit - all updated."
That BIOS is not for your board, you should use 1.xx

Mac Mini (late 2012) ram upgrade: 8gb dual channel vs 10gb? Flex Mode?

I attempted to upgrade my Mac Mini (late 2012) from the stock 4gb of ram to 8gb. However, I messed up and didn't pay attention when buying the ram online and ordered 1x8gb stick rather than 2x4. Will losing dual channel with a 2/8 combo (10gb) make a difference that I will notice? Will having the additional 2gb make up for any lost performance? And finally, is flex mode available with the Mac Mini so that I'd still be running 4gb at dual channel and 6gb single?
The 8gb stick arrived and I'd like to install it but Ill send it back and get the 2x4 depending on what I hear back.
Thanks
Ryan

to the best of my knowledge, when upgrading your Mac mini's RAM, you must upgrade it with 2 SODIMM's at a time. When I bought my Mac mini Late 2012 model it had all the base level specs. Pretty soon the stock 4GB (2x 2GB) just wasn't fast enough. I bought a Crucial 16GB upgrade from Amazon (2x 8GB) and now my Mini is much faster especially when I am using Photoshop.
Only thing I would do next is trying to swap the boot HD to a SSD, but am unsure as my Mac mini late 2012 is under AppleCare through December 2015 and I do not know if it would void the warranty.

KT6 - MAX RAM and PS?

I'm building a new system on a budget using some current parts.
I have an MSI KT6 Delta-FIS2R board.
I will also be buying
AthlonXP 3200+ 400MHz FSB
Sapphire Radeon 9600XT 256MB
2 sticks 512 400Mhz DDR or preferred->1 stick 1GIG, so can add another one when the prices drop again.
I need to jump on buying the RAM before I get priced out of the market and have to upgrade...faster cpu & current 3 x 512 266MHz...instead of building a new system. Kingston 512 400MHz went from $79 on Friday (3/19) to $115 today.
1.The manual and MSI site info seem to say this board will take 2Gbs MAX if using
2 - 1GB 400MHz double sided DIMMs. Kingston.com says this board will only take a max of 1Gb. ??? Which is it? + any quality budget conscious RAM recommendation?
2. Is my current PS powerful enough for the new system.
I do a lot of graphics with multiple windows open..Photoshop, etc. + like to play games like DOOM, Flight Sim, etc. when I can find the time.
I was mocked when I bought it because it was so 'big'. LOL
Enermax Switching Power Supply S/N 00408795
EG351P-VE +3.3V 30A, +5v 32A, +12V 12A, -5V 1A, -12V 1A,
+5Vsb 1.8A, +3.3V & +5V 160W, Total Power 330W,
AC input 115/230 50-60Hz 10A/6A
Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.
Warmly Yours,
Arial R.

Thanks CMD,
I hope too...if I can ever get all the parts here.
I'm currently accessing the net on a 150MHZ Pentium laptop with its max of 64MB RAM. I'm going nuts from how long it takes to do anything. It's taken more than two weeks just to do the research for the new setup and it's not over yet.
However, this too shall end, eh?
I'm still feeling unsure about what RAM to get for this new machine
AthlonXP3200
KT6Delta-FIS2R
Sapphire Radeon 9600XT 256
Samsung ATA 133 160G HD
Still need to decide on the power supply
I still have to order everything except the MB and HD so all is still mutable.
On the MSI page for this board they list compatible RAM.
NONE of the RAM listed is over 512MB so I'm a bit confused....still
I sure don't want to order incompatible RAM, e$pecially 1Gb.
Does anyone have 1Gb sticks of PC3200 400MHz RAM in one of these boards?
If you do, what brand or OEM is it from. Does it work properly? Was it necessary to change settings, if so, to what?
Power Supply suggestions are also greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance to all for your time and consideration.
Warmly Yours,
Arial R.

Downloading Mountain Lion on Mac Book Pro with max RAM and after 20 hours only 1.50Gb downloaded of 4.37GB. What gives?

I have a MAC Book Pro with maximum RAM added and tried to download Mountain Lion and after 20 hours only 1.50GB downloaded of 4.37GB. Very slow and set my machine not to sleep overnight or anything. Should I give up and stick with my snow leopard?

