How to maximize the effectiveness of ram sticks?

[thehandyman]

Apparently the arrangement of ram sticks in each slot matters, is this true? Something about putting higher ram sticks in bank 1 and the cheap ram sticks in bank 2 making your computer perform better. Is this true? And what's this about bank 1 or bank 2, can someone explain that to me?

[Geek-9pm]

Urban legend. 

[patio]

Disregard Geek's post...
There are ways to optimise  RAM....

Consult your MBoard Manual for details...

[Salmon Trout]

Apparently the arrangement of ram sticks in each slot matters, is this true?

Yes it is true to this extent: if you are using DDR memory in dual-channel configuration mixing sticks of different speeds in the same bank can lead to lockups and instability. To be safe the RAM sticks in each bank should be identical to each other. It is not so much a question of making the system "perform better", more of making it perform properly, not risking crashes and BSODs.

[thehandyman]

Yes it is true to this extent: if you are using DDR memory in dual-channel configuration mixing sticks of different speeds in the same bank can lead to lockups and instability. To be safe the RAM sticks in each bank should be identical to each other. It is not so much a question of making the system "perform better", more of making it perform properly, not risking crashes and BSODs.

Just wondering, lets say if misarranging the RAM sticks doesn't cause crashes or BSODS, can it still affect little computer tasks like opening microsoft word or surfing the net? (delaying). How can I identify the RAM speeds?

[Salmon Trout]

Just wondering, lets say if misarranging the RAM sticks doesn't cause crashes or BSODS, can it still affect little computer tasks like opening microsoft word or surfing the net? (delaying).

No.

How can I identify the RAM speeds?

With a hardware reporting tool like CPU-Z

[soybean]

I presume "bank" means two RAM slots.  And, in the case of dual-channel memory, they two slots that need to be paired together to get the benefit of dual-channel memory are usually color coded and they are not necessarily next to each other.  You may find this reference helpful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-channel_memory_architecture

[thehandyman]

ok tyvm