what does memory sticks mean when they say single channel or dual channel?

Question

does dual mean its better ??

Answer 1

Dual would be faster.....

Answer 2

Simply its the same thing as a single and dual core processor. Some motherboard/processor combos need a single, dual, or even triple channel to get the full use out of your ram. In most cases you could use a single channel stick in a dual or triple channel, but it will be slower than if you used the dual, and the other way around. To be safe though. Find out the right set up you need for your system. Older computers will most likely use single. New computers will most likely use dual. Then top of the line computers using core i7 processors use triple. Keep in mind that sticks being dual does not necessarily mean they are better. It depends on the setup your system uses.

Answer 3

No, it does not mean better. In benchmark testing, in a real world computing situation, there was very little difference between the two.



"But back to RAM and hard drives. As expected, the performance difference between single channel and dual channel DDR2-800 memory using an up-to-date Core 2 Duo system Compare Prices on Core 2 Duo Processors is little to nil, depending on the benchmark - most tests show differences, but they are really small."



http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/PARALLEL-PROCESSING,1705-15.html

Answer 4

simple answer alot of motherboards are set to dual channel so companies started to sell dual channel packs of ram i have taken dual channels (and quad some times) splitting them up and using them without issue. a memory stick is a memory stick whether its dual channel or not