I think that since Apple just released the Mountain Lion 10.8.2 Update and iOS 6, their download servers are being somewhat overloaded. It may pay to try again in a day or two after things calm down a little. It also depends on where you live and how fast your ISP download speeds are.
Hope this helps

Trouble with Neo4 Platnum and AMD X2 with dual channel memory

I just installed an X2 3800+ in my Neo4 Platnum board. The board had a 3500 in it and ran fine. When I installed the X2, the machine will no longer POST if the memory is in the dual channel mode. I flashed to the latest BIOS (1.8) and it still does not work. I am using 2 Corsair XMS 2-2-2-5 Dimms each at 512MB. The PC POSTs fine if I place both modules in the Green slots. It does not work with 1 in green and 1 in purple (with either Dimms1-2 or 3-4). Has anyone else seen this?

Todd,
Your last post help me understand your situation a bit better. Here are some questions for you:
1- On your old system did these memory sticks work fine has a dual channel pair? Were these 2 memory sticks bought has a dual channel rated matched pair?
2- In your own words give me your definition of POST?
3- In your own words give me your exact detailed rendition of what happens when you try to post with dual setup. (How far do you get? Where does it hang up?)
4- Can you access your BIOS if booting with only one memory stick? If so, this is only for testing purposes, set your memory as 2.5,3,3,8, and 2T and add 0.05 volts to both your CPU and memory recommended voltages. Save, exit, and then shut down your system. Re-install the second stick of RAM in a proper dual channel slot. Re-boot and see what happens. If successful posting and booting in dual channel with this BIOS config go back to your BIOS and tighten your board and memory timings one at a time until you ID the perfect BIOS config for your CPU and RAM. Do the same with your CPU & RAM voltages.
AMD CPUs encompass their own memory control devices. There might just be enough variance between your older & newer AMD chips to reject dual configuration. If this is the case you may be able to correct it by using step for above. If this does not work, you sould borrow some suitable and proven dual channel memory sticks from a friend to see if the will work in your rig as dual channel?
Just keep on trucking & you'll solve it

Pc won't run in dual channel mode

Hi.I have an msi P6N SLI motherboard which supports dual channel ram configurations.I first purchased four 1gb ddr2 pc 800 ram modules and the pc wouldn't boot so i have 2 1gb and 1 2g modules which work fine.When i remove the 2gb module and the 1gb modules are in either slots 1 and 3 or slots 2 and 4(dual channel) ,the pc wont boot.When in slots 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 it works fine again.
Is there some setting i must change in the bios to enable dual channel mode.Ive looked but can't seem to find anything and the manual doesn't say anything about changing settings.
I would appreciate any help.thanks

the two 1 gb must be in slot 1 and 3 or 2 and 4 and the 2gb can be in any empty slot. then it should boot. why just do not get yourself 2 x 2gb ddr2 800. due to memory controller limitation 2x2gb is the best option for using window 32bits. and finally there is nothing in bios which can solve your prob. good luck

Random Reboots with dual channel

Hi,
I just bought yesterday the following system.
Intel P4 2.8 Northwood HP enabled
MSI 865PE/Neo 2 Platinum Edition
Maxtor Diamond Star 9 200 GB 8MB Cache 7200rpm
Elixir 2x512MB DDR 400 CL3
Toshiba DVD 16x
Creative Geforce 4 Ti 4400 128MB
Logitech Cordless Keyboard connected and a logitech cordless optical mouse
19 inch belinea monitor.
The power supply is a no name product LPK2-30 with the following specs.
420W
3.3V 28A
+5V 36A
-5V 0.5A
+12V 17A
-12V -0.8A
It says that is P4 ready, i know which does mean nothing
Operating System:
Windows XP Professional SP1
All Hotfixes and Updates applied
Newest drivers for all the system parts
The errors during the windows crashes are irq not less or equal or page fault, which looks for me pretty much like a problem with the memory.
Ok what i tried so far.
Single channel with 512MB works fine.
Single channel with 1GB works fine except one strange thing restarting the machine and it got stuck during the bios loading worked fine after i pressed reset.
Dual channel 1/3 1 GB get random reboots.
Dual channel 2/4 1 GB even worse but i think at this point my newly installed died.
I tried to set memory voltage from 2.65 up to 2.8 but did not change the behaviour.
memtest with one modules in slot 1 no errors
memtest with dual channel 1/3 1 gb no errors running 30 minutes
i will try now a memtest with the second single module in memslot 3.
No MAT or dot ram settings are 3,3,3.
I am bit running out of ideasö
before i forget i updated the bios from 3.3 to 3.5 but did not change the problems.
Maybe you guys have some ideas what else can i try.
thx a lot in advance. i hope i provided all informations which are necessary.
greetings faxe

