SDRAM Question?

Question

HI all
what is the difference between an ordinary 1 GIG PC3200 184 pin Ram VS a dual channel 1GIG ram ??

Thanks ..

Answer 1

"dual channel" 1GB RAM are actually 2 matching 512MB modules sold in pairs. Some mainboard supports "dual channel" access, supposedly doubling the memory bandwidth, but requires even number of memory modules. Otherwise, they're same as their non-dual-channel cousins.

Don't be confused with DDR2 or DDR3. Those are newer versions of DDR SDRAM and has nothing to do with dual channel at all. Dual channel was introduced with DDR SDRAM and can be used with DDR2 or DDR SDRAM, if the mainboard is designed for it.

Answer 2

Just so you know...SJ is completely wrong. Dual channel or DDR2 RAM is memory that when used in even numbered pairs, will give you faster performance. If you don't put them in as pairs then they work like normal RAM.

DDR2 RAM works faster because the CPU can send a request to one RAM stick and doesn't have to wait for the data to be ready to be read before it sends the next address request to the second stick. Once the second address has been sent to the second stick the CPU then comes back to the first memory stick and reads the data. Then sends another address request, by now the second stick has its data ready and the CPU can read it, send another address to it, switch back to the first and read the data from the last address it sent. So it sort of alternates back and forth between the two memory banks.

Keep in mind that the CPU runs 100's of times faster then memory. So to use that processor speed, the use of dual channel memory is beneficial.

Answer 3

Actually nothing. Dual channel ram is just 2 sticks of ram that are identical twins.

Answer 4

Double sided is faster.