I have a memory question

I have a hp pavilion with:
System Memory (RAM) 1GB
System Memory (RAM) Expandable To 2GB
Type of Memory (RAM) PC2700 DDR DIMM

Is there a benefit to upgrading to a gig of pc4200?
Havent opened my laptop yet but is there only 2 dimms to put memory?

I play games like titan quest, WOW. Will the 1 gig of higher speed memory benefit me?

thanks

 

Two things:
1. You can't upgrade to PC4200 if your laptop takes PC2700. PC2700 is DDR memory, and PC4200 is DDR2 - they are not compatible. Highest you can go is PC3200 (400MHz).
2. What kind of video card do you have? "Only" 1GB of RAM is fine for Titan Quest.

 

Not the best but titan runs pretty good on medium settings.

ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M IGP graphics with 128MB DDR dedicated video memory; S-video TV-out; USING OMEGA 6.5 DRIVERS

AMD64 technology provides simultaneous support for 32-bit and 64-bit computing, including today's 32-bit applications and tomorrow's 64-bit software; 1MB L2 cache memory for efficient processing

HERES THE LINK TO MY LAPPY

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...t&productCategoryId=cat15107&id=1151657489182

 

The X200M isn't the best GPU as you probably know, but at least yours has its own dedicated memory. If you see your hard drive light active/blinking when playing a game, then that's an indication you are running out of RAM because the system is using the Page file on the hard disk.

 

Probably not worth upgrading - don't worry about higher speed. The question is whether 2G would do better than 1G of memory, but for what you are doing, I doubt it.

Most likely there are only two slots.

Bigger question is does it now have one 1G chip in one slot and another free slot, or a 512M chip in each slot and none free. Everest will probably tell you that, but it's most reliable to just open the cover and look.

If option 1, then you can just buy a 1G DIMM and put it in and have 2G of system memory.

If Option 2, you can either buy a 1G DIMM and swap out one 512M chip and run 1.5G or buy two 1G DIMMS and swap out all the current memory.

If I am correct on the memory you need, it is currently about $100 for a 1G chip and available here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...4+1309121113&Submit=ENE&Nty=1&SubCategory=381

 

If u must upgrade, upgrade to ddr1 pc3200 memory. with a64 tweaker, u can make it run at 400mhz and thus increase the memory speed of ur gpu and get some more peformance out of ur games.

 

thanks for the replys.

So then If i decide to just buy another gig, I need to keep it 2700 right? And can I buy a different brand and mix it with the memory that came with the laptop. Or dose the rule still apply as to keeping the memory the same brand?

 

No you could go faster than 2700, like Adinu said, you could run 3200, but if you are still using any of the original memory, you won't be able to take advantage of the faster speed.

You can mix and match the brands. (You won't get as much of the dual-channel effect with non-matched sticks, but the advantage is minimal anyway).

 

one more question

would 2 gigs of 2700 be better than 1 gig of pc 3200?

 

AFAIK, yes, but I am not certain about that.

 

For games no, for windows and multitaskin yes. More memory will not increase ur fps, just ur load times. But faster memory (and faster gpu memory since its shared) will increase ur fps somewhat.

 

Actually, Cichy1012 has 128M of dedicated GPU memory, so no GPU-related FPS increase from the faster sys memory, unless he allocates more than 128M to the video card, which I am not sure the GE 200M could utilize anyway.

So all you will see is a slight FPS increase from the faster system memory.

 

my gpu isnt shared Adinu.

So still go with the pc3200 then if I want better performance?

 

What are you trying to accomplish?

Adinu basically covered this, and I did in my previous post (which you might have missed as you were replying).

2G of 2700 will help you more with multitasking and such and generally be a more cost-effective upgrade.

1G of 3200, without the existing 2700, will give you a very slight (maybe not noticeble) FPS increase in games (guessing if you were running 47 FPS with PC2700, you might see 48-49 FPS with 3200).

IMO, you would see larger speed increases through overclocking the GPU or CPU (which I generally don't recommend - especially in a laptop), or reducing your graphics settings in the game.

 

sorry I was replying while you were responding.
Im a new guy with this whole computer thing. I do appreciate the help.

Its just someone told me get 1 gig of 3200 because I wasnt utilizing the full power of my front side bus which is 1600. he said with pc 3200 i would be doing a transfer rate of 3.2 instead of 2.7 and with the higher memory I would use the 1600 fsb or some number with 1600...argh..I hope thats what he said.

sorry I dont mean to ask so many questions.

 

AMD processors don't have FSBs actually - they have HyperTransport links, which run at 1600MHz on most [notebook] systems.
You will see some performance boost in games with PC3200, but the video card is your bottleneck here - increasing the RAM speed will not help your video performance much.
RAM buying advice - since you have 2x 512MB PC2700 SO-DIMMs in there now, buy a 1GB stick of PC3200 when you plan to upgrade. The memory will still run at PC2700 speeds since it can't run any faster than the slowest chip, but when/if you upgrade later on to 2GB, you can have 2x 1GB of PC3200.

Ask away - that is what this forum is for.

 

Chaz - Just a comment that that should be newer AMD processors (such as cichy1012's Turion) use HT links. Older processors such as the desktop Durons and (I think?) the laptop Semprons and XP-M's relied on the Northbridge and do have an FSB.

cichy1012 - All of the advice has been correct - in gaming on your system, video is the bottleneck, memory will work better for multitasking with more memory, and will work very slightly better for gaming with faster memory.

And your friend is correct about the memory transfer speed, but that is only a very small component of the overall system performance.

Here is a practical example to hopefully help you with the whole memory speed issue:

The Duron (desktop) processors ran at 100 Mhz FSB. However, you could run the memory bus at either 166, 133, or 100 FSB. The major review sites did some testing and found that games actually played slower with the memory at 133 (b/c the CPU and memory weren't synched) than at 100, but faster at 166 (b/c the CPU could take advantage of the faster speed at that point). But the difference was only around 5 FPS between the slowest and fastest.

I had a Duron system, and I installed 166 Mhz memory and purposely ran it at various speeds and in real-use, I couldn't tell a difference. (It probably would have changed some benchmarks, but it wasn't like I could tell my games were noticeably faster.)

Also, not to confuse you more, but you also need to look at the CAS factor of the RAM. I know in DDR2, 667Mhz memory is currently slower then 533 Mhz, not sure if that applies to PC2700 vs. PC3200 DDR or not.

Keep asking questions - that's the fastest way to learn!!!

 

thanks a ton.

Im going to buy another stick of 2700, but I hope that link provided is the right memory LOL!! I think I have a 1 gig stick in there. at least thats what the box says. 1 x 1024 gb ram

HP is to expensive to buy from.

 

See if the book or anything mentions 200-pin DDR SO-DIMM - that's what the link I gave you was for.

 

It is 200 pin ddr sodimm... pc2700 speeds doesnt come in ddr2

 

Here's a link to 1GB PC2700 (DDR333) 200-pin memory modules on Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&description=&srchInDesc=&minPrice=&maxPrice=
Also check ZipZoomFly.com and see if they have the module you want - they normally have free shipping.