Guides/Memory

How to check if your RAM runs in dual channel

By Michael Steininger · Updated October 2026

Your processor talks to memory over two channels at once, but only when the sticks sit in the right slots. One stick, or two in the wrong slots, gives you a single channel and half the bandwidth.

Check with CPU-Z#

1. Download CPU-Z from the maker's site, cpuid.com, and start it.
2. Open the Memory tab.
3. Read Channel #.

• Dual: correct.
• 4 x 32-bit on DDR5: also correct. Each DDR5 stick has two smaller 32-bit channels of its own, so two sticks show four.
• Single, or 2 x 32-bit on DDR5: only one channel is in use.

Task Manager (Performance → Memory → Slots used) tells you how many sticks are installed, but not which channel they're on.

Which slots to use with two sticks#

On most boards with four slots, two sticks belong in the second and fourth slot, counted from the processor. They're often labelled A2 and B2 on the board. The manual says for sure: look for a table called something like “recommended memory configuration”.

Two sticks side by side, in A1 and A2, both sit on channel A and give you single channel.

Why it matters#

Half the bandwidth costs most in games that lean on the processor: high-FPS shooters, strategy games, big open worlds. It costs even more when the processor's built-in graphics is used, because that shares the memory. The exact difference depends on the game, so measure before and after.

Questions#