P67A-GD65 RAM Placement for two sticks in dual channel - Blue or Black?

[ndawgdrake]

Hello,

About a month ago I purchased a MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) motherboard that came with the latest 1.9 bios with a 2500K and 2x 4GB GSkill Ripjaw X Modules.

I recently moved the two modules from the two blue slots (DIMM 1 and DIMM 3) to the two black slots (DIMM 2 and DIMM 4). I did this because I am planning on replacing my stock Intel HSF with a Coolermaster V6 GT Cooler, which is confirmed to block the first blue ram slot (DIMM 1). So far, I have had ZERO issues with the two sticks of ram in the black slots.

However, the official word in the mobo manual states that dual-channel will only work in two configurations:

1.) Two Sticks in the BLUE slots (DIMM 1 and DIMM 3)
or
2.) Four Sticks in both the BLUE and BLACK Slots (DIMM 1-4)

Again I have my two sticks of ram placed in the two black slots (DIMM 2 and DIMM 4).


Thus I have the following questions that maybe I can get an official answer from.

Having two sticks in the black slots (DIMM 2 and DIMM 4) obviously work, but...
1.) Do the two sticks run in dual channel mode? Normally I just check the Memory tab --> Channel# section of CPU-Z, but that section is greyed out for some reason.
2.) Are there any other drawbacks to placing the ram in this configuration?
3.) Is there any other way to verify if my ram is running in dual channel?

Thank you very much in advance!

 

[Henry]

I haven't heard of anyone having problems using the black slots and yes it would be dual channel with them there. Single channel would be if you had 1 stick each in a blue & a black slot.

 

[Englishman]

Both blue and black work, but the black slots allow a higher memory clock for me. I can run @1866MHz stable using the black slots on my B3 board. On my B2 board I could run @ 2133MHz. The blue slots were one step behind for me in both cases. Still waiting for a BIOS that works @2133MHz on a B3 board (known problem discussed in another thread).

 

[HU16E]

Still waiting for a BIOS that works @2133MHz on a B3 board

   Corsair CMGTX3 worked at 2133 on a P67A-GD65(B3) on only 1.600v's with no issues on both the B2 & the current B3 I have. Maybe it's the quality of the RAM or the SPD profiles? BIOS's are being released rather frequently addressing RAM compatibility. Presume a ticket has been opened with MSI Tech Support on the exact RAM that is having this problem.

 

ndawgdrake, in my tests, the only thing I noticed while running RAM in slots 2 & 4 was a very small drop in FPS. Less than 1. For questions one through three, yes, they run in dual channel in 1 & 3 or 2 & 4. No drawbacks other than maybe a fractional loss of less than one FPS. That could be just with the board I have. Yes, download MaxxMEM2 & it will show the channel mode. Note my MaxxMEM2 - Preview screenshot shows it. Maybe in a new release, CPU-Z will show the channel mode correctly rather than grayed out..

 

[ndawgdrake]

Thanks so much for that information, fellas! I was afraid I'd have to get a different cooler, but am going to pull the trigger on the V6! 

Again, thanks!