Quad channel memory

[TonyM16]

I was looking at the new i7 and 2011 mobos, and would probably eventually buy that kit, but then I realised Oc.uk didnt sell quad channel memory to go with it, they only sold tri channel at best.

Ofcourse i then eventually found memory called dual/quad channel in the dual channel section.

My question is why have those memories not been place in their own quad channel section and be marketed stricly as quad channel memory? It seems silly for people to spend that much money on those memories and only use them in dual channel mode, or am i missing something and quad channel is not as fast as tri- channel or something?

lastly, those new quad channel mobos, have they made tri channel obsolete as in they wont work on those mobos?

Thanks

 

[Orcvader]

It's the memory controller that determines what mode the RAM runs in. So if you buy a quad channel kit and use them on a dual channel board, then the RAM will run in dual channel. Hence why they're on the same page.

Tri channel will work on the 2011 boards, they'll run in tri channel mode (actually, I'm not sure if the memory controller on the 2011 i7s can run tri channel, can someone confirm this?)

 

[cmndr_andi]

+1

The memory modules in dual channel, triple channel and quad channel kits are all physically the same. There is nothing on the modules in a triple channel kit that is different from those in a dual channel kit - just a different number of total modules (the reason they are in a kit is that each module is "matched" - so they have the same specs and model number - so they have the best chance of working together).

If you ran (for example) two modules from a triple channel kit in a dual channel board - they will work just as well as two modules from a dual channel kit. It is the memory controller (a part of the CPU) which determines how many memory channels your system can run, not the memory modules themselves.

Same applies for quad channel kits - they work great in dual channel boards and since these boards usually have 4 DIMM slots then you can fill up all your memory slots, preserve dual channel mode and ensure they are all "matched" just by buying a single kit.

As for X79 and triple channel mode - looking at the manual for this Gigabyte X79 board, triple channel mode will work fine with these boards/CPUs. So if you feel so inclined you could install a tri channel kit in a X79, though with the price of memory these days you may as well go quad.

 

[Rroff]

Yeah you can just buy 2x Dual Channel kits or a Dual channel kit with 4 parts.

 

[bhavv]

Thinking about this makes me wonder if the next gen motherboards will be hex or octo channel.

I really dont see how they will ever fit more than 8 ram slots onto a standard ATX mobo, so I'm guessing that 8 dimm slots and octo channel will be next.

 

[Saundie]

As for X79 and triple channel mode - looking at the manual for this Gigabyte X79 board, triple channel mode will work fine with these boards/CPUs. So if you feel so inclined you could install a tri channel kit in a X79, though with the price of memory these days you may as well go quad.

That's interesting, because in Asus's DRAM Qualified Vendor List for the P9X79 Pro, they state;

"4 DIMMs: Supports four (4) modules inserted into either the blue slots or the black slots as one DIMM per channel for Quad‐channel memory configuration."

Which is quite logical and easy to follow, however it then goes on to say;

"6 DIMMs: Supports six (6) modules inserted into both the blue and black slots as two pairs of Dual channel and one pair of the other Dual channel for Quad channel memory configuration."

Which I've read five times and still can't properly decipher, but it certainly doesn't imply that tri-channel will be the result.

Thinking about this makes me wonder if the next gen motherboards will be hex or octo channel.

I really dont see how they will ever fit more than 8 ram slots onto a standard ATX mobo, so I'm guessing that 8 dimm slots and octo channel will be next.

Perhaps they'll try 6 DIMM slots and hex channel, dropping to triple or dual channel as per how many modules you have installed.