Wednesday May 23, 2012 3:25 PM AEST

Atomic MPC > Features > Build > CPUs, Motherboards & RAM > Triple-channel memory kits vs dual-channel on P55 platform

Triple-channel memory kits vs dual-channel on P55 platform

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Memory bandwidth of three DDR3 sticks on P55 platform

So first off, we grabbed the three sticks and installed them in slots 1, 2 and 4 on the EVGA P55 SLI mobo.

Technically slots 1&3 provide one channel, with 2&4 filling out the other channel, and there are fears that including a single stick in the other slots will mess things up.

Here's both the CPUz that shows the memory config, and the Everest benchmark that shows bandwidth:

Now as you can see, there's 6GB of memory running at read speeds of 12146MB/s, write of 10624MB/s and a latency of 46.9ns.

We don't expect you to memorise them, but keep them in mind for the next tests...

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10 Comments

Mudg3 Feb 23, 2010 3:11 PM	YAY! Now these people will finally shut up.
Caelum Feb 23, 2010 3:31 PM	Good test! May influence my next purchase somewhat. Thankyou Frunjmaster, you're my hero1!!
fliptopia Feb 23, 2010 5:54 PM	and of course this article links you to this one http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/Feature/152990,memory-usage-myths.aspx which asks why on earth you would get 6gb.... Damn you contradictions.
A Hitman Feb 23, 2010 5:56 PM	If you don't use all the ram space then make a ram disk and put game files in it.
GlennsPref Feb 23, 2010 9:06 PM	Hi, thanks for the comparison. Truely atomic. With those results, I wonder if 4 sticks would drop back to the 2 stick speed, of course you'd have more memory, but will more be faster? My 2cents. Regards GlennsPref
SceptreCore Feb 23, 2010 9:54 PM	Hmmm, I would have thought it would be faster... the old water bottle theory.
Caelum Feb 23, 2010 10:41 PM	GlennsPref - I too had wondered about if adding a 4th stick returns some of the speed. Honestly though, the speed difference is pretty much buggerall anyway... I'd easily make use of 6GB, so i reckon i'll go with 2 x 2 x 2gb kits(that's 4 sticks!) for my next system. I'm not entirely convinced 8GB will be enough for my needs... but it'll do until 4GB sticks get cheap.
TheFrunj Feb 23, 2010 11:01 PM	GlennsPref, I imagine that some performance would be recorded and potentially increased, but honestly it'd be so insignificant in the scheme of things that if you need that much RAM, just go ahead and buy it :) -JR
Caelum Feb 23, 2010 11:22 PM	Yeah, when it comes down to it, it's all fine and good having 2GB of super fast RAM... but your system will still grind to a halt if it needs 3GB of ram :) Any RAM, even cheap shit, will be faster than paging to a hard disk...
pappes Feb 28, 2010 12:11 PM	So almost a 3% read speed increase by using the hardware the way it was intended. I knew that Intel wouldn't spend money on enginerring the dual-channel technology for nothing. Do when it comes to maximum power use dual channel, but your grandmas computer will run fine with a combination of dual and single channel?

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Atomic Magazine

Issue: 137 | June, 2012

Atomic is a magazine aimed squarely at computer enthusiasts, gamers, and serious PC upgraders.

Every month we bring you the latest reviews of new technology and PC components, in depth features on everything from overclocking to console hacking, and gaming previews and interviews.

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