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I'm doing something wrong!? Ram/Mobo/CPU

Noobsack

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So in a post about video cards and some new possible upgrades a fellow noticed and made reference to my RAM. What is wrong and what can I do to fix it. I'm not looking to spend over $200, actually $100 would be great, but most likely not possible.

I play SCII, WoW, and several Steam Powered games. I chat and torrent on this computer as well.

I have 4x1g sticks on my Mobo, 6 slots.

My Mobo Specs:


My RAM Specs:


My CPU Specs:


Here is a picture of the whole thing in the case. you can kinda see the ram and all that too.


What is a better set up for the games and processes I run? just 3x2gig ?

THANK YOU!
 
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There is nothing wrong.



sure you wont be running tripple channel... but you wont notice the difference... if u want tripple channel, add 2 more stick of the same type of ram.
 

Kreij

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I don't see anything wrong either. 32 or 64 bit OS?
 

Noobsack

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the same type of ram.

About that. What is the difference between ram speeds? some are like 10-7-7-2 or something and I also see a lot of 1066, 1100, 1333, 1600

is there a type I should be running?


I know you said nothing is wrong, but doesn't running 6 sticks of 1gig take more effort then 3 sticks of 2gig?
 

Noobsack

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Kreij

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If you already have 4 x 1GB, why not just add 2 x 1GB to get triple channel.
I'm not sure what you mean by "more effort".

I'm don't know what you are trying to accomplish (if anything) here.
You should be running well with 4GB.
 

Noobsack

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If you already have 4 x 1GB, why not just add 2 x 1GB to get triple channel.
I'm not sure what you mean by "more effort".

I'm don't know what you are trying to accomplish (if anything) here.
You should be running well with 4GB.

It isn't really what i'm trying to accomplish, more so what i'm trying to udnerstand. I do not know much about this and i just keep getting feedback saying my system needs some tweaks and improvements.

I was told i'm not getting trip chan because i have 4 sticks. I was told I should upgrade to 3x2gig sticks to keep the trip chan and also boost the memory.

In addition someone stated "hey, take out the 1gb stick or add 2 more to get the triple chan... only problem is your system takes more effort to process memory over 6 sticks then if you only used 3"

like i said, it all kinda makes sense but then agian i don't really follow RAM well.
 

cadaveca

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Explanation?


Easy version?


They were all wrong. Intel's memory controller can run triple channel with 4 sticks just fine(lots of people do not know this). Like everyone said, there's nothing wrong.
 
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Explanation?


Easy version?


They were all wrong. Intel's memory controller can run triple channel with 4 sticks just fine(lots of people do not know this). Like everyone said, there's nothing wrong.

lol how does that work....

source? link? proof?
 

cadaveca

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It's called Intel Flex Memory, and has been around for so long, no I won't provide proof. You could even run 3 sticks in dual channel back when it came out, maybe 5 years ago now. AMD's controller works the same way too.
 
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Have you tried 3x1 sticks ?
 

Noobsack

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Have you tried 3x1 sticks ?

No, but maybe it is worth a show. would 3x1 on trip chan be better then 4x1(possibly on trip chan also) according to one of the above posts
 

cadaveca

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No, but maybe it is worth a show. would 3x1 on trip chan be better then 4x1(possibly on trip chan also) according to one of the above posts

Download an app called MAxxmem, and try it with 4, shut down, remove 1 stick, reboot, run maxxmem again, and let us know. ;)
 

Noobsack

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Download an app called MAxxmem, and try it with 4, shut down, remove 1 stick, reboot, run maxxmem again, and let us know. ;)

With 4 Sticks


With 3 Sticks
 

cadaveca

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Even though numbers are different, the difference is within the bench's variation from run to run.

In other words, running triple channel is possible with 4 sticks, and it comes at no performance loss.


Stick the 4th stick back in(don't forget to shut the pc off!), and go back to what you were doing before. ;) :laugh:

:toast:
 

Noobsack

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fair enough. lol. thanks!

would it be silly to buy 2 more 1gig sticks or just go for 3x2gig sticks?
I'm just afraid i'm not getting the best out of things. But if 4gigs on trip chan works just fine. then i guess i'll stop complaining.
 
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If you were going to get more ram, I'd just get another 2x1 kit, 6gb will be plenty for most things.
 

cadaveca

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Well, you could get another 2x1GB for 6GB...

Or 3x2 for 6 GB.

2x1GB should be much cheaper, but the possibility of finding the exact same ram is gonna be hard(and sometimes is very necessary), so personally, I'd go 3x2GB...still fairly inexpensive anyway.
 
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i would still get 2 more 1gig sticks of elpidia 1200mhz ram 8-8-8 for the extra 2 gigs channel wont make much difference other then an extra 2 gigs
 
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Well, you could get another 2x1GB for 6GB...

Or 3x2 for 6 GB.

2x1GB should be much cheaper, but the possibility of finding the exact same ram is gonna be hard(and sometimes is very necessary), so personally, I'd go 3x2GB...still fairly inexpensive anyway.

Is this due to it being a dell board?

Thought as long as timings and speed were the same everything was fine and dandy, hells I've even had non matching sticks work okay :laugh: ( guess bios auto matches them)
 

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i would still get 2 more 1gig sticks of elpidia 1200mhz ram 8-8-8 for the extra 2 gigs channel wont make much difference other then an extra 2 gigs

Well, you could get another 2x1GB for 6GB...

Or 3x2 for 6 GB.

2x1GB should be much cheaper, but the possibility of finding the exact same ram is gonna be hard(and sometimes is very necessary), so personally, I'd go 3x2GB...still fairly inexpensive anyway.

To add, a 2x1GB 1066 CL7 kit is going to be pretty inexpensive. Even if you purchase a 1333 cl9 kit, it should still match up with the 1066 kit fairly well.

With that said, since you're not overclocking, I don't see an issue with running 6 sticks of ram. BUT may be cheaper in the long run to get a 3x2GB kit now and have 3 dimms open to add even more ram if/when the time comes.

Bottom line: If you're not noticing problems or having any instabilities, I wouldn't worry about changing anything.
 
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IMO by the time he needs more 6gb of ram it would be better to get a different rig XD
 

JrRacinFan

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IMO by the time he needs more 6gb of ram it would be better to get a different rig XD

Can't really deduce to that without knowing exactly what the rig is used for.
 

OneMoar

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video card ...
also ..EWWWWW DELL
 

Noobsack

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also ..EWWWWW DELL

Well.. I guess when I paid only $300 for the i7 920, 4gig ram, 4850 vid card, 500gig hdd... I'll take a crappy dell motherboard too. That can always be replaced, but it doesn't slow anything down either, so why deal with it.
 
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