Hi,
i tried a few more things which make confident that i have the problem narrowed down to the memory.
i tried to install windows again with only using the third memory slot single channel and it worked fine.
now i tried to go down with the memory speed to ddr333 and using dual channel and so far that seems to work too.
so i think i will go for other memory.
if you think i am wrong please correct me
greetings markus

MSI GT72 memory upgrade/dual channel question

I just recently purchased a GT72 2QD laptop which has 12GB of ram installed (with 1x4GB module and 1x8GB module). The RAM is shown as running in dual channel, but it is asynchronous and I'm getting inconsistent memory bandwidth results when testing bandwidth with AIDA64. My question is, would I be able to buy an additional 4GB and 8GB module (I'm looking at the Kingston value ram), put them in the two free RAM slots inside the chasis and run the RAM in synchronous dual channel mode? If so, which slots should I put each module in to get the ram to run in proper dual channel mode? I would appreciate any help y'all can give me.

hope this information will help you...
http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/cs-011965.htm?switch=tw#flex
quoted from Intel website above:
Rules to enable dual-channel mode
To achieve dual-channel mode, the following conditions must be met:
Same memory size. Examples: 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB.
Matched DIMM configuration in each channel
Matched in symmetrical memory slots
Configurations that do not match the above conditions revert to single-channel mode. The following conditions do not need to be met:
Same brand
Same timing specifications
Same speed (MHz)
The slowest DIMM module populated in the system decides memory channel speed.

K8t Neo2 won't run dual channel with Opteron 165

Hi,
I have a K8t Neo 2, and was running a Newcastle 3500+ on it, with 2x1GB PC3200 memory sticks (Buffalo memory) in dual channel mode (ie DIMM 1 and DIMM 3 populated) without any problems. I replaced the 3500+ with a new Opteron 165, and the system would not post. One of the red lights on the D-bracket was red, the rest were out.
To troubleshoot, I removed one of the memory sticks, and the system booted fine. I then put the 2nd memory stick in a non-dual channel setup (DIMM 1 and DIMM 2 populated), and it booted fine. If I try booting the system with the RAM in any dual channel enabled configuration, it will not post. I verified that it isn't a RAM issue, because I have 2 sticks of 512 MB ShikaXRam, which has always worked fine, and I got the same behavior as I got with the Buffalo RAM. I have tried changing the RAM clocking in the BIOS, and that also doesn't help, because it seems it reads the speed automatically no matter what you set the DRAM clocking page to.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Is this board not Opteron 165 compatible with dual channel memory?

Alright, I tried all of the steps mentioned, setting optimized defaults, even tried changing all memory timings to the most conservative available. The only way the system will boot with 2 DIMMs installed is if they are in the two slots furthest from the CPU. It will also post with 3 DIMMs installed in any configuration.
I also have a generic 500 w PSU that is rated 32a on the 12v rail that I tried quickly plugging in (just plugged the 2 PSU connectors to the motherboard without hooking any of the IDE devices to it) It still exhibits the same behaviour. With no hard drives, optical drives, etc plugged in, wouldn't that pretty much eliminate the PSU as an issue?
I don't want to just spend $100 on a new PSU if it's highly unlikely to be the issue. Does this sound like something I'd need to replace the motherboard to fix? Is the performance difference between dual channel and single channel enough to even warrant buying a new board? The reason I want to avoid replacing the board right now is because I still have an AGP card, and don't want to replace it right now as well as the board, and getting another AGP based board seems to be stupid. Also, AGP boards are really hard to find now, and most of them available locally run on the ULi chipset

32 bit windows 7 and Two- 4GB sticks of RAM and dual channels

Hello,
I have a Desktop running Win 7 32 bit. At the moment I have 1 4GB stick of RAM in. I have another 4 GB stick of ram(Same brand as the first one) . I know win 7 32 can't go over 4GB of RAM but was wondering if I put both sticks in will I get better performance
because it will be using dual channels or will it just MAX using the first stick and never see the 2nd becasue it is already using the full 4GB off the fist stick.

Thanks for your reply. I understand in reality I have really about 3.25 gigs. But if I had both sticks in would it be using all that 3.25 on one stick or would it split the 3.25 between the two sticks.
If you have 2 sticks of 2gig in run on dual channels I am told performance is better then just having 1 stick of 4 gig. I am just wondering if if I used the 2 4gig sticks which will only give me 3.25 gig will it use the dual Channel which would help performance.

