Should I be worrying about Single Channel and Double Channel for my RAM?

Question

I've got an Asus P5N-EM HDMI motherboard. When I run CPU-Z, it says my Memory is Single Channel. Currently, i have 2x2GIG Kingston DDR2 ram modules installed.

These are the screenies from CPU-Z:

Note: Both slot #1 and slot #3 have the same data.

Should I be trying to go dual channel? Should I care?

Answer 1

Looking at your board it appears that Slot#1 and Slot#2 (colored black?) should be used for the memory -- this ASUS board has 3 memory slots instead of the usual 4 and they are organized differently. Alternate is not right here.

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A good article discussing Dual-Channel RAM,
Everything You Need to Know About Dual Channel

Dual channel is the ability that some memory controllers have to expand the width of their data busses from 64 to 128 bits. Considering that everything remains the same (clock speeds, for example), the memory maximum theoretical transfer rate is doubled by the use of this technique.

Memories based on DDR (Double Data Rate) technology such as DDR-SDRAM, DDR2-SDRAM and DDR3-SDRAM transfer two data per clock cycle. Because of that they achieve double the transfer rate compared to traditional memories (such as the original SDRAM) running at the same clock rate.

For dual-channel technology to work you need to have an even number of memory modules on your system (assuming that your AMD CPU or Intel chipset support this technology, of course). If you install just one module this technique won’t work because memory will still be accessed 64 bits per cycle. In other words, dual channel works by accessing two memory modules in parallel, i.e. at the same time. Because the two modules are accessed at the same time, they must be identical (same capacity, same timings and same clock rate).

Finally, this is described with more words in the article,
If you have a motherboard with 4 slots, and you own two similar memory sticks compatible with your board, it is critical to place them on the correct two slots (usually alternate slots). The board is wired to use them in dual-channel mode correctly on these placements. Suitable slot pairs are usually colored the same to remind you about this.

So, YES, you should care. You have the right memory (DDR two matched units) and you are running single more just because of incorrect memory placement.

Answer 2

your mobo supports only single channel mode. usually support for dual channel mode DIMM is not implied but clearly stated. the link you provided mentions single channel DDR2 1066 single channel model only

Answer 3

No it doesn't matter much at all.

You gain 2% in performance?

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/PARALLEL-PROCESSING,1705-11.html

Answer 4

To get RAM to work in dual channel mode, you have to insert it into the correct RAM slots on the motherboard. Please check the manual to see which DIMM slots should be used to use Dual Channel mode.

Each module must be the same size (e.g., 1GB) and preferably the same speed and brand.

Answer 5

Dual-channel gives you double the channels for your RAM to do their processing. It makes your RAM even faster, even if it's by a small margin. If I had the choice, I'd go Dual-Channel vs. Single Channel.

-JFV

Answer 6

the above answers are not really on point or clear. of course it's going to run only in single channel because it has to do with the type of motherboard and processor so if single channel, using more memory sticks no matter if they are the same brand or size makes no difference. the cpu will only recognize one and the other will be obsolete or redundant. worse, if one is slower than the other, it will choose that frequency. only dual channel configurations of your system/processor/motherboard will make using more than one memory stick work. often people will put in two or more memory sticks in a single channel configuration and not realize it's doing nothing to add more speed.