Solved Dual channel vs Single channel

[archer]

Hello All, i was wondering what is single channel and dual channel. This question came to my mind when i ran my PC with single RAM stick it shows "running on single channel" and when i inserted the second stick it says "running on dual channel". What is this?.......Also my graphic card crashes when i use the second stick, but runs smooth with single. I ran a memtest throughout night and got a blue screen in the morning. I will replace my RAM if it is faulty, but would like to know if there is some settings missing on my mobo.

 

[Sardonicus]

Essentially, dual channel means that you have two channels/pathways for your CPU to access your RAM rather than one in single channel. It's kinda like having a 2 lane highway versus a 1 lane highway to drive on. Think increased space for data flow. More space, more data. It improves performance.

 

[Dwarf]

They are both modes of operation for memory. There is also triple-channel for DDR3 RAM and compatible motherboards. Basically, it is a means to increase memory throughput by means of increasing the bandwidth for data transfer. In single-channel mode, 64 bits of data can be transferred to/from RAM at any given instant in time. With dual-channel this increases to 128 bits and with triple-channel this increases still further to 192 bits.

As regards your blue screen and graphics crashing when using a second stick, are the sticks identical? They need to match in speed, timings, voltage and size. Have you tried both sticks separately?

 

[archer]

Essentially, dual channel means that you have two channels/pathways for your CPU to access your RAM rather than one in single channel. It's kinda like having a 2 lane highway versus a 1 lane highway to drive on. Think increased space for data flow. More space, more data. It improves performance.

They are both modes of operation for memory. There is also triple-channel for DDR3 RAM and compatible motherboards. Basically, it is a means to increase memory throughput by means of increasing the bandwidth for data transfer. In single-channel mode, 64 bits of data can be transferred to/from RAM at any given instant in time. With dual-channel this increases to 128 bits and with triple-channel this increases still further to 192 bits.

As regards your blue screen and graphics crashing when using a second stick, are the sticks identical? They need to match in speed, timings, voltage and size. Have you tried both sticks separately?

Thanks for the replies. i bought both the sticks together so i am guessing they must be identical. But is there anyway i can check that?

 

[weirdalex]

cpuid.com's cpu-z wll show you the memory.