2 dual channel 256 DDR's or 1 512 DDR?

[Plague]

A friend of mine recently built a new computer and decided to go with two 256 dual channel ddr sticks instead of one 512 ddr stick of ram. The explanation given to me was that his motherboard supports dual channel so its better. Can someone out there give me a better explanation?

[Target]

Actually that is the explanation.

To implement the dual channel function of the motherboard, you need at least two sticks of RAM. With a P4 system, dual channel implementation results in a preformance gain. You need one stick in each channell, hence the name dual channel. In this case, two sticks of 256 are faster than a single stick of 512. Also four sticks of 256 would be faster than a single stick of 1G RAM.

For a complete explanation of how dual channel works, try Anandtech or Tom's Hardware.

_Target

[aznhaxor]

how can u tell if ur motherboard suppports dual channel?

[ekÆsine]

look up your motherboard spec from the manyfacturer website or any online store. even the manual will clearly say if it has dual channel. they hype it up just like they used to hype paint that contained lead. people used to think lead in paint was a good thing......dual channel isn't much good unless you use onboard video

[XT]

hey ekÆsine long time no see no post lol
Heres a link for ya
http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?threadid=67892

[Target]

Moderator,
I have to disagree with you. Having onboard video has nothing to do with dual channel. An add-in AGP card will be able to benefit from dual channel as well.

In very simple terms;
Single Channel - Memory modules are accessed through a single channel (or connection) between the MCH (Northbridge) and the memory modules.
Dual Channel - In dual channel mode the memory controller reads from or writes to two memory modules, each on seperate channels, simultaneously.

From Anandtech:

a 64-bit 800MHz FSB offers at most 6.4GB/s of bandwidth between the Memory Controller Hub (MCH aka North Bridge) and the CPU..... .......to maintain bandwidth balance, the 875P's dual channel DDR memory controller supports DDR400 which, when installed in pairs offers the same 6.4GB/s of bandwidth as the chipset's FSB.

The benefits of Dual channel vs Single channel:
click here
Quake III Arena=7.7%, Jedi Knight 2=9.6%, Comanche 4= 5.7%, etc.

-Target

[XT]

Duel channel is hyped up when applied it gives you a 10% performance boost over the actual DDR memory performance.
U cant even feel it!

[cell567]

Xt look at u r pm :P

[Target]

U Cant feel 10%? Hmmm! I would a think 10% boost would be significant. But then what do I know?

All of us gamers must be stupid to spend hundreds of extra dollars on fast video cards, processors, RAM and other hardware just so we can get a few extra frames per second in the games we play.

BTW, a duel is where you are asked to pick a choice of weapons at dawn. Dual means two. The correct terminology is Dual even though some websites refer to it as duel channel.

-Target

[youndkid]

is it true that amd athlon 64 processors don't support dual channel?