Making the most of dual channel DDR2: how do I arrange the sticks?

1

I've searched online, but I can't find anything definitive that will put me at ease. I turn to superuser.

This is how I have the RAM sticks arranged now:

alt text

To make the most of the RAM and the dual channel capability, it occurred to me that perhaps I have the sticks arranged incorrectly. Should I move the stick in the DDR2_2 slot one over--to the adjacent, red slot?

I appreciate any suggestions. (BTW, can something in BIOS tell me whether I'm running at "optimal" memory speeds??)

edit: I'm running Windows XP SP3, 32-bit. Thanks.

edit2: I apologize for not specifying that the mobo is a Gigabyte GA-M720-US3.

edit3: The comments and answers here have one thing in common: RTM. Yes, I completely forgot I had it; and in my eagerness to put the system together I must have overlooked the page discussing the RAM. Cause it's just RAM, right!?

Thanks again to all!

andrz_001

Posted 2011-01-08T13:29:20.667

Reputation: 239

2Use CPU-z, and switch to the memory tab to confirm you're running in Dual channel mode. – Sathyajith Bhat – 2011-01-08T13:40:47.860

1Do you have your motherboard manual? It will specify in there. What kind of motherboard is it? You might be able to find it on the internet. – Breakthrough – 2011-01-08T14:59:23.750

1I could answer this with the three letters "RTM" but since 15 letters are required I have to type a whole sentence. What is your motherboard? – ubiquibacon – 2011-01-08T15:35:33.967

Answers

3

Since you don't list what your mobo is I took all the little details off of it that I could see to narrow the search. This is from page 16 of the manual for a Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-UD4H, a motherboard that (like yours) has a AM3/AM2+/AM2 socket, 4 DIMM slots capable of running 1200+ memory, uses HT3.0, and has at least one PCI-E x16 slot. The link for that manual is here. As you can see from the picture below (if your motherboard is like this one, which I believe it is) you need to put your RAM in the two slots closest to the processor, which is what you have already done.

alt text

ubiquibacon

Posted 2011-01-08T13:29:20.667

Reputation: 7 287

I appreciate your reply--it has put me at ease. The mobo is actually GA-M720-US3. Nice work btw. – andrz_001 – 2011-01-08T18:36:21.727

1Your motherboard is unusual. This is the reverse of the way it is usually done. – David Schwartz – 2011-08-30T17:36:17.547

1> Your motherboard is unusual. This is the reverse of the way it is usually done. Gigabyte did it right. This is the reverse of the wrong way that is usually done—for some reason. :-| – Synetech – 2012-02-26T18:22:12.693

Asked: 2011-01-08T13:29:20.667

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Active: 2011-01-08T18:39:59.150