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Determining Type of Memory Based on Motherboard
The type of memory that you need to use is determined by the motherboard. The best practice is to check the motherboard’s manual for the proper type, size, and speed of memory before purchasing new modules. Some motherboards will allow you to mix the sizes of the modules, while others require all modules to be the same size. For example, if there are two memory slots on a motherboard, it may allow you to put a 1 GB module in one slot, and a 2 GB module in another. Other motherboards require all slots to have the same size chips in them, such as 1 GB modules in both slots. Another factor to consider is the “bank” size of the motherboard. Some motherboards support a bank of one, meaning you can use a single module in the motherboard. Other motherboards require two modules to complete a bank (the slots must be filled in pairs).
Another feature that your motherboard may support is called dual-channel or triple-channel. In these channel modes, the motherboard requires that the user install identical size and speed modules in two (dual) or three (triple) slots. This allows for the interleaving of memory access for faster performance times of the memory, speeding up the computer’s operations. Think about interleaving as if you had two horses pulling a cart instead of one. While each horse may be able to pull 100 pounds on its own, together they can pull 250 pounds. Interleaving in the context of memory is the same idea—speed of access increases when memory is interleaved. The sum total of both memory chips can be accessed faster together than either could individually.
Finally, the total number of modules that can be installed is also determined by the motherboard’s form factor. If you have a smaller form factor motherboard, such as mini-ATX, it may have fewer slots for modules (maybe two slots versus four or six on a full ATX board).
您需要使用的內存類型由主板決定。最佳做法是在購買新模塊之前，先檢查主板手冊中的內存類型，大小和速度是否正確。某些主板可讓您混合使用模塊的大小，而另一些則要求所有模塊的大小均相同。例如，如果母板上有兩個內存插槽，則可能允許您在一個插槽中放置一個1 GB的模塊，在另一個插槽中放置一個2 GB的模塊。其他主板要求所有插槽中都具有相同大小的芯片，例如兩個插槽中都有1 GB的模塊。要考慮的另一個因素是主板的“庫”大小。一些主板支持一組，這意味著您可以在主板中使用單個模塊。其他主板需要兩個模塊來完成存儲（插槽必須成對填充）。 主板可能支持的另一個功能稱為雙通道或三通道。在這些通道模式下，母板要求用戶在兩個（雙）或三個（三重）插槽中安裝相同尺寸和速度的模塊。這樣可以交錯訪問內存，以加快內存的性能，從而加快計算機的運行速度。考慮一下交錯，就好像您有兩匹馬拉著一輛馬車而不是一輛。雖然每匹馬可能自己可以拉100磅，但它們合起來可以拉250磅。在內存上下文中進行交織是相同的想法—交織內存時訪問速度會提高。一起訪問兩個內存芯片的總和比單獨訪問一個芯片更快。 最後，可安裝的模塊總數也由主板的外形尺寸決定。如果您使用的是較小型的主板（例如mini-ATX），則其模塊插槽可能更少（也許是兩個插槽，而完整的ATX板上則是四個或六個）。
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