Question about performance vs the capacity of each DDR3 RAM module (3-channel mode)

[KatanaDV20]

Hey guys coud you gimme some advice on this? I dont really get it. Please tolerate the diagrams as I needed to make this clear heh.

I wanna chuck 6GB RAM into my system. There are 6 DDR3 RAM slots on the mobo.

I've been reading the manual for my motherboard (see spec below) and in the section about fitting RAM it says:

Three-Channel Mode (TCM)
In TCM the memory modules transmit and recieve data with three data bus lines simultaneously. Enabling TCM can enhance the BEST system performance. When you have 3 or more memory modules please insert them as shown below to get the BEST system performance

[---------------------] = empty slot
[|||||||||||||||||||||] = used slot


3 Modules

[---------------------]
[|||||||||||||||||||||]
[---------------------]
[|||||||||||||||||||||]
[---------------------]
[|||||||||||||||||||||]

4 Modules

[|||||||||||||||||||||]
[|||||||||||||||||||||]
[---------------------]
[|||||||||||||||||||||]
[---------------------]
[|||||||||||||||||||||]

5 Modules

[|||||||||||||||||||||]
[|||||||||||||||||||||]
[|||||||||||||||||||||]
[|||||||||||||||||||||]
[---------------------]
[|||||||||||||||||||||]

6 Modules

[|||||||||||||||||||||]
[|||||||||||||||||||||]
[|||||||||||||||||||||]
[|||||||||||||||||||||]
[|||||||||||||||||||||]
[|||||||||||||||||||||]

Ok heres my question - am I right in saying that I will get better performance if I buy 6 X 1GB sticks of RAM?

And that performance will be slightly lower if I get 3 X 2GB sticks?

Im not cued up on this channel-stuff

Thanks

 

[cmndr_andi]

No - memory performance will be identical with 3x2GB compared to 6x1GB (assuming the modules are the same frequency and timings).

However, with 6 modules installed you will be putting much more strain on the memory controller on the i7 CPU - so overclocking will be trickier and you won't be able to go as high.

 

[KatanaDV20]

No - memory performance will be identical with 3x2GB compared to 6x1GB (assuming the modules are the same frequency and timings).
However, with 6 modules installed you will be putting much more strain on the memory controller on the i7 CPU - so overclocking will be trickier and you won't be able to go as high.

Thanks for clearing that up mate I understand whats happening now. Its not the capacity of the modules but adherence to which SLOT you use when you have 3 or more modules. This wont maximize performance.

Ive decided to go for 3 X 2GB