Memory upgrade

[mxp12]

Hi guys,
i recently upgraded my acer aspire m5641 desktop (intel q8200, 2gb ddr2, 320gb hdd, geforce 9300) and added an additional 2gb of ddr2 ram thinking it would run in dual channel mode. I had the people in the shop install the memory because it still had a warrantee on it, but when the pc booted, it said that the memory was running in single channel although it reads all 4gb of ram. What could be the problem? both sticks had the same capacity and speed, could it be that they are not from the same manufacturer? or could it be that the mobo doesn't support it? i have no idea about the board but i know that it only had 2 memory slots in it. Your input would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[mxp12]

guys? anyone?

 

[r_manic]

What exactly indicated that it was running in dual-channel mode? It's also possible that your desktop is designed to consolidate the RAM under single channel operation.

 

[photonboy]

You need to see what frequency your RAM is running at now.

You can often tell when your computer first starts up but not always.

Judging by your graphics card I suspect you don't game. As a casual user you wouldn't need the extra bandwidth it's only important that you can see all the RAM.

Again, unless you game or really do something that stresses your CPU you will not need the extra bandwidth so don't worry about it.

 

[mxp12]

I actually upgraded the graphics card along with the memory and am now using a geforce 9600gt for some gaming. the memory is still running at 800mhz but it says single channel mode during boot up. i also found out that my windows experience index for memory declined from 4.8 to 4.6 but everything else remained the same or improved. Any thoughts?

 

[mxp12]

cpu-z also confirms that its running in single channel mode by the way

 

[mxp12]

How can i tell if its designed to consolidate ram that way? thanks for the replies

 

[mxp12]

guys?