just maxed out my iMac g5 on RAM

[mongoos150]

Dual channel was a bigger deal on older Intel chips - not really an issue or a benefit on these machines.

 

[Queso]

I have but 1.5GB in my iMac G5. Let's just say I maxed out my budget

 

[2ms]

mongoos150, was that a yes then that it loses the dual channel memory function? Why does it not matter on the current ones? I dont like that the Merom's fsb is only 667Mhz for a dual core. Is the reason that the fsb is bottleneck so dual channel and single channel there's no difference because fsb cant provide the bandwidth anyway?

 

[mongoos150]

mongoos150, was that a yes then that it loses the dual channel memory function? Why does it not matter on the current ones? I dont like that the Merom's fsb is only 667Mhz for a dual core. Is the reason that the fsb is bottleneck so dual channel and single channel there's no difference because fsb cant provide the bandwidth anyway?

There is no "function" - on the earlier Intel chips, running matched ram would make your rig run more efficiently based on how the system actually used the ram, it had to do less work. On today's Core Duo/Core 2 Duo chips, matching ram is NOT neccessary and does not give speed advantages. The memory management hardware (the physical process of using ram) on today's chips looks at your total allocated memory, as opposed to looking at each RAM card seperately. The FSB isn't bad on the iMacs, but a 1GHz FSB would be ideal (especially on the 24")! I think the speed limitation is simply due to saving cash on Intel's part, not due to to the ram speed, but I could be wrong.

 

[Willis]

There is no "function" - on the earlier Intel chips, running matched ram would make your rig run more efficiently based on how the system actually used the ram, it had to do less work. On today's Core Duo/Core 2 Duo chips, matching ram is NOT neccessary and does not give speed advantages. The memory management hardware (the physical process of using ram) on today's chips looks at your total allocated memory, as opposed to looking at each RAM card seperately. The FSB isn't bad on the iMacs, but a 1GHz FSB would be ideal (especially on the 24")! I think the speed limitation is simply due to saving cash on Intel's part, not due to to the ram speed, but I could be wrong.

Thats why Santa Rosa is the next big thing... apparently. ah well, I get plenty of FSB on my MacPro when it comes...