Triple Channel Memory

[pillkl]

I read on wikipedia that triple channel architecture means three sticks of RAM OR multiples of 3 (meaning 6 too). Is this right? I know triple channel basically means 3 but I want to have 6 sticks of RAM (6x2GB) so would this still be triple channel?

Also I'm confused about FSB:RAM ratio. As I've read 1:1 is the best performance-wise but if I had a i7 930 and overclocked it to 4GHz what speed of RAM should I get? 1600?

 

[T_T]

I read on wikipedia that triple channel architecture means three sticks of RAM OR multiples of 3 (meaning 6 too). Is this right? I know triple channel basically means 3 but I want to have 6 sticks of RAM (6x2GB) so would this still be triple channel?

Also I'm confused about FSB:RAM ratio. As I've read 1:1 is the best performance-wise but if I had a i7 930 and overclocked it to 4GHz what speed of RAM should I get? 1600?

Welcome to the forums, Newcomer!

Let's start at the beginning...

In a PC a single ram module has 64-bit bandwidth. Dual channel gets you 128-bits (2x 64). As you might have guessed, that means Triple Channel gets you 192-bits.
The number of channels a system utilizes is uncorrelated with the memory type, rather, it depends completely on the underlying architecture of the mainboard and the memory controller.

The RAM modules don't specifically need to be designed for Triple Channel, but you do need to use identical densities. For example, you could have three modules, but all three would need to have the same density (3 x 2GB). On that note, you could have different speeds and latencies, although not recommeneded, but you'd be operating at the slower speed of the kit.

As for the FSB:RAM Speed ratio, billbats expertise explains it best here

To answer you question on the speed... Achieving 1600MHz is an OC setting. For the i7 CPU you want to make sure that whatever RAM you buy is not volted higher than 1.65v, as doing so can damage the CPU. By now, most manufacturers have RAM specially designed to work with the i-series chips, so you would be better off buying something that is designed to run with the your CPU.

 

[pillkl]

Best answer selected by pillkl.