mixing single and dual channel

[Macpod]

Hi Guys. I was wondering if there would be any instability issues if i use 2x2GB modules in dual channel mode and another one in single channel. the reason for this is i have a faulty motherboard with one of the 3 lanes dead. So i can only ram slots 1,2,3,4 and not 5,6.

I was planning to install the rams in 2,3,4, since 1 is blocked by the CPU cooler.

 

[Dzomlija]

Hi Guys. I was wondering if there would be any instability issues if i use 2x2GB modules in dual channel mode and another one in single channel. the reason for this is i have a faulty motherboard with one of the 3 lanes dead. So i can only ram slots 1,2,3,4 and not 5,6.

I was planning to install the rams in 2,3,4, since 1 is blocked by the CPU cooler.

It should all work fine, but if possible, try to have all memory modules come from the same manufacturer, and all with the same timings (5-5-5-12, etc...)

 

[Dwarf]

It all depends on your motherboard. On a worst case scenario, I would say that you would fall back to single-channel mode. You could possibly still have dual-channel, but running in asynchronous-mode (where one channel has more memory than the other), although this is usually the case on some boards where you have 2 sticks of RAM but different capacities, so I'm not sure whether it would be the case in your situation. Either way, you're going to see a performance hit, so I would stick with just the 2 sticks of RAM you have currently installed and keep the dual-channel mode.