Dell E1705 with 1GB RAM - how many RAM modules?

I have 1GB of RAM in this E1705. I know the machine has 2 slots.

Do I have 2x512MB or 1GB module?

I would like to upgrade to 1.5GB (If I can use one of the 512MB sticks) or 2GB if I already have 1GB in there, just add 1GB to it.

 

Most likey 2x512 sticks, so it can run dual mode. Grab your self a single 1GB or 2x1GB, and you'll be fine.

 

If it came with 1 GB from Dell, it's 2 x 512 MB. You can use 1 of the 2 existing sticks to get 1.5 GB without a problem.

 

OK. Do you have a link for a 1GB RAM module on newegg or anywhere else? I presume the speed is 667Mhz?

Yet on the other hand, do you think it's worthwhile to go straight to 2GB?
This is Windows XP with 7200 processor Core2Duo.

I don't really run any RAM-heavy applications, just lots of browsers, occasional picture edit...

 

I recommend using CPU-Z to find out. It is a tiny download, and no need to install. Just expand the zip and run

 

I found out I have 2x512MB modules.

Where do I get 1GB module. I hear newegg.com has it, could someone give me the part number or a link?

Also, worthwhile upgrading to 2GB while I am at it? Or just replacing one 512MB module with 1GB module, for the total of 1.5GB?

I don't do anything on that box other than browsing the web, movies, picture edit occasionally. Will an extra 1/2 Gig make it faster?

 

I say upgrade to 2GB's with XP, at newegg should cost $40. It will Run in "true" dual channel (not that that matters a lot, some people say). Also on XP you do not even need to upgrade so why do half way? Stick with 2GB or 1GB.

 

OK, let me know the specs for the RAM I need to get. How many pins, everything. I am RAM-illiterate.

 

PC5300/5400 200pin SODIMM expect to pay $40 for a two GB kit. Buy the cheapest just get a lifetime warranty.

 

Would this work?

 

Yes.................

 

Great. How much performance gain can I expect under XP and this T7200 processor (2Ghz) in E1705?

 

And are you experiencing slowdowns now? if not? Then little? I cant tell you, the only real advantage is if in VM going to page file less. If you were not going there before you will see 0% improvement. If going there a lot you will see more, if the CPU is the bottleneck then RAM upgrade will not help.

 

> .... in VM going to page file less.


How do you check for this?

 

Monitoring RAM and Virtual Memory usage

Performance Monitor (Start, Administrative Tools, Performance) is the principle tool for monitoring system performance and identifying what the bottleneck really is. Here's a summary of some important counters and what they tell you.

Memory, Committed Bytes - this is a measure of the demand for virtual memory
It shows how many bytes have been allocated by processes and to which the operating system has committed a RAM page frame or a page slot in the pagefile (perhaps both). As Committed Bytes grows above the amount of available RAM, paging will increase and the amount of the pagefile in use will also increase. At some point, paging activity will start to significantly impact perceived performance.

Process, Working Set, _Total - this is a measure of the amount of virtual memory in "active" use
It shows how much RAM is required so that the actively used virtual memory for all processes is in RAM. This is always a multiple of 4,096, which is the page size used in Windows. As demand for virtual memory increases above the available RAM, the operating system will adjust how much of a process's virtual memory is in its Working Set to optimize the use of available RAM and minimize paging.

Paging File, %pagefile in use - this is a measure of how much of the pagefile is actually being used.
This is the counter to use to determine if the pagefile is an appropriate size. If this counter gets to 100, the pagefile is completely full and things will stop working. Depending on the volatility of your workload, you probably want the pagefile large enough so that it is normally no more than 50 - 75% used. If a lot of the pagefile is in use, having more than one on different physical disks, may improve performance.

Memory, Pages/Sec - this is one of the most misunderstood measures.
A high value for this counter does not necessarily imply that your performance bottleneck is shortage of RAM. The operating system uses the paging system for purposes other than swapping pages due to memory over commitment.

Memory, Pages Output/Sec - this shows how many virtual memory pages were written to the pagefile to free RAM page frames for other purposes each second.
This is the best counter to monitor if you suspect that paging is your performance bottleneck. Even if Committed Bytes is greater than the installed RAM, if Pages Output/sec is low or zero most of the time, there is not a significant performance problem from not enough RAM.

Memory, Cache Bytes
Memory, Pool Nonpaged Bytes
Memory, Pool Paged Bytes
Memory, System Code Total Bytes
Memory, System Driver Total Bytes
The sum of these counters is a measure of how much of the 2GB of the shared part of the 4 GB virtual address space is actually in use. Use these to determine if your system is reaching one of the architectural limits discussed above.

Memory, Available MBytes - this measures how much RAM is available to satisfy demands for virtual memory (either new allocations, or for restoring a page from the pagefile).
When RAM is in short supply (e.g. Committed Bytes is greater than installed RAM), the operating system will attempt to keep a certain fraction of installed RAM available for immediate use by copying virtual memory pages that are not in active use to the pagefile. For this reason, this counter will not go to zero and is not necessarily a good indication of whether your system is short of RAM.

Link

 

thanks
now translating this into English, how do I know what numbers are too high and I need to upgrade?

 

Looking at my performance page, and still unable to figure out if I meet criteria for upgrading from 1GB to 2GB.

 

$40 go for it.