W3V maximum RAM for best performance ?

I increased RAM from standard 512 MB to 2 GB on my W3V but really do not noitice much overall improvement - it is correvt RAM from Crucial and is recognised OK by computer- should I adjust anything else to improve performance for what I do - Offics apps+Photoshop Elements 4 + internet

Thanks,

ARC

 

Well...... you're not going to notice improvement unless you were already stressing the 512mb of RAM that was in the system....... (which you could see in something like the task manager).... and to see an improvement between 1gb and 2gb would be very hard to begin with.... so you're not going to see a TON of performance even if you were coming close to peaking the 512mb that were in your system.

... if you want to see something that will show you an automatic performance increase for what you're doing - install a 7200rpm hard drive..

 

I agree. If you weren't really taxing the system already with memory hogging applications...more RAM does nothing, essentially.

The slowest component in any computer is the hard drive...(because it mechanically spins, whereas the others don't). Justin's recommendation of a 7200 RPM drive is the best thing you can do.

 

Enough RAM means that Windows can hold all open applications in physical RAM and not need to use virtual memory on the hard disk (the page file). What is enough depends on what applications you use and how many you have open simultaneously. Enough RAM enables you to switch between open applications without any time delay while they are reloaded.

You can experiment with the effect of changing the Windows RAM performance settings. My Computer > Properties > Advanced > Performance Settings > Advanced. If you have more RAM than the applications use then background services and the cache might benefit from a bigger share.

John

 

I kinda disagree i always notice an improvement when upgrading from 512 to 1gig even if i was taxing all of the 512 the OS seems to always run smoother and loading apps is faster as well as other things. from 1 gig to 2 gig really no difference though. and the 7200rpm drives do make a good boost as well. but to me these days 1 gig is the minimum i will have in my system especially if i game.

 

... right but that's you (me too), but I don't think that's the case in this situation.. if they aren't seeing a "performance boost" it's because they didn't need it........ 768mb is a sweet spot for most people........ but certainly to see a difference between 1gb and 2gb -- even for someone who could use it would be very hard.

 

I think 2x512 sticks if your platform supports dual-channel is the best method for a "power" desktop right now. you're never going to have to seriously dip into swap space, if at all, and the dual-channel will give a performance boost.

 

Ok, then here's a quick question...

I'm picking up the W3V with a 4200 RPM hard drive. I'm ok with that, as I'm not usually in a hurry. However, with 1gig of memory I'm wondering how to best take advantage of that instead of using a large pagefile. Would I be able to set the amount reserved to 0 MBs? Would that speed things up at all? I think I'll be satisfied with the 4200 RPM, if not I can upgrade later. Space was the chief concern, and I think the slower speed will help, when I'm in class for long periods, with any heat problems.

Thanks for your help!

 

Actually 2 x 512 is outdated by anyone's standards today. With the cost of 1gb sticks and the "lack" of true performance coming from dual-channel chipsets, especially in notebooks....... you're better off get a single stick of 1gb with the option to upgrade to 2gb down the road and having the satisfaction of becoming "dual-channel" at that point and killing two birds with one stone and getting all the performance out of the system you can with one upgrade...... in the long hual, that's the better way to go because dual-channel isn't going to satisfy someone who needs more than 512mb no matter how many places the ram is accessed.

 

So does anybody know if I can supplement RAM vs using a larger pagefile, per my other post?

 

I recall reading an article a while ago that stated allocating the page file size does not affect performance much at all...regardless of RAM. So, whether you have 1GB, 2GB or 10 GB of RAM... setting the page file to 0 MB won't have much of an improvement in performance (at least in terms of loading times...because that's usually the hard drive's fault)

 

Unless you are running an application (PS) or game (BF2), that specifically can take advantage of the increase in ram, anything past the magic 1GB mark is pointless.