Dual Channel RAM Help

[Futile]

Hi
I'm looking a purchasing 2Gig of ram 2x 1024mb modules I'm lookign at the OCZ Performance Series.
The Dual Channel Kit is 2x1024mb and costs = £167
However an individual 1024mb module of same make and model = £62 (2x=£124)

Would the later not run in dual channel mode, i.e. do I have to by the kit to reap the benefits???

The Kit can be seen here:
http://www.ocztechnology.com/product...b_dual_channel
The Individual Module can be seen here:
http://www.ocztechnology.com/product...200_1gb_module

Can anyone advise, as if they are litterally the same thing I could save £40

Thanks,
jon

[RSX]

If you only get 1 stick, you cant run it in dual channel.
Also if you buy two stick and 1 fails then you can still use your PC.
Go with the Paired packs to ensure maximum performance.

[sr4470]

You need 2 modules for dual channel.

What system is it for?

[Futile]

The system's will be for Photoshop and CAD work only. Replacing the various burnt out dual G5's from our labs.

They WILL have 2 sticks of 1024mb.

What I guess I'm asking is, are the modules the same in both packs... If so the kit works out more expensive, but Why ?

[sr4470]

Matched modules do usually cost more, just the way it is. BTW, I've seen 2gb corsair VS pc3200 for £135.

[Futile]

Asside from the ram, they will be running two 74 raptors and a 4gb Ramdisk. But I'm lost when it comes to the CPU best for the chore. I know Photoshop has DualCPU support since v4, but I dunno if its better to get a Intel D or a AMD D given their price differences. Also would a FX57 be better than a D chip, its total confusion for me with these new CPU types.

[Futile]

Matched modules do usually cost more, just the way it is. BTW, I've seen 2gb corsair VS pc3200 for £135.

Yeah saw them on microdirect, but thought the OCZ would be better than teh Corsair Value series, is that wrong?

[sr4470]

Yeah saw them on microdirect, but thought the OCZ would be better than teh Corsair Value series, is that wrong?

2-2-2, or £32, I know whats worth more to me

Or just buy two seperate 1gb modules of the ocz and run them in dc, best of both worlds

Where did you find these, ive never seen ocz that cheap...

[Futile]

They are on ebuyer at that price at the mo.

Thanks for your help on that. I think I'll opt for the individual modules, as from what I can tell they are exactly the same as the dual chan kit... Even on the Hexus review of teh Dual Kit, the module's have the number on the sticker of the single module's code.

Think I'm gonna go for the AMD X2 4400+ also, as I figured it was probably best performance vs cost I can find... Anythoughts? dunno if the Intel D840 is comparable to teh X2 4400, tey are of similar price, dunno which is better for photoshop/cad work.

[sr4470]

4400, you wont be disappointed

[Futile]

Sweet. Gotta build a small army of these, already shaping up to be a price and a half. No doubt they perform better than the pricey mofo g5s we had.

Thanks for your help on this.

[sr4470]

Sweet. Gotta build a small army of these, already shaping up to be a price and a half. No doubt they perform better than the pricey mofo g5s we had.

Thanks for your help on this.

Hehe, you're welcome. Maybe you could set them running F@H for me, would sure output a lot

[StormPC]

Sweet. Gotta build a small army of these, already shaping up to be a price and a half. No doubt they perform better than the pricey mofo g5s we had.

Thanks for your help on this.

A couple of things:

1) You don't need a dual channel kit (or even high performance memory of any kind) unless you are overclocking. Even then the kit may not be any better. Buying a kit just increases the odds of the memory overclocking better, much in the same way that buying a 3500+ over a 3200+ will. It's not a sure thing however. In your application any of the memory talked about here will be fine. I'd go with the cheapest stuff, because you will not be extreme overclocking and Athlon 64's are not affected greatly by increases in bandwidth due to tighter timings, etc., especially with your application(s).

2) In my tests with the X2's the extra cache doesn't help much in the applications that dual channel chips do well in. It helps much more in single thread apps like games, etc...so if you have a bunch of machines to build a 4200+ could save you a bit of money. Before I tested them the 4400+ seemed like the way to go, but I see very little difference between the 4200+ and 4400+. Also, mine are overclocked and the 4200+ I received overclocked better than the 4400+ (but not nearly as well as the 4800+).

Oh, and a P4 EE Dual-core (the only one with HT so far) does do some things slightly better than the X2, but the X2 kills the P4 in non-multitasking scenarios. In multitasking the X2 and P4EE split victories in most benchmarks I've used (PCMark04 and 05 among others). For everyday use the X2 kills!

Do yourself a big favor and only use the Asus A8N-E motherboard. It is hands down the best motherboard for the X2 I have tested. It has been flawless these last three weeks. Do NOT try to use a Neo4 Platinum. The SLI version might be ok but the regular platinum does not support the X2.

I've been running a 4200+ X2 on air overclocked to 2490MHz for over 3 weeks now as my main internet machine. It's super fast despite the fact that I run SETI 24/7 on it with 100% utilization on both cores. I can't say enough about the Asus A8N-E for dual cores.

[Futile]

wow thanks Storm for that collection of information. I understood that the ram wasn't a big deal unless I was overclocking (which I wont be), but I have been burnt before with failing cheap modules, and decided a reputable brand was deffinately the way forward, the OCZ happened to be the cheapest 1024mb modules I could find too, so yay

I'll look into the 4200+ as an alternative, but the price difference between it and the 4400 is about £30 so I may just continue as planned. The Intel's seemed far to pricey for what I'm trying to put together, but the D840 was comparable in price, wasn't sure about performance thou.

[Merlin4458]

so storm, just double checking, u recommend buying 2x 1 gig of non dual channeled ram then buying 1x 1 gig of quality dual channeled ram? If your a gamer for example and wont be overclocking?

[sr4470]

.... buying 2x 1 gig of non dual channeled ram then buying 1x 1 gig of quality dual channeled ram? If your a gamer for example and wont be overclocking?

Yes. Especially as games are now taking advantage of 2gb (i.e. BF2)