2GB worth it?

Hi

I have a packard bell MV86-003 notebook with the following specs C2D T5500 CPU @ 1.66GHZ
1GB RAM
MR X1700 with 128MB/64bit video card.

Currently this notebook is 10 months old and i intend to use it for at least another 2 years. Is it worth it to upgrade the ram, as the limit in my system is clearly the video card. I know its not great(64bit bus), but it runs crysis ok, so i think it'll game ok with newer games, since i always play at 848x480. I norticed that in agmes like thw witcher and ut3 the fps is holding up(over 40), but the game is not very playable because of some lag and small pauses. I think that's because of the ram, but i'm not sure. And after the upgrade do you think i have any chance of running future games(i'm mostly interested in hl2 ep3, sc2, gta4, and most of all mass effect if it comes to the pc). I know these games are not out so a sure answer is impossible, but i was just wondering what you tech heads think

Thanks in advance

 

I thought the x1700 had a 256-bit bus? Or am I wrong?


Anyways, those pauses/freeze-ups definitely sound like a memory issue. Are you running XP or Vista?

XP needs 2GB to run smoothly.
Vista needs 3GB+ to run without any hiccups.

 

Chances are, most of the stuttering/pauses are from data transferring in/out of your video RAM, not system ram. That said, adding another GB might show a slight improvement in this area (decreasing stuttering/pausing) if your software can use it, but won't do a much for increasing overall FPS.

Since 2X1GB of ram is dirt cheap, why not try it?

 

You will see a noticeable improvement in almost all your tasks, but the in-game stuttering you experience might not be caused by insufficient RAM.
If you can describe the stuttering in more detail, and list your whole system specs, some members might be able to advise you on how to solve those issues.

 

XP can run fine on only 1GB

Vista really only needs 2GB to run fine

Most modern games will either make it a minimum requirement to have 1GB of RAM or 2GB. Remember if you have 1GB of RAM installed, you still have to take away the RAM used by Windows and other applications to show how much RAM is actually free for gaming.

stuttering in game will be caused by a bottleneck in the system, most likely the video card as 128MB has become sub-standard these days.

2GB of notebook RAM is quite cheap these days, it wont hurt to improve performance that way

 

It usually has a 128bit bus, but mine is apparently crippled.

XP HE SP2

I already listed my whole system specs: C2D T5500 @ 1.66GHZ
1GB RAM(2x512@533 mhz)
MRX1700 128MB\64bit
100GB Seagate 5400.2 HDD

As for describing the stuttering, well, i'm not sure how to put it: In The Witcher the fps is good(over 30 and sometimes into the 50-60s) and when i move the camera around slowly it's smooth, but if i turn like 180 degrees it pauses for a fraction of a second. Also, when i click the different entries in the journal it only shows after almost 1 sec. Not to mention that it loads very slowly and when i exit the game i can't do anything in windows because the hdd is very busy. Also, if i run, it sometimes stutters , but then it's smooth, and then stuttering again etc.

I'm running the game(tthe witcher) at 800x600 with everything set to low except lighting(medium), and since textures and resolutions are the main vram hogs, i don't see how vram is the issue. The same with all new games. I'm running all of them at 800x600, since i find that res acceptable.

 

when you close the game and it takes a long while to load, it's most likely the ram...on my friends dell e1505 core duo t2400 1gb ram, x1400, CS:S used to take up to 2 mins to close after playing. He then purchased a 1x2gb stick of ram for $33.99 from newegg and now it takes less than 10 seconds to quit the game. It's mostly the loading/unloading of textures/maps from memory. upgrading to 2gb's ram is definately worth it, since you can get 2.5gbs total if you have 2x512 ram, swap one out for a 2gb dimm, and you'll be set.

Check the HOT RAM DEALS thread, the prices in the thread might be out of date, but the real prices are less than 1/2(last time i checked). I bought myself 4gb of ram for only 74 bucks..amazing compared to only a few months ago($99 for 1x2gb).

 

2GB is good for XP. Its definetly worth the upgrade even with thr GPU.

 

Your RAM is the bottleneck. Your CPU and GPU are still fine. If you use Vista, definately upgrade. If you have XP and you game, you should still upgrade.

 

The turning 180 degrees part is a classic symptom of not enough video ram.

(FYI, The Witcher has a patch for the slow load/save bug)

Lastly, the busy HD upon exiting would be fixed with more system RAM.

 

OK, thanks for the replies. I think i'll upgrade. Unfortunately, i live in romania, and in this ***** having a laptop is almost sci-fi. My budget is the aproximate equivalent of 80USD in romanian money(RON). I would upgrade, but the problem si that i'm not sure if i would void the warranty if i open the notebook case.

 

Most companies allow you to upgrade the ram without void their warranty.

It's an easy process too.

 

Upgrade to 2gb, it is very much worth it. I did it to my laptop now which has XP and it runs great.

 

2GB or RAM is definitely worth it. Hell, I ordered 4GB of RAM for my desktop the other day. These days, 2GB of RAM is standard.

 

I just got 2x1GB kningstons(the cheapest i found) and had the guys at the shop install them(they said i would void the warranty if i tried to do it myself). Now, bring on all the new games and i hope this will help this thing survive another 2 years of gaming

Again, thanks again for your replies

Oh and i just opened everest to find these latencies: 5-5-5-15 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 20-35-3-5-3 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR). Are they normal for 667 mhz?

 

Cas 5 is standard. There are some Cas 4 sticks out there for more $$.

How does your laptop perform now?

What got better, and what didn't?

 

the pc probably became faster

 

I don't have any high performance games available right now. I just used it a little(menial tasks in xp), and i don't know if its just me, or this thing is a little more responsive.

The guy at the shop also cleaned the fan with a brush, and this thing is Much cooler and quieter now(the fan is not making strange noises anymore).

 

Well, i ran an extreme test; utorrent downloading+cs1.6+ut2004+a film in WMP11+google earth+yahoo!messenger. And the games and the film were running smooth and i still had 500mb free

there's a problem however. I just noticed that the ram lid is now bent at the intake vent and it wasn't like that before. I can't believe it! those idiots at the shop can't mount a lid properly!!!!!

 

Packard bell decided that they wanted a 64bit card and it is garbage...

 

Damn. That kinda sucks. Sorry to hear about those who have that card and/or system.

@bubba_000, lol. First they tell you it will void your warranty if you do it yourself and then you find out they couldn't screw the cover back on correctly.

Next time, go to the shop with a bat or cro bar and give them a little something something.. he he.

 

Not necessarily. I don't mind playing at 800x600 so the low bandwidth doesn't affect me at all. It's performing just like a ''regular'' x1700 at that res.

And one more thing: after thay made me pay 7 euros for the simple ram change thay told me that i don't actually lose the warranty if i open the case, but only if i break something....Anyway i solved it myself. All it needed was a little brute force applied in the right place.

 

Thats good.

 

Those look a little off. I was messing around with some PC2-8500 today, and had it set at 4-4-4-6-2T-4-30-6-3-X-7.8ns. I can't remember what X was offhand.

 

ScifiMike12 - i like your signature

life sucks, enjoy it...isnt that the truth lol.