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    RAM query....

    Discussion in 'Alienware' started by plasma., Jul 18, 2008.

  1. plasma.

    plasma. herpyderpy

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    Would 2 GB of RAM be enough for windows aero, gaming and just casual work? we cant get any extra RAM down here in Australia, no newegg or frys, and im thinking of saving some money by getting 2 GB of RAM...
     
    plasma., Jul 18, 2008
    #1
  2. Nirvana

    Nirvana Notebook Prophet

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    aero is based on your GPU, not ram.
    no computer store at all?
     
    Nirvana, Jul 18, 2008
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  3. BattleDuck

    BattleDuck Notebook Geek

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    I'm on 2gb with a dell xps m1710 right now, windows xp pro, i game and do work and i've never had problems..but if you have vista I heard that 2gb is the minimum?
     
    BattleDuck, Jul 18, 2008
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  4. plasma.

    plasma. herpyderpy

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    i can only find 2 gig ram in stores
     
    plasma., Jul 18, 2008
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  5. Nirvana

    Nirvana Notebook Prophet

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    are you using 64bit vista?
     
    Nirvana, Jul 18, 2008
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  6. Mystik

    Mystik Notebook Deity

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    the m15x only has the option of Vista 32.

    2GB is plenty, even for gaming. I havn't heard anyone complain. ever... heavy multitasking, you'd be done-for. I did some video editing with an average of 6-8 editing programs open at any given time, and my ram was full (with 4GB). for light work and gaming, 2GB should be just fine....

    Keep in mind you might have some issues alt-tabbing back to the desktop. the kernel, Explorer, and the window manager software (for aero) will likely be unloaded to the pagefile to make room for the game... so expect your system to lag a bit coming out of games... rest assured, the speed will return (if you want it back fast, you can always reboot :p )
     
    Mystik, Jul 18, 2008
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  7. plasma.

    plasma. herpyderpy

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    aint alienware using 32 bit? they are owned by dell and dell always use 32 bit.
     
    plasma., Jul 18, 2008
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  8. Nirvana

    Nirvana Notebook Prophet

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    get 1GB from AW, and 2GB from your local store, 3GB total.
     
    Nirvana, Jul 18, 2008
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  9. GamerPro25

    GamerPro25 Notebook Consultant

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    I see what you did there.
     
    GamerPro25, Jul 18, 2008
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  10. ryujin

    ryujin 2B or not 2B

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    ok - ill ask this here instead of a new thread as it is on the same topic...

    here goes:

    with the new 2G "turbo" memory offered with the new clevo's (yes, i am hpoing AW gets there to but it is the only reference i have right now), does/would vista 32/64 bit add that to the total RAM as it does in XP?
    is the turbo totally seperate from an actuall RAM available amount?
    make sense?

    thx.... :)
     
    ryujin, Jul 18, 2008
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  11. Mystik

    Mystik Notebook Deity

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    except from AW it's 1GB dual channel... aka 2x512MB chips.

    fail.
     
    Mystik, Jul 18, 2008
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  12. Mystik

    Mystik Notebook Deity

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    okay, turbo memory and RAM are two completely different things.

    In vista, Turbo Memory gets split between a hard-drive cache, and prefetch files. It's also worthy of note that it's not likely any faster than the harddrive... which is maybe 1/20th the speed of RAM. so using turbo Memory for RAM would be idiotic. Swap file would be a good idea... having it on a separate "disk" would theoretically increase performance, but only by a marginal amount....

    XP really isn't designed to use the Turbo Memory. It really is a Vista thing.
     
    Mystik, Jul 18, 2008
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  13. ryujin

    ryujin 2B or not 2B

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    ok i get that and thx mystik, but i guess i am asking how the pc 'sees' the total amount then.
    i.e. you can have 4G RAM but 32bit OS will only see 3G.

    so i guess if i understand from your post is that the turbo is not even seen by the OS then.
     
    ryujin, Jul 18, 2008
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  14. Nirvana

    Nirvana Notebook Prophet

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    make it 2.5GB total then. ;)
     
    Nirvana, Jul 18, 2008
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  15. ryujin

    ryujin 2B or not 2B

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    i think the point was that since there are only 2 chnls to utilize memory in that there is no way to fit more then 2 modules in the system.
    thus the OP (?) was saying he can only max out the laptop to 2G.
    of course, if he got a 2G stick and then tried to add it to the 512, i am thinking there will be issues then for sure.
     
    ryujin, Jul 18, 2008
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  16. Nirvana

    Nirvana Notebook Prophet

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    what issues? I've tried combo like that.
     
    Nirvana, Jul 18, 2008
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  17. ryujin

    ryujin 2B or not 2B

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    i was taking it from the post by mystik talking about dual chnl.
    i thought dual chnl was not effective (if at all) unless equal RAM sticks were utilized in each slot.
    maybe books are different.

    :)
     
    ryujin, Jul 18, 2008
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  18. Nirvana

    Nirvana Notebook Prophet

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    dual channel is an add-on, not a must.
     
    Nirvana, Jul 18, 2008
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  19. Mystik

    Mystik Notebook Deity

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    I'm going to agree with Nirvana here. Dual channel is a bonus... I havn't yet met a dual channel chipset that wouldn't accept two different values of memory in independant banks. it will not switch to dual channel mode in that condition, but it will work.

    *thumbs up on the 2.5G ;)

    as for the 32-bit OS question, yes, my m15x with 4GB can only utilize ~3GB of it without turning on PAE (doing which, messes up the drivers real good)...

    this is why a lot of forum members have been rooting for AW to code their command centre and OSD for 64bit. when, or if they do, I'm sure a lot of people will be happier; partly due to the fact that I believe you can upgrade from 32-bit Vista to 64-bit vista with little to no charge. Just a download (the key will work in either)
     
    Mystik, Jul 19, 2008
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  20. ryujin

    ryujin 2B or not 2B

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    ok thx nirvana and mystik....
    i learn new stuff everyday here :)

    it seems more people are getting the 64 bit OS as of recent.
    seems like a good thing to do soon anyway.

    and just to make sure - cuase i am new...the turbo memory is completely independant from the actual RAM...yes? (i know it is phsically independant, but i am asking if the OS recognizes the turbo as part of RAM)
     
    ryujin, Jul 19, 2008
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  21. plasma.

    plasma. herpyderpy

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    nah, dw. im getting a hp hdx dragon now. m15x: too much trouble
     
    plasma., Jul 19, 2008
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  22. Mystik

    Mystik Notebook Deity

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    that is correct, the Turbo Memory is COMPLETELY separate from RAM. it also only works under Vista.
     
    Mystik, Jul 19, 2008
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  23. Yemo

    Yemo Notebook Consultant

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    just a quick tip..call AW and ask them what RAM you should buy for your respective system
     
    Yemo, Jul 19, 2008
    #23