Hi, I have just discovered that my A7N8X-X motherboard does not have dual channel. What does this mean? does it mean that my DDR ram will not run at double data rate? Does having dual channel add a great amount of performance? thanks.

not having dual channel does not mean that your ram will not run at double data rate... dual channel just makes your ram run two times faster then double data rate but you need to of the same sticks of memmory..

No, it has nothing to do with the direct working on DDR Ram. That still work fine as everywhere else. Dual channel means that you can fit two identical Ram sticks into two interacting slots and the data is not written wirst to one and then to the other stick but to both at the same time. This gives a little extra kick to the speed!

It means you can't put a memory stick in your 3rd slot and have it access that on a separate channel from the other 2 banks. so if i'm not mistaken memory runs at 64bit, double channelling access a 2nd or 3rd stick (depending on your config) separately through another slot, effectivly giving you 128bit access to your memory..it like adding another 2-lane highway parallel to an existing 2-lane.. DDR is timing related..the memory is accessed on both *correct me if i'm wrong here* the positive and negative cycles vs. SDRAM which is clocked only on the positive clock cycle

Dual channel means the MB has two memory controllers to share the work and gain 5% in performance. the MB in question only has one memory controller to save cost.

Go to ASUS and look at the specs. I did. here is the difference: A7N8X / A7N8X Deluxe Memory Specification ------------ Dual-Channel DDR 400 3 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets Max. 3 GB unbuffered PC3200/PC2700/PC2100/PC1600 A7N8X-X Memory Specification DDR 400 3 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets Max. 3 GB unbuffered PC3200/PC2700/PC2100/PC1600 Notice the lack of Dual-Channel for the A7N8X-X. The original A7N8X/A7N8X Deluxe motherboards had two memory controllers. The first controller controlled slots 1 and 2. The second controller controlled slot 3 only. Using two sticks of RAM (the first in either slot 1 or 2 and the second in slot 3) allowed both controllers to be used at the same time. Benchmarks shows that this gave about a 5% boost in memory performance. ASUS decided to save money with the A7N8X-X and leave off the second memory controller. Without the second controller there is no way to make it "dual-channel" BTW, I have had the A7N8X Deluxe since last November. I am using it with dual-channel since I have RAM in slots 2 and 3.