Tech Support Guy banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Dual-Channel & FSB: Calculating the bottlenecks (Is Dual Channel Worth it???)

1K views 4 replies 2 participants last post by  tgm1024 
#1 ·
There are several cases I've wanted to install memory in pairs to achieve dual-channel memory speeds, but I've come across a caveat or two about whether or not this is worth it.

Questions:
  1. How do I calculate whether or not the FSB is fast enough to take advantage of the memory speeds. I'll see cpuz refer to things like FSB:memory as "1:2", which I'm not sure refers to the memory controller taking advantage of the up and down side of the clock waveform, or if it's saying "give up, we're half the speed we need".
  2. How do I calculate dual core beasts? Do the internal 2 "processors" share the FSB, or do they each have their own resulting in double access speed [attempts] to dual ported memory (note, not dual channel).
Forgive me please, my questions may be tripping all over themselves. It's been a longgggg time since I've calculated any of this out during my stint as a DSP software engineer.

I'll be glad to rephrase this in any way you all like.
 
#3 ·
I am no engineer, but every PC I have owned ran much better/faster with dual channel memory pairs installed. That is, every PC that was capable of dual channel mode.

my2cents
And your 2¢ is 100% valid (yes a bad "cent" reference), but it's not a side-by-side comparison.

1. Adding memory will usually speed the bejeebers up out of a system.
2. In the case of not adding memory, the psychosomatic effect of knowing that you have dual-channel could well explain any attribution to it. Note: "psychosomatic" ≠ "invalid", because it is a very strong phenomenon.

Memory could be very very fast, but if the processor can't read from it any faster than it's FSB will allow. <---How do I calculate this?
 
#4 ·
How do I calculate this?
Don't have a clue, sorry. Start reading some Intel white papers, its beyond my pea brain.

the psychosomatic effect of knowing that you have dual-channel could well explain any attribution to it.
Not in my few cases, I ran benchmarks and tracked boot times, it was real and big.

I think dual channel memory architecture was invented to improve the deficiencies of the memory and not the FSB, to make use of the full potential of the FSB, but I am no engineer.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top