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ADKstorm

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Understanding and adding Dual Channel DDR RAM????

Is the following installation correct to maintain dual channel?

Slot 1: 128 MB Dual Channel PC3200
Slot 2: 128 MB Dual Channel PC3200
Slot 3: 256 MB Dual Channel PC3200
Slot 4: 256 MB Dual Channel PC3200

Not knowledgable on dual channel....Does the setup above give me 384 megs or 768 megs of ram while running in dual channel mode that the OS sees?

If I understand dual channel, I am guessing that:
Single channel ram is like Christmas lights in series and dual channel is like a parallel setup.....is this analogy correct?


-I am asking this because a family member is purchasing a computer with 256 MB ram .....and I will be buying more ram separately because the upgrade price is much higher than what I can get for it at a place like Tiger Direct.

Thanks for your help

-ADKstorm
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radomirthegreat
Wait a minute... Tiger Direct?  OK...  I have a problem with those people.  They're very cheap.  I guess working for TD is kind of like milking a cash cow that kicks you (since the PCs are mostly refurbished and/or very flimsy in terms of hardware).  If you can find out what the mobo supports, then tell us what it is, and we could help you a lot more easily.  I don't want to tell you it will support DC DDR, nor do I want to tell you it will.  If you have 4 slots and you know the mobo supports DC DDR, then you can be sure a setup like that will work, as long as the sticks are all from the same manufacturer.

That brings me to another point.  Who makes the 256MBs of ram?  Can you order another stick like that?  What's the CAS latency?  Order the PC with 128MBs of ram, if possible.  Then, throw out the ram and buy some good ram setups from a site like www.portatech.com  I like that site a whole lot.  It's easy to find your way there, and it's even easier to set up your ram.  The only problem is that it doesn't have Kingston OCZ Dual Channel ram, which is very good.  It's excellent!

Atlas Precision DDR: available at Portatech.com; you can get matching sticks to have great DC DDR setups.

Kingston OCZ DC DDR: I did a search at pricegrabber.com

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php?page_id=43&sortby=popular-&vendors%5B%5D=KTC&popup1%5B%5D=0&popup1_attr_id%5B%5D=207&popup2%5B%5D=25%3A210&popup2_attr_id%5B%5D=210&popup3%5B%5D=0&popup3_attr_id%5B%5D=206&popup4%5B%5D=0&lo_p=0&hi_p=0&form_keyword=OCZ&ut=4439e6d49df1641b&x=0&y=0

Basically, OCZ is very well-liked by gamers everywhere.  It's goooooooood, and it'll work just as well as any other ram, but the name is well advertized.  Ha...  Actually, there's some type of improved technology thingamajigger...  I'm sorry; I can't help you with that.  There is some distinction, though.

Corsair DC DDR:  I did another search!

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php?page_id=43&sortby=popular-&vendors%5B%5D=PGCRS&popup1%5B%5D=0&popup1_attr_id%5B%5D=207&popup2%5B%5D=25%3A210&popup2_attr_id%5B%5D=210&popup3%5B%5D=0&popup3_attr_id%5B%5D=206&popup4%5B%5D=0&lo_p=0&hi_p=0&form_keyword=&ut=4439e6d49df1641b

Please stay away from Corsair unless you want to get really... really... addicted!  That thing makes the best hardware ever!  You can get Corsair water-cooled cases, Corsair ram, Corsair other good stuff...  I don't know why, but Corsair is amazing!  It's also expensive.

You don't need DC DDR ram to have a good PC.  It's nice to have, but you really don't need to use it at all.  The main factor is price.  I only have one 512 stick, since each one is about $120 - That's the good type, since it has copper heatsinks, CAS latencies up to 2, and it supports up to a DDR400MHz FSB.  My ram is currently running at DDR356 (it's a 3:2 ratio, or something).

All in all, I'm 17 and I don't work for a ram place.  I only know what I know from experience, and that is the fact that bad ram should be avoided.  Make sure your friend either gets ram he can throw out or he gets a ram with a brand name you can find on the web so that you can order "replicas".

Thank you,
Radomir Jordanovic