got some ????'s

[WienerDog]

i just inherited a gigabyte GA 7 N400 L1 mobo.
its duel channel.
whats that mean??
i mean ya i understand the concept..........but i don't KNOW anything about. :oops:
better performance? what do i need ram wise? the book shows which slot to install if DS or SS ram or a mix........but i mean do i need anything "special" in the way of ram??

[chaz]

You dont need special ram for Dual channel, but i'd say it would be best to run the same type. They sell it in "dual" packages nowadays.
Dual channel is supposed to be faster, but it isnt in all circumstances.
I have 2 systems here that are completey identical, with the exception of the case and the number of sticks RAM. The first has 1 512mb stick of Geil PC3200, and the second 2x256 Geil PC 3200 in dual channel mode. The dual channel unit gets me about an extra 100 more wu's a day running Ubero.
I always make it a point to try to have more than 1 stick in a machine at a time anyway, then if 1 goes bad ur not screwed.

That board will run 400fsb, and ram prices are getting cheaper all the time, if it were me I'd go 2x256 pc3200(minimum) in dual channel, then you can use whatever cpu you choose, since its backward compatible.

[WienerDog]

ok thanx chaz.
think ill go look at ram

[chaz]

Just a note, I tried the Giga @BIOS software with a GA-8KNXP board(which does Bios updates from Windows), now i have ...... well its not a very good doorstop and kinda big for a paperweight.....

Others may have had good luck with it, I so far havent, but just a heads up anyway. :D

[BC]

Dual channel makes the biggest difference in 64bit mode....

32 bit apps don't benefit a lot from it because they get 32 bits from a stick.

Since a lot of Linux kernels recognize and support 64 bit mode, you will see a big difference immediately. On Windblows XP 64, you can see the DC benefit immediately... regular XP is, like you said, not a lot more..

As a test.. one of the Seti guys got Linux in 64 bit mode. He then got the Seti app source and recompiled / optimized for 64 bit mode. His machine is a 940 and has Twinx ram. His speeds are frightening. He can also overclock real far with no trouble.

I've found that I can get away with using regular ram (non-paired) PROVIDED they are the same size and type AND I don't overclock too much.

Corsair's QA keeps the "3200LL" pretty good, so i just stay back from that bleeding edge and I am ok with DC on regular XMS.... Benefit is I have 4 sticks of regular XMS3200LL but am only using 3 for one machine (which is about to be replaced). Once switched to the DC controller and 939 pin, the 4th stick will go into service and I'll have 2 GB of DC ram.


BC