DDR3 - Dual Channel/Triple Channel - AM3 - HELP !!!

Gimpymoo

Gimpymoo

Gimpymoo

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I am on the verge of speccing a new build and im beginning to think I have chosen the worst time ever to do one with the transition from/to different sockets and the switch from DDR2 to DDR3 RAM.

Anyway, I digress.

For my budget, I may be able to squeeze out the following:

AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720 Black Edition
Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P

Am I foolish to be getting a DDR3 system which does not support Triple channel configuration?

Do the AM3 CPU's support triple channel or is it just the mobo manufacturers are slow off the mark? I have noticed a few i7 boards with 4 slots although they still support triple channel on 3 of the slots, none of the AM3 boards I have seen have this feature.

Is it a limitation of the current AM3 CPUs or just a limitation of the chipset? Could it be remedied with a BIOS flash if newer AM3 chips supported it or would I need to upgrade everything again?

Or, am I crying over nothing and the gains of triple channel RAM over dual channel are at best negligible?

Many Thanks.

A very confused Gimp :(
 
They don't support triple channel but it's gains are questionable. You'll be fine with dual channel, some cheaper DDR3 is coming out at the moment.
 
triple channel memory is i7. AM3 boards support ddr3 in dual channel like old previous AMD/intel boards with 4 slots (2 sockets matching). I donno if AMD will release tri channel but the could do. DDR3 hasnt been shown yet to provide any benifit so a cheaper AM2+ board with DDR2 may be a better choice until DDR3 and new chipsets are tested and released. Tho in the long run that would probally be more hassel as ram and motherboard will have to eventually be upgraded as DDR3 becomes the norm.
 
Dual channel DDR3 is still good, in my possibly mis-informed opinion. I'm getting great benchmarks on a nvidia 790i ultra chipset with DDR3 in dual channel anyway,
 
Thanks for helping to clear that up...

Soo, which RAM?

OCZ 2GB DDR3 PC3-10666C7 1333MHz Platinum
CL 7-7-7-20

Or

Geil GV32GB1333C9DC
CL 9-9-9-24

Im guessing the OCZ would be better?

I am not overclocking immediately untill I can afford some better RAM/Cooling :)
 
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