Will 1 gig run vista smoothly?

I just bought an xps system, will 1 gig of ram run vista smoothly? thanks

 

Yes, 1 GB is the recomended amount for Windows Vista, so it should run fine and smooth. However, Vista is quite a bit RAM hungry, and having more RAM will speed it up, depending on how many programs/applications you run normally.

 

It will run VISTA smoothly. You'll probably need more if you want to run vista and say, a high-end application : )

 

1 GB will definitely run Vista. 2 GB would be preferable, but really, 1 GB is enough for most people.

 

now another question, which is bettter, 1G of 667 mhz or 2G of 533 mhz?

I might swap out the memory on my E1505 (2G) and put it on my XPS M1210 (1G).

thanks

 

There is practically no difference between 667 MHz and 533 Mhz RAM. The latency is higher on the 667 MHz, so the speed ends up being roughly equal to the 533 Mhz clocked RAM. Generally, more RAM is better, so if the chioce is between 1 GB and 2 GB, then taking the 2 GB is preferred.

 

awesome. Now is it easy to uninstall/install ram? lol thanks

 

Are you sure? The Merom core (T7200) runs the front side bus at 667MHz. From everything I've read, running memory synchronously with your FSB eliminates handshakes and improves performance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_2

 

No, a RAM upgrade is one of the easiest things to do. I have linked below a page, which shows how it can be done (Google for more, if necessary). It involves taking of a panel under the notebook, removing the old RAM, and inserting the new RAM. Then close the panel. Your notebook will also have panels, from which you can access the RAM. If you are not sure which panel to open, have a look in the manual for the notebook, as most have instructions on how to upgrade the RAM.

http://www.computermemoryupgrade.net/installing-laptop-memory.html

geekydude, the bandwidth provided by 533 Mhz, is more than enough to satisfy the bandwidth needed by the Core 2 Duo processors. That is why in the beginning, when Core Duo (also 667 MHz FSB), and Core 2 Duo, notebooks were sold using 533 MHz RAM. Only up until now, the price has steadied, and 667 Mhz RAM is affordable. However, you are not incorrect. In earlier, and some current processors, like the desktop Core 2 Duo, RAM that is sychronous with the FSB is must for good performance. The mobile Core 2 Duo series, however, gets enough bandwidth from either 533 Mhz or 667 MHz RAM.

 

I'm not sure about that. If the CPU front side bus runs at 667MHz, and you're using handshakes to make it communicate with a slower memory bus at 533MHz, how could that be "enough" to satisfy the CPU?

It's like if I have a gigabit ethernet card and a 100Mbps router. My gigabit ethernet card is not functioning at its full potential, right?

Unless by "enough" you mean decent performance, but not optimized performance?

PC2-5300 memory is starting to come down in price and you really don't save much by going with PC2-4200, that's why I'm making this point.

 

Yes, that is correct. The handshake analogy works, however, imagine it like a factory (being the processor) and a lorry (memory). So if the lorry (memory) is faster, it reaches the factory, faster. But, the memory simply dumps its payload, and goes to retrieve more. So, the factory ends up with a pile of new data (payload), that it must use to finish the task that was given to it.

So, as long as the memory can get the data fast enough to the processor, so that the procesor does not have to wait for the data, then performance is already at its peak. By enough, I mean the amount needed for the processor to process as much as it possibly can (or to a point where it is limited by somethin it has, be that a low clockspeed).

 

Does XPS M1210 come with 2 replaceable ram modules or just one? What I mean is one permanently soldered to the motherboard and the other in a removable slot ?

 

The m1210 has two user accessible slots, only trick is one is under the keyboard, so you must do some minor disassembly. Its not hard to do and you can find detailed step by step instructions on dells support site.

For real world applications, there is no noticeable difference between 533 and 667, DDR 667 has a higher latency period than 533, resulting in near identical real world performance, 667 will come slightly ahead in benchmarks, so unless you live and die by benchmarks alone, either one will suit you just fine.

 

Short of actual performance benchmarks, which themselves are of little value in everyday computing, it would be difficult to determine the effect of CAS 5 vs CAS 4 latency differences in 667 vs 533 RAM.

Sure, the FSB and RAM are at the same speed, and supposedly the "handshaking" is less, but how much of the "performance pie" is latency related? Plus, 667 vs 533 is only 25% higher, as is CAS 5 vs CAS 4 25% slower.

So, I suppose if cost were exactly the same, i'd go with 667. But, usually, that is not the case.

 

Intel's CPU FSBs actually run at one-fourth the total "advertised" rated FSB. In the case of Core 2 Duo, which runs at 667 Mhz, that would equate to roughly a 167 Mhz FSB (that's the number you'll see when you open up CPU-Z). RAM memory runs at half the total "advertised" memory clock. So, 800 Mhz RAM is actually clocked at 400 Mhz, 667 Mhz RAM is actually clocked at 334 Mhz, 533 Mhz RAM is actually clocked at 267 Mhz.

The rated RAM frequency of 533-Mhz RAM (267 Mhz) is higher than the rated FSB of the Merom FSB (167 Mhz).


The reason why people buy higher frequency RAM (this applies to desktops, mostly) is for overclocking. Say you have a Core 2 Duo desktop processor that runs at 2.4 Ghz. The rated FSB of the desktop C2D is 1066 Mhz. Divide by four and get 267 Mhz. But why does the processor run at 2400 Mhz? Because there's a multiplier (in the case of this processor, a 9x multiplier). 267 Mhz * 9 = 2400 Mhz (which is 2.4 Ghz, the processor's rated speed).

If you have 533-Mhz RAM on the desktop, divide by two to get 267 Mhz. 267 * 9 = 2.4 Ghz, which is the same exact processor speed. That means you can't overclock the processor (assuming you won't overclock the RAM itself). If you have 667-Mhz RAM, divide by two to get 334 Mhz. If you overclock with 667 Mhz RAM, you'll get a processor speed of 334 Mhz * 9 = 3.0 Ghz. The story continues with 800 Mhz and 1066 Mhz RAM - overclock to 3.6 Ghz, overclock to 4.8 Ghz.

 

Dell™ XPS™ M1210 Service Manual here.