It is my understanding that 533mhz ram will be plenty if dual channel

From what I understand, so long as you use two sticks and run in DUAL CHANNEL 533 will run as fast as 667. The reason, as I understand it, is that in dual channel 533mhz ram gives 8.5gb of bandwidth. This exceeds the inel chips maximum theoretical through put. The 667 maxes at 10.6gb but this is just more theoretic bandwidth as is never actually used. I think the most that intel chip can use is something like 6.5 but I may be wrong. Whatever it is, it is less than 8.5gb and that is all that matters. Just wanted to pass this info along.
Kalel

I doubt 533 RAM would work since Apple specs are so
tight. But it begs the question, why would anyone
spend $2k+ on a pro lap top and put in slow RAM just
to save a few bucks. That would be like buying a
Porsche and putting Sears $29 radial tires on it.
No it isn't like that at all. It is like going to the tire shop and looking at two tire compounds, both with the exact same composition and thus performance. One is rated at a top speed of 180, the other at 200mph. Your car tops out at 160 in 6th gear. Will you pay more for the 200mph tired even though you cannot possibly benefit from it?
I am going to save 100$, I just wanted to help others save some money.
Kal

3x256 ram dual channel ok ?

hi agian,,,
Can I run dual channel memory mode with 3x 256Mb (2100) or does it only work with 2 banks "DUAL" ????
And if I cant run D/C mode will my pc be better with 2x256 D/C Mode or with 3x256 normal ...
cheers

I have run benches and have not lost a single fps using 2x 512 compared to a single 512.
Using memtest I was assured that the bandwidth was increased using combined slots 1 and 3. Actually came out to be 35% increase over using 1 512 memory in slot 1 only.
The page file should stay enabled as the system needs it in the event your system experiences a kernel mode STOP error to capture a Memoey Dump file.
I have already experienced this and I'm sure I'm not alone.
1 1/2 times ram for min and 3 x ram for max preferably on seperate IDE or hard drives.
I have min max set 768 for each HD for a combined 1536 which falls in the recomended allotment.
The system uses the inactive drive for the swap file.
Using AIDA 32 I see that I am now using 285MB ram that would be over the 256 max stated. Humm
I have most unneeded services disabled no restore running either.

MSI K7N2 Delta ILSR and Dual Channel

I just got an AMD Athlon XP 3200+ processor and 2 matched sticks of Mushkin 2-2-2-6 512meg pc3200 ddr. The computer works fine when the memory is in normal mode. But when you want dual channel, everything goes haywire. The computer reboots over and over. I have tried changing the voltage, and changing the memory timings, but nothing seems to work. Does this mobo hate Mushkin memory? I have heard of other people running dual channel memory on this board with no problems, but I have a bucketful. This board only has voltage settings for memory in the bios of 1.5, 1.6, and 1.7. This memory chooses 1.7 when I put it in auto mode. Could it be the modules are not getting enough juice? Any ideas?

Last night I was trying to find some kind of a solution to the America's Army critical error problem(yeah, got that too). I went to disable fast writes within the Smart Gart utility, and when I went for a reboot, my computer went into a reboot loop very similar to the one I got when I first tried to run these 2 sticks of memory in dual channel. It took a while to get the computer to stop it. At this point, I starting believing my problem was not a hardware problem. When I finally got the computer to boot into xp and stay fairly stable, I first ran checkdisk and had it repair any damage. I updated my video drivers from 4.7 cats to 4.8. I updated my bios, as a new revision just came out not too long ago. I reinstalled directx 9.0b. I reinstalled my chipset drivers as a precautionary measure. I then checked both memory controllers using one stick at a time, and both memory controllers checked out. Yes, I am using 2 sticks of 512 meg memory each. I then put one stick in slot one and the other in slot 3 to try for dual channel again. The computer booted up normally, did not reboot, and ran stable. I then ran 3DMARK 2003 and 2001SE, and posted new high scores in both. I am not sure exactly which action I performed was the one that fixed the problem, but the shotgun blast worked. I appreciate all the help everyone gave me.

[Other 865 Series] MSI 865PE Neo2-V and Dual Channel Mode Question

Hello, I have a quick question regarding dual channel mode with my current motherboard. I have an MSI 865PE Neo2-V and am wondering if it is possible to enable dual channel mode while having three RAM modules inserted in the motherboard.
For example, I currently have one 512MB PC3200 module in my computer. If I purchase another 512MB module and run them in dual channel mode, will it be possible to buy a 1GB module or another size module, and still have all three slots run in dual channel mode? Or is dual channel only operational on this motherboard if only two of the three slots are occupied?
Thanks.

Dual channel requires an even number of sticks.

Maxing RAM and utilizing dual channel

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