matched pair myth

C64 · 10 Jul 2007 at 12:34

Are they truly matched or are they just two of the same
single available for example 1gb sticks just put together in a package
I truly do not believe they are manufactured any different
i often see that buying 2 separate 1gb sticks for example: crucial ballistix pc 8500
works out cheaper.Can anyone confirm or debunk my opinion.
I believe it to be a marketing gimmick.

Cob · 10 Jul 2007 at 12:38

They are supposed to be tested together to ensure they run together fine.

Tho it's possible that it's just two sticks from the same batch.

Given the choice I would still buy a dual-channel kit rather than two separate sticks.

C64 · 10 Jul 2007 at 12:40

Fair point but i don't believe they are even tested.
has anyone ever bought two separate sticks & found
they do not work together ?.

Cob · 10 Jul 2007 at 12:43

Different batches may overclock differently.

So if you buy separately you may find that one stick isn't as good as the other. Tho you'll only find out if you test them separately.

deadsquirrel · 10 Jul 2007 at 12:44

I would be very surprised to find they are actually tested. i would say they are just 2 from the same batch.

p4radox · 10 Jul 2007 at 12:44

I bought two seperate 1Gb sticks of Crucial PC3200 about 3 or 4 years ago which worked fine in dual channel.

C64 · 10 Jul 2007 at 12:48

Yes can you picture techs sitting down testing every single stick of ram
they intend to match up in a 2gb kit with each other.
Wish somebody would actually test their kits to see if they are indeed
matched and reach the exact same specs.

helmutcheese · 10 Jul 2007 at 13:00

There is nothing to say 2 seperate stick will not run 100%, they probably will.

You are paying a premium in the case of Corsair because a HUMAN has physically put two stick of the line that were next to each other into a Asus SLI Mobo and ran tests, then they are packaged as TwinX,

Hmm hard to find info now as Corsair have a new look to site.

" TwinX Modules are Tested and Shipped as Matched Memory Pairs
When you need double the memory, choose Corsair XMS TwinX modules. These matched memory pairs are tested and shipped together for optimal performance in dual channel motherboards. The prefix TWIN in the part number identifies a matched memory pair. "

http://www.houseofhelp.com/v2/showthread.php?t=34307

split · 10 Jul 2007 at 13:03

Crucial say....

What's the difference between buying memory in pairs and buying a kit?
If you have a dual-channel platform and want to take advantage of the performance gain it offers, we recommend purchasing your DDR or DDR2 memory in kits. In order for your memory modules to perform correctly in dual-channel mode, both modules' specifications must be identical. Our kits consist of matched modules, making it easy for you to purchase the matching pairs needed to properly utilize dual-channel mode.

The advantage to buying a kit over simply ordering two of the same module is that KITS are designed specifically with identical matched pairs, but we cannot guarantee that modules ordered INDIVIDUALLY will contain identical pairs.

I don't think any mem is tested as such, else we wouldn't see people on here with bad ram.
I don't know what the modern stuff (DDR2) is like, but I remember the grief loads had when dual channel came out on AMD stuff.

helmutcheese · 10 Jul 2007 at 13:09

More from Corsair but for Intel.

" Corsair solely tests these sticks in pairs on an Asus P4C800-E Deluxe rev 1.2; we are well aware that not everybody out there possesses the same motherboard, so we set out to find out which other boards climb up to the speeds supported by this Memory kit. "

So its only tersted in that Mobo thats why faults can arise I guess.

and

http://www.houseofhelp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54052

Wiggins · 10 Jul 2007 at 13:39

I bought 4 seperate sticks of 512mb Samsung DDRII and they work a treat in dual channel

One question I would like to ask is would it be better to have 4 sticks of 512 in dual channel or 2 sticks of 1gb in dual channel?

helmutcheese · 10 Jul 2007 at 14:22

Normally the latter.

Reality|Bites · 10 Jul 2007 at 14:32

The dual channel kits were always a gimmick, Though looking back at the DDR days can you tell me how many revisions did corsair have of their XMS3200C2 memory, They must have went through at least 5 different brands of IC's, Can you tell me if they all worked together in the same system stabily(sp) or not?

split · 10 Jul 2007 at 14:39

Reality|Bites said:
The dual channel kits were always a gimmick, Though looking back at the DDR days can you tell me how many revisions did corsair have of their XMS3200C2 memory, They must have went through at least 5 different brands of IC's, Can you tell me if they all worked together in the same system stabily(sp) or not?

Hmmm the idea of the dual channel kits was so you got the same IC's etc, and didnt have the hassle of asking what you have at the end of your post.

I can't help but feel you have contradicted yourself.

I think the problem arises when you try to run 2 dual channel kits that are not the same.
The forever swapping they did (rev 1 2 etc) was a pain though

Wiggins · 11 Jul 2007 at 16:02

If there are 4 slots with 512mb of the same stick in 'dual channel' would the motherboard use the 1st stick of memory then 2nd, 3rd and so on?

Amonlym · 12 Jul 2007 at 09:49

Its not a total Myth

does anyone else remember the old Twinmoss 512mb sticks, they would work fine on the Kt266, KT333, Kt400, Kt600, all the SIS Chipsets, all the ALI chipsets, the single channel (rare) intel chipsets and would have kittens in a KT800, NF1, NF2, DC Intel board - and ive tested, they have kittens paired with either of my 939 cpu's however, force the mobo to run single channel, and suddenly the ram behaves again.