Is running RAM in dual channel mode really that much faster than single channel mode?

[computernerdsahoy]

As the thread title says.. Is running memory in dual channel mode really that much faster than running it in single channel mode? Situation is this --> I have 2 1GB sticks of DDR2 667MHZ ram installed in my mobo right now, what I'd like to do is add a 2GB stick of DDR2 667MHZ ram with it. so In total I'd have 4GB of ram. And it would be setup like this. 1GB stick in slot 1, 1GB stick in slot 3, and a 2GB stick in slot 2 (4 slots all together). My question is will this hurt performance any? If so will it only be a marginal amount? As in I won't really notice the performance hit? Thanks in advance to all those who respond.

Mobo is an Asus M2N-E. It can take max of 8GB's of RAM.

I use my rig for a little bit of everything.. gaming, multi-tasking, video, music.. etc

 

[Kyle]

You should'nt notice any difference in speed for the most part.
However; in direct comparison Dual channel is much better than single channel for file copying, startup, and program loading. (IE 2x1GB chips in dual channel will be faster than 1x2GB chip, sometimes by up to 50 percent)

 

[computernerdsahoy]

Thank you very much Kyle! I might just end up getting 2 more 2Gb sticks, and have 6GB in total, if I do this then I'll have 2 slots populated by 2 1GB sticks and 2 slots populated by 2 2GB sticks.. which means they'll still run in dual channel mode right? As long as their 2 identical sets?

 

[Kyle]

Yeah, as long as they're two identical sets they'll run in dual channel. They don't all need to be the same, they just need to be in pairs.

 

[confused]

One thing you might want to watch out for is some motherboars (I think) only allow so much memory. IE I was going to put a certain amount of memory in but the manual gave a maximum allowed in the machine.

 

[computernerdsahoy]

Yeah I made sure I knew exactly how much my mobo could handle before I bought more..

 

[zaboomafoo1212]

Does the same thing work for like what I have?
I have 4 2gb chips. would that be like quad channel?

 

[Camride]

Does the same thing work for like what I have?
I have 4 2gb chips. would that be like quad channel?

It doesn't work that way. There are two channels, with most motherboards having 2 slots per channel. That's why when you run dual channel with just 2 sticks you have to populate certain slots (usually 1/3 or 2/4). Populating all 4 slots just maxes out each dual channel. It doesn't get any faster with all 4 slots populated, you just have more memory.

If you want more memory bandwidth upgrade to a Core i7 and have tri channel.