The setup uses four RAM sticks, which typically indicates a dual-channel configuration.
The setup uses four RAM sticks, which typically indicates a dual-channel configuration.
You have four 2GB DDR2 RAM sticks installed on your Asus P5W DH Deluxe board. This setup is likely a dual channel configuration.
Orange and black are two separate channels; a quad channel setup would require eight slots.
Dual channel setup is common when the system isn't an Intel workstation board and has only four slots, allowing maximum performance. Quad channel requires eight slots and was introduced with Intel's LGA 2011v1 and DDR3 support.
Slots don’t matter much beyond having at least four (obviously). You require a CPU and motherboard that back quad channel, not a fixed slot count or setup. I use quad channel on my X99 Micro 2 and X299 Dark, both with just four slots. If you’re focusing on slots, the best clue is whether the board has RAM slots on both sides of the CPU rather than just one.
I have both boards in hand—they’re quite physical. The X79 Classified fits four slots, as do the X99 and X79 ASUS Gene models. The X399M Taichi (first/second generation TR board, mATX) also works with four slots. Many Chinese off-brand LGA2011 and 2011-3 boards on eBay are four-slot only, though I haven’t confirmed if they actually support quad channel. The main point is there are plenty of four-slot boards that support quad channel; focusing solely on slot count doesn’t help much. The real issue is you need a motherboard and CPU that can handle quad channel, which yours don’t have. That’s the short version—no more details.