Triple Channel Assistance, please!

[justnopenope]

I have a Dell 09KPNV motherboard with 8GB DDR3 Kingston RAM running in triple channel according to CPU-ID.
If I were to purchase a single stick of ram, would I be able to use it without hindering performance, or do I have to buy another triple channel pack?

Or, would it be of more value to just replace all the memory with another upgraded triple channel pack?

I'm only looking to add at least 4 additional GB to the system, so I'm hoping I can just slap a single stick into it.


Thanks!

 

[kanewolf]

I don't know how you get all 8GB running in triple channel mode. A 4GB and two 2GB ??? There would be 2GB that is running in single channel and 6 in triple. Triple channel memory is usually divisible by 6.

 

[justnopenope]

I don't know how you get all 8GB running in triple channel mode. A 4GB and two 2GB ??? There would be 2GB that is running in single channel and 6 in triple. Triple channel memory is usually divisible by 6.

I just took another look and there are actually four sticks of ram in there. Three of them are in 3/6 matching white ports, and there is an additional stick in a black port. If I just throw another stick in there with the correct voltage, will I be good?

 

[kanewolf]

Mix and match ram is always a gamble. There is no reliable way to predict if the random RAM you add will work or not. It might be fine, it might not boot. No way to predict.

 

[william p]

Triple channel memory can be very complex. The memory controller is on the CPU. Speed can vary with the CPU chosen, some CPUs drop speed with 2 DIMMs per channel, others don't. Then you get into the question of Flex Mode where 2 DIMMs interleave as if they were one. ECC RAM is an option on that system also. The simplest approach is to run 3 matching DIMMs of either 4GB =12GB, or 3x8GB for 24GB. DDR3 1333 is the fastest supported speed. That setup will provide the best performance with any CPU available.

 

[justnopenope]

Triple channel memory can be very complex. The memory controller is on the CPU. Speed can vary with the CPU chosen, some CPUs drop speed with 2 DIMMs per channel, others don't. Then you get into the question of Flex Mode where 2 DIMMs interleave as if they were one. ECC RAM is an option on that system also. The simplest approach is to run 3 matching DIMMs of either 4GB =12GB, or 3x8GB for 24GB. DDR3 1333 is the fastest supported speed. That setup will provide the best performance with any CPU available.

It turned out in the end that you can mix ram as long as they are literally identical (so you pretty much can only mix brands).

 

[kanewolf]

Triple channel memory can be very complex. The memory controller is on the CPU. Speed can vary with the CPU chosen, some CPUs drop speed with 2 DIMMs per channel, others don't. Then you get into the question of Flex Mode where 2 DIMMs interleave as if they were one. ECC RAM is an option on that system also. The simplest approach is to run 3 matching DIMMs of either 4GB =12GB, or 3x8GB for 24GB. DDR3 1333 is the fastest supported speed. That setup will provide the best performance with any CPU available.

It turned out in the end that you can mix ram as long as they are literally identical (so you pretty much can only mix brands).

Your case is also using much older RAM which IS more tolerant. I will say again... It is a gamble, and unpredictable. The higher the clock speeds the less forgiving.