Quadchannel - myth?

[RedTalonTPF]

So from what I gather quad channel does not really exist, but I wanted some clarification.

I have an Asus P8Z68 mobo which support dual channel.

I am looking at putting in 16mb of ram and found this ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=5#scrollFullInfo

which says it is quad channel. So some questions

1) I assume this is just 2 dual channel kits sold in a package?
2) Is there a difference between getting this quad channel kit and 2 dual channel kits (of the same ram)?

 

[GhislainG]

1) It's a quad channel kit on a quad channel motherbaord (X79 chipset).
2) In theory all modules should have been tested as a single kit. Two dual channel kits probably are as good.

 

[RedTalonTPF]

oh so there is such a thing as quad channel then? That mobo I am looking at is dual channel though. So does it make a difference if I stick a quad channel kit in it vs. 2 dual channels?

 

[gmcizzle]

Quad channel RAM only exists on the X79 Sandy Bridge E platform. You can stick a quad channel kit in as two dual channels no problem, but it still will be dual channel since that's a function of the memory controller not the actual RAM.

 

[RedTalonTPF]

Ah I thought ram was made to be run in dual channel though? Paired chips that run well with each other. Or is that just a marketing thing?

 

[gmcizzle]

There are dual channel, triple channel, and quad channel kits. Basically it's just that the RAM in each kit is made at the exact same time, tested with each other, etc. so that there's little chance of the RAM not working together.

You could buy 2 dual channel kits for example, say 2x 4gb, run them in quad channel and they might work just fine on an X79 system. But it's much safer to buy a 4x 4gb kit where each module is tested with each other to avoid any compatibility issues on some RAM sensitive motherboards.