Will Flex Memory （different volumn dual channel memory）improve the performance of intel GPU?

[idata]

Hi, my device is a dell latitude e5470 laptop with i5 6440hq without discrated gpu, so I use the hd530 gpu.

But I only have a 8GB ddr4 memory installed which decrease the graphics performance.

If I install another 16GB ddr4 memory, which make the Flex Memory , will my hd530 use the dual channel part or single channel part?

Or I should still install another 8GB memory to ensure the performance?

[Stefan3D]

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-channel_memory_architecture# Dual-channel_architecture Multi-channel memory architecture - Wikipedia you should prefer a "matched pair".

Otherwise check out: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/graphics-drivers/000020962.html Frequently Asked Questions for Intel® Graphics Memory on Windows® 10

NB

There is an urgent BIOS update available for your rig:

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/product-support/product/latitude-e5470-laptop/drivers/advanced Support for Latitude E5470 | Drivers & downloads

[idata]

Thanks. I have already updated my BIOS. I have heard that 8GB + 16GB memory can make up the "Intel Flex Memory Technology", where 8+8 dual channel and 8 single. I just want more RAM, 32GB is best surely, but now the memory price.....emmmm u know. So 24 GB may be better to me if the bandwidth benefit to graphics works.

[Stefan3D]

Honestly i wasn't aware of Intel Flex.

Anyway here is the official documentation, page 23f:

https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/datasheets/6th-gen-core-family-mobile-u-y-processor-lines-datasheet-vol-1.pdf https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/datasheets/6th-gen-core-family-mobile-u-y-processor-lines-d…

System Memory Organization Modes

The IMC supports two memory organization modes, single-channel and dual-channel.

Depending upon how the DDR Schema and DIMM Modules are populated in each

memory channel, a number of different configurations can exist.

Single-Channel Mode

In this mode, all memory cycles are directed to a single channel. Single-Channel mode

is used when either the Channel A or Channel B DIMM connectors are populated in any

order, but not both.

Dual-Channel Mode—Intel® Flex Memory Technology Mode

The IMC supports Intel Flex Memory Technology Mode. Memory is divided into a

symmetric and asymmetric zone. The symmetric zone starts at the lowest address in

each channel and is contiguous until the asymmetric zone begins or until the top

address of the channel with the smaller capacity is reached. In this mode, the system

runs with one zone of dual-channel mode and one zone of single-channel mode,

simultaneously, across the whole memory array.

Note:

Channels A and B can be mapped for physical channel 0 and 1 respectively or vice

versa; however, channel A size must be greater or equal to channel B size.

Dual-Channel Symmetric Mode (Interleaved Mode)

Dual-Channel Symmetric mode, also known as interleaved mode, provides maximum

performance on real world applications. Addresses are ping-ponged between the

channels after each cache line (64-byte boundary). If there are two requests, and the

second request is to an address on the opposite channel from the first, that request can

be sent before data from the first request has returned. If two consecutive cache lines

are requested, both may be retrieved simultaneously, since they are ensured to be on

opposite channels. Use Dual-Channel Symmetric mode when both Channel A and

Channel B DIMM connectors are populated in any order, with the total amount of

memory in each channel being the same.

When both channels are populated with the same memory capacity and the boundary

between the dual channel zone and the single channel zone is the top of memory, IMC

operates completely in Dual-Channel Symmetric mode.

Note: The DRAM device technology and width may vary from one channel to the other.

[59764]

Your processor supports Intel Flex Memory Access, meaning you should be fine installing different ram sizes as long as each SODIMM is matched with the same double data rate (ddr).

You can check your processor here:

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/88962/intel-core-i5-6440hq-processor-6m-cache-up-to-3-50-ghz.html

In case you're not sure, Intel Flex Memory Access allows for dual channel access even with two DIMMs with different sizes (flex mode)