Kenthar
Resident Dragon Fanatic
+21|7017
Been trying to search for an answer to this, both on the forum and through Google; everyone's glad to explain what dual-channel RAM is and how to utilize it, but it seems they miss a more important question:

How much of an impact does dual-channel really have on performance, compared to single-channel?

I'm still kind of trying to decide exactly what I'm going to upgrade to, so is there a rule of thumb to go by? Would it depend at all on the FSB of the motherboard/processor, and/or the speed of the RAM? I'm kind of on a budget, so I'd gladly sacrifice a tiny performance boost to save some bucks, but I'd also like to know if it'd be a terrible mistake to even think about buying a motherboard that doesn't support dual-channel.

Any advice or links are appreciated.
max
Vela Incident
+1,652|7038|NYC / Hamburg

the classic answer: depends

generally though:
-if you run apps that need to access big chunks of memory (like games, PS, video editing) dual channel has a large impact
- if you have a CPU with a large cache (like C2Ds) dual channel is less important

- if you intend to do any work/gaming on a PC don't settle for anything but dual channel. Its well worth it and can make a night/day difference. Using too slow/single channel mem leads to inconsistent and low frame rates (because the CPU can't process data thats not available). think of it as having a powerful engine that gets its fuel though a tiny hose. Potentially it has a lot of power but it can't utilize it because it can't get sufficient amounts of fuel
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