Ram upgrade on Acer 5920G

I have the intel turbomemory model, in UK, which is LX.AGS0X.015

I am also running Windows Vista.

I'm thinking of upgrading my ram (currently 2gb), to possibly 3 or 4gb. Hopefully this will give Vista a little more juice, and help with games too. After all, I only have 256mb graphics card, so if it starts using turbocache, my ram really suffers!

I'm just a little bit unsure of the best way to upgrade!

My understanding is that there are 4 ram slots in this laptop, 2 are already used up (2x1gb), and 2 are left unused. Would it be best to buy two more 1gb sticks, because I read somewhere that using 2 sticks of the same value is better than one 2gb stick. Is this affected at all by the fact that I already have 2 slots used - would this start to slow the system down in any way, since all 4 slots would be used!?

Also, what kind of ram would work best with this laptop? Is it best to buy exactly the same sticks as it came with - so I would have 4 identical sticks, from the same manufacturer? What about the memory speeds, I guess all 4 should be the same too? It's no good having 2 fast modules, and 2 slow?

If there are any other issues that I've missed out, could someone please raise them too I think the actual installation of the memory is rather straight forward, just click them in whilst the power is off, and it should be active next time I boot?

Thanks!

 

As i know, there are only 2 slots, so if you want to upgrade, you can do this, but the total amount is 4gb, so the best would be 2x2.
Anyway, if you put the new sticks into the slots, the system should recognize them immediately after powering on.

 

that's right...2 slots...i've done the same...put 2*2 gb of ram but the performance is not as you expect it to be...

 

Ok, well at least I know there are only 2 slots now!

I'll certainly look into the 2x2gb sticks option then, perhaps even going for speedy 800Mhz. I assume there is some improvement from this extra memory - since it is memory-hungry Vista that we are talking about!

I also remember people initially saying that Vista only recognises 3gb of ram, has this now changed?

 

All 32-bit operating systems (Vista, XP) can only access/see about 3GB to 3.2GB of RAM. You can buy 4GB (2 x 2GB) and upgrade your unit, but you'll only be using about 75% of your purchase. This is why when I upgraded my Extensa 5620, I chose to go with 2GB. In theory, you could buy 3GB (1 x 2GB, 1 x 1GB) but most don't recommend it. It would work, but mess with the Double Data Rate speeds. I won't go into the long argument about if it really makes that much of a difference... suffice it to say, DDR kits are sold in matching pairs for a reason. YMMV

The cause of this 3GB limitation is how the hardware is addressed. Everything past the 3GB limit uses the same addressing as the PCI bus. This is solved in the 64-bit versions, but then you're dealing with poor driver/application support. I did hear that Microsoft was patching 32-bit Vista to start showing the full 4GB of RAM under system properties- but it still can't actually use the last gig. It's only being done to stop complaints of laptop buyers who notice their expensive new 4GB RAM laptop actually only has 3.2GB

 

Darn, didn't realize the 5920 only had 2 RAM slots. Do you know if the 2gb version is a one stick or dual stick that came with the laptop?

 

Mostly likely dual stick.

 

Oh well, guess the 2 megs of ram I bought online the other day (hey, it was only $25 a stick) is useless to me now! Damn it!

 

Well I will certainly look into the pricing of 2x2GB sticks, and given this 3GB Vista 32bit limitation, I may definitely be tempted by faster 800mhz sticks.

Even if it is only a 1gb improvement, I still fancy that extra bit of juice under the hood, because I will never be tinkering or upgrading any other part of the laptop. Unless of course, 3gb owners can tell me that their upgrade made no noticeable difference (compared to their previous 2gb)...

 

the chipset would downclock 800mhz ram to 667mhz as its a limitation of the santa rosa platform so it would be pointless paying for faster ram

 

ive always wondered if popping a 2gb stick in would boost game and system performance ,double date rate is only a 4-5% performance increase vs the 1gb boost

 

Good to know, thanks!

 

i was looking to upgrade to 3 gigs also but wasnt sure if it was worth it.

 

I would be interested to hear from any 5920 owner who has made the jump to 2x2gb, or even just 3gb somehow. How much difference did it actually make? If I was to upgrade, sounds like I would go for 667Mhz too.

The intel turbomemory doesn't really seem to do much, so I figured getting more ram would smooth Vista and cut down game load times etc., even stutters at times?

 

Got the extra 2 1 gig sticks of RAM today and the Acer 5920 G definately has 2 1 gig sticks already so they're going back. Frustrating why they'd put two 1Gigs forcing anyone who wants to upgrade to replace the memory it came with entirely!

 

i have 2x512 ram already and only bought 1 1gb stick.can i use 1 512 and 1 1gb together. i just got my first computer last week. acer 5050 5954

 

i have 2*2gb and yes its much faster now, and you will see it if you have dreamscene as wallpaper playing without breaks when run several programs. the boot its very fast only 10seconds (my 5920 with stock settings, windows vista x32 with 2gb take a looooooooong time to boot, specially when the hdd full lol) to windows x64 login appear. i think it worth it in my case, i dont like slow laptops that take very time to do a task lolol.


cumps

 

Wow that sounds like what I am hoping for! Also, since 2gb seems to be the minimum for gaming on Vista, upgrading to 3 or 4gb makes sense...

Also, what is the feel on speeds - 667 for Santa Rosa yeh? And "timings", whatever that really means - do I need to take these into account when buying ram or is it really only something for overclocking (which I won't be doing). Would better timings make an impact too, on games for example?

 

3gb dont make sense in my opinion. i think who wants to upgrade ram and already have 2gb the only way that makes sense is go to 4gb to work in dual channel, i dont know if 3gb work in dual channel. but if you go to 4gb install the vista x64 to work properly and make use of all the 4gb. btw far as i know the 2gb modules are cheaper, i bought 2x of this modules:

TEAM SO-DIMM DDR2 2GB PC5300
Link Produto: Team Group
Descrição: - Sodimm de 2048MB para portatil
- PC5300 @ 667MHZ
- 5.5.5.12
Garantia: 2 ano(s)
Preço: 39.9€



cumps

 

Somebody mentioned in another thread that using 4gb of ram in vista 32bit may even make things slower, or cause problems? Is this true?

 

.........bump

 

I have upgraded from 1x2Gb (667Mhz) of memory to 2x2gb (800Mhz). I also did a fresh install with vista x64 to avoid the 2Gb memory limitation (but as far as i know there is a way to somehow avoid it in x32 vista too. Not sure if it will work tho).

As for the improvement in speed all i can say is that you might (and i mean that) see some difference. Mostly you will see that the system will be able to run more programs with no problem or run a game better. For simple use i would say its almost the same as when with 2Gb of memory (maybe Intel turbo memory doesn't let me see a lot of difference).

I went for 800Mhz memory only to get better memory timings (from 5-5-5-15-21 to 5-5-5-12-19) and maybe future use. i would recommend the cheaper you can find