How to run in dual channel?

[George Lazu]

Hey, this is what my motherboard looks like:

I am planning to buy a second RAM stick [the same model as the first one], and according to this, in order to run in dual channel i need to place the RAM sticks in slots 1 and 3, and slots 2 and 4. Right now my RAM is placed in the 1st slot. After i buy a new stick, will i have to plug it in the 3rd slot?

 

[rhysiam]

You got it. 3rd slot. If you want to check after you put it in, most BIOSs will tell you if your memory is running dual channel mode.

 

[grana92]

You don't have to because you are not buying a dual channel kit. Your Motherboard supports Dual Channel but you will not buy a dual channel RAM kit. you already have one ram stick and you will buy one more, it doesn't matter if it's the same like the one you have. When you buy a dual channel kit you will have 2 ram sticks in the package.

 

[rhysiam]

You don't have to because you are not buying a dual channel kit. Your Motherboard supports Dual Channel but you will not buy a dual channel RAM kit. you already have one ram stick and you will buy one more, it doesn't matter if it's the same like the one you have. When you buy a dual channel kit you will have 2 ram sticks in the package.

Technically you get no guarantee that a second stick will work in dual channel mode unless you actually buy a dual channel kit.

However, I've done this heaps of times and have always got away with it in the past. If you get the same brand, same frequency, same voltage and same timings, you'd be really unlucky to find it won't run in dual channel mode.

Thanks for making the point though (I should have done myself), no guarantee of dual channel mode if you don't get the kit together. I think you'll find it'll work just fine though, as long as you choose identical RAM or as close as you possibly can.