Dual Channel Ram to Quad Channel

[Huddo93]

Hi Guys,

Been surfing this forum for a while now, finally decided to sign up

I've been wondering this for a while now. In the up and coming X79 platform from Intel, they have included Quad Channel Ram.

So I've been asking myself, is it possible to just take two "Dual Channel" kits of ram, something like a highly clocked G.Skill Ripjaws X @ 2133Mhz, in a 2x4GB kit. Put two of these kits in the X79 Quad Channel slots (so 16GB's @ 2133MHz) and have it run stable in Quad Channel?

I cant think of a reason why not, or will there be compatibility issues? or am I asking a completely stupid question here?

Any Help would be awesome

 

[Jstn7477]

As long as all 4 sticks are the same (hence 2 exact dual channel kits bought at the same time) and you only use 4 sticks (vs. 8) then quad channel should work stable at high speeds. The problem usually lies in populating all the slots (4 on a 4 stick board or 8 on an 8 stick board), which usually requires more memory controller voltage and/or reduced speeds because of the heavier load on the memory controller.

 

[cadaveca]

Chances are yes, it can work, but most likely, you'll either have to relax timings, or lower frequency.

I just RMA'ed some Corsair sticks because one set worked...and the other didn't...but swap to a different board, the other set would work, and first would not...

Normally, you'd expect both kits to just work...same model, same specs, same board, same CPU, one kits works...and one does not, even when the kits are used on their own!

Then, when used together, certian sticks need to be put into a certain slot...and forget about trying to make a kit with one stick form each set.

Technically, you should nto have these issues with a real quad-channel kit. You are better off to buy a currently available kit that has four sticks than making a quad kit with two sets.

There is a godo cahnce things will jstu work, sure, but it's very possible that you may have some sort of issue. You'll find any ram company will inform you of the same...it might work, but it might not.

 

[Huddo93]

Yeah, I ask this question mainly due to the fact I'm not much of a RAM overclocker, so I really wasnt sure how placing two high end kits would work, and what your saying makes sense.

Guess I'll just wait and see what companies bring out in terms of quad channel kits.

Mainly after seeing the $999 quad channel kit from corsair, I'm hoping that companies wont put prices up to highly to take advantage of a the new quad channel ram market >.<

 

[Jstn7477]

Cadaveca said it well. Basically, with a quad channel kit, all the sticks are guaranteed to be intercompatible. Using two dual channel kits may work, but you're not guaranteed that both sets will be identical because the manufacturer could have changed some components without changing the model number (*cough* *cough* OCZ Vertex 25nm vs. 34nm SSDs *cough*).

Yeah, I ask this question mainly due to the fact I'm not much of a RAM overclocker, so I really wasnt sure how placing two high end kits would work, and what your saying makes sense.

Guess I'll just wait and see what companies bring out in terms of quad channel kits.

Mainly after seeing the $999 quad channel kit from corsair, I'm hoping that companies wont put prices up to highly to take advantage of a the new quad channel ram market >.<

I saw a 16GB G.Skill 4 stick kit for $199 (2133MHz too). Timings suck though. G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DD...

 

[Huddo93]

But those timings are crap mainly because it's trying to keep all 4 dimms stable at 2133Mhz? So if I put them into a Quad channel mobo do u think it would be possible to reduce those timings a bit?