4 or 6 ram slots

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I know this is going to sound like a newby question but i really want to know.

Soon i am going to make my own computer using the ASUS P8P67 Deluxe motherboard.

I want to know why some motherboards have 4 ram slots and some 6. Also the one i am using has 4 but has a bigger total capcity of ram than some which have 6. Can you try not to use too much technical talk in your answers as im nowhere near an expert and would just like a straightforard answer.
 
The motherboards with 6 ram slots will usually be X58 chipset based motherboards that have triple channel ram capability.
Most of the time, they support 4gb ram sticks for a total of 24gb.

There are also server boards with many more slots that use server chipsets.

P55, or P67 chipsets support dual channel operations, and will support 4 ram slots.

Some of the P67 motherboards may be capable of handling 8gb sticks which are not on the market yet.

If you want to support >16gb, you need windows-7 business or ultimate, not home premium.
 
Thanks a lot for your answer. I am going to be using windows 7 ultimate.

When will these 8gb sticks be out?

Also whats the difference between dual channel and tripple channel and how come the motherboard im using with four slots can hold a total of 32gb whereas a triple channel can only hold 24gb. I would have thought the triple would have had a bigger capcity.
 
Who knows when 8gb sticks will appear? Initially, I would expect them to be more expensive per gb.

Triple channel operation feeds the cpu with three streams of ram data vs. dual with two. In practice, it will make negligible difference in your real application performance. Think 1-3%
Synthetic benchmarks will be impressive, but not representative of what a real application does. Dual vs. triple is just not an issue.

A X58 chipset can hold 6 4gb sticks = 25gb.
A P67 chipset can hold 4 8gb sticks = 32gb.
 
So the motherboard i have which is ASUS P8P67 Deluxe should be no different than if i got one with 6 ram slots? Because i was starting to wonder if should get a different motherboard.

I know this will sound stupid but 32gb is more then 25gb so does that mean dual is better than tripple.
 
Rogue do you mean NO theres no difference or NO there is a difference.
 
So the motherboard i have which is ASUS P8P67 Deluxe should be no different than if i got one with 6 ram slots? Because i was starting to wonder if should get a different motherboard.

I know this will sound stupid but 32gb is more then 25gb so does that mean dual is better than tripple.
Click to expand...

No, triple is marginally faster. The maximum ram is only of interest if you might ever need it.

Your chosen motherboard is good. You can use a sandy bridge 2500/2600/K with it.
A X58 motherboard would be more expensive, and will need a i7-950 or similar cpu which is not as fast as the sandy bridge processors.

Unless you have a 64 bit app with a known need for lots of ram, get a 8gb ram kit(2 x 4gb) with your P8P67 motherboard..
 
So the board i got can use a faster processor so does that even it out or is there going to be a new processor coming out for the 6 ram slot motherboards too?

I know i'm asking a lot but its a lot of money for me and i just want to be sure i'm using the right parts.
 
So the board i got can use a faster processor so does that even it out or is there going to be a new processor coming out for the 6 ram slot motherboards too?

I know i'm asking a lot but its a lot of money for me and i just want to be sure i'm using the right parts.
Click to expand...

Do you already own the P8P67 motherboard?

If so, ...good. Just get the sandy bridge processor of your choice.

There are no processors for the X58 chipsets(w/6 ram slots) that cost much less than $1000 that are comparable to sandy bridge.

If you are concerned about parts compatibility, post what you think you need, and what the main use of the pc will be in the new build section.
 
yes i already own the motherboard.

The main use of my pc will be gaming but it will also be used for work. However would i be better off going for one of the 6 ram slot motherboards for what i need it for.

 
yes i already own the motherboard.

The main use of my pc will be gaming but it will also be used for work. However would i be better off going for one of the 6 ram slot motherboards for what i need it for.
Click to expand...

No.. No.. No..

For gaming your board is perfect. For gaming, spend your money on a great graphics card. 4gb of ram is sufficient for any game. If you will be multitasking while gaming, then get 8gb.

Unless you have some esoteric need for lots of ram, forget about this 6 slot nonsense.
 
Ok thanks a lot for your help i'm glad i chose the right board.

I was just concerned because when just buying pc's i've always just thought that more is better and when i saw that some boards had 6 and mine had 4 i thought i'd made a mistake. But now you and some other people have really helped me realise thats not necesarily the case.

Could you recomend a good make of ram, grapics card etc. for me?
 
Well, what exactly have you bought so far? You have purchased the Motherboard but I'm supposing that the other critical components haven't been chosen yet.

First of all, how much are you willing to spend on the whole system or how much are you going to spend on a certain part?

For the RAM, just browse through the whole collection of RAM at Newegg and read the reviews. If you are planning on overclocking, at least have RAM that are rated at 1600Mhz.
 
Right now, any motherboard that supports a Sandy Bridge CPU will only support dual channel ram and therefore have 4 ram slots. Any Motherboard that supports triple channel ram(6 slots that have to be filled in groups of 3 to enable triple channel) will not support a Sandy Bridge CPU.
 


So far i have the motherboard and my case. I am willing to spend a further £1000. Any advice?

Also on the P6P87 there is a double usb 3.0 which goes at the front. However it is in the shape of what a floppy disk used to be. Does that mean i need to have a case with a floppy disk compartment or is there a way i could put it in where an ordinary disk drive goes.
 
Yes, you'd require a case with the Floppy disk sized (3.5") compartment. If you don't have any, you can buy adapters to fit it into a standard Dusk Drive (5.25").

What are you planning on using the computer for? As a gaming machine or a Video rendering machine or just an all rounder that should be able to last a bit? Is there really anything you'd like to have? Do you need the peripherals? Where are you ordering your parts from?

£1000 is equal to 1577 USD dollars but I'm unsure of the prices in your area. But I'll see. All the prices are based off Newegg...

CPU: Intel i7 2600k: $330
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

RAM: 2x Corsair Vengence 8Gb (2x4Gb): $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144

Video Card: EVGA Nvidia GTX570: $350
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593

Solid Sate Drive: OCZ Vertex 2 60Gb: $115
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227550

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracudda 7200.12 1TB: $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433

Power Supply: Corsair TX750 750w PSU: $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

CPU cooler: Corsair H50: $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010

OS: Windows 7: $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

Mouse: Logitech G9X: $69
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104261

Keyboard: Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000: $49
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109148

Total: $1498

I want to go take a bit off here and there to lower the price. The keyboard, too, is a question.

I'm sure someone will bug in and help you with the selection of parts. I'm all ears.
 
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