"Unganged mode" for DDR3?

Discussion in 'Processors, Motherboards & Memory' started by Motoman, Mar 6, 2009.

  1. Motoman

    Motoman Newbie

    ...just built my first DDR3 system (on an Asus 790/750 mobo with PII)...

    At POST, the mobo reports the DDR3 as being in "unganged mode" - WTF is that, and is that good or bad?
     
  2. Dashken

    Dashken Administrator!

    Unganged mode seems to be faster in some apps and slower in some as well.
    iXBT Labs - AMD Phenom X4 Memory Controller in the Ganged/Unganged Mode - Page 1: Introduction, tests

    From what I can tell 'Unganged mode' means each core is given 1 stick of RAM to use. :think:

     
  3. ZuePhok

    ZuePhok Just Started

    the Phenom and Phenom II chips have two built-in memory controllers.

    ganged = 1x 128-bit memory controller. both memory controllers are combined into one 128-bit wide memory controller.

    unganged = 2x 64-bit memory controllers. each channel gets its dedicated pool of memory.

    AMD representative recommended unganged mode. but to be frank, i found no different betweem them. and why are you getting a DDR3 board for your processor anyway? Could have used the $$$ for other things. eg. faster drive, GPU, better sound card/system, wider display etc. Stuff that can enhance the overall user experience.

    Cheers!
     
  4. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Doesn't sound like it would make much of a difference. :think:

    I will have to do more research on this. :think:
     
  5. Motoman

    Motoman Newbie

    ...this box has a HD4870 video card, 8Gb of RAM, and 2 750Gb hard drives in RAID 1. I waited for the DDR3 board just to future proof it.
     
  6. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    DDR3 won't last very long. You could have gotten higher end parts like 4870x2 or even better HDD.
     
  7. Motoman

    Motoman Newbie

    The extra cost of the DDR3 was no where near the price difference between a 4870 and an 4870X2. And I don't think any other HDD choices would have made any perceptable difference.

    Granted that AMD is just now supporting DDR3, and Intel's tops stuff is using it, why do you think it isn't going to "last very long?" Seems pretty obvious it's going to be around for a long time ...
     
  8. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    Whether you agree or not, I think I would have done the same instead of getting DDR3.
     
  9. ZuePhok

    ZuePhok Just Started

    the X3 710/720 is actually a pretty good deal.

    great eco support as well. cheap memory, top notch mobo selections, overclockable. the entire platform is quite affordable.

    not bad!
     
  10. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    I think what Chai means is that the effect of using DDR3 is far less than an upgrade to something else like a Radeon HD 4870.
     
  11. Motoman

    Motoman Newbie


    ...that may be true, but my machine already has a 4870, and there's no way I'm shelling out the money for a 4870X2.

    ...and I'm not sure what all the fuss is about with DDR3 being "more expensive" than DDR2 anyway. The RAM I got came in 4Gb kits (2Gb x 2) at CL7 for $58 with free shipping. A 4Gb kit of DDR2-800 is no lower than $44 as far as I can see. So by buying 2 kits of the DDR3 instead of 2 kits of the DDR2, I spent an extra $28. Who the hell cares about $28 on a build like this?

    Assertions that DDR3 is "so much more expensive" thand DDR2 are BS. That extra $3.50 per Gb can't possibly be that important to anyone...and if it is, you probably shouldn't be spending your money on a new PC anyway.
     
  12. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    It's your money. :mrgreen:
     
  13. Motoman

    Motoman Newbie


    The point that needs to be made, with all due respect, is that the extra $ that DDR3 costs over DDR2 is negligible, and wouldn't have paid for an upgrade on any other component in the system. It was asserted several times in this thread that the "extra cost" of DDR3 could have been used for some other better component...$28 doesn't upgrade anything else...and if you were a more normal person and put in "only" 4Gb of RAM, your cost differenct of $14 definitely wouldn't upgrade anything else.

    It literally works out to an extra $3.50 per Gb. Less than the cost of lunch at McDonald's. About than the cost of one beer at a respectable bar.

    I would just like people to stop pretending there's any appreciable difference in cost between DDR2 and DDR3...because the cost difference is negligible. That's all.
     
  14. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Ah! If you already have a HD 4870, that's good enough! :thumb:

    Hmm.. That's not much more expensive. I guess it's a lot different over here. :(
     
  15. Earnhardt09

    Earnhardt09 Newbie

    I've heard both sides of the argument. I personally have used both and got crashes when I used ganged. So, I use unganged.
     

Share This Page