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    How will i notice a ram upgrade?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by KillWonder, Feb 3, 2008.

  1. KillWonder

    KillWonder Notebook Evangelist

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    Im using vista premium and have 2x1gb of ram and thinking of replacing it with 2x2gb, but in what way would i notice the difference? Will i gain more frame rated per second during games? Would Vista start up faster?
     
    KillWonder, Feb 3, 2008
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  2. Sponsi

    Sponsi Badibade

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    You'll defintely have a better startup time as well as a better response when using multi applications. I'm not too sure about the gaming part, I believe it all depends on your GPU. I noticed a nice difference when I switched from 2GB to 3GB then 4GB.
     
    Sponsi, Feb 3, 2008
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  3. GrandAdmiral

    GrandAdmiral Notebook Evangelist

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    I'm not sure about startup but you may observe an increase in frame rate. Your game may also load faster on repeats. For example my 1GB 533MHz desktop loads a map in Dawn of War: Dark Crusade faster than my 2GB 667MHz notebook, however if i reload the same map the laptop can be up to around 10 seconds faster than the desktop.

    One problem with your plan, if you're using Vista 32-bit the maximum RAM it will recognize is 3.2GB. In order to use the full 4GB you will need a 64-bit version of Vista.

    Grand Admiral
     
    GrandAdmiral, Feb 3, 2008
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  4. KillWonder

    KillWonder Notebook Evangelist

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    Damn i didnt know that... Then i might put a 1gb and 2gb in but then it wont work in dual channel anymore would it?
     
    KillWonder, Feb 3, 2008
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  5. SmoothTofu

    SmoothTofu Inspiron 1420 Owner

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    1GB of the 2GB stick will run in dual-channel with the other 1GB stick, the remaining 1GB will not.
     
    SmoothTofu, Feb 3, 2008
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  6. KillWonder

    KillWonder Notebook Evangelist

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    Does have to be of the same brand to have them work in dual channel?
    And is it still worth it to put an extra 1gb, i mean would i notice it in games and in desktop?
     
    KillWonder, Feb 3, 2008
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  7. Sponsi

    Sponsi Badibade

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    No, they do not have to be the same brand. I think it's worth it, the more RAM the better. As I said earlier I did notice a difference when I upgraded to 3GB.
     
    Sponsi, Feb 3, 2008
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  8. KillWonder

    KillWonder Notebook Evangelist

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    And what if one stick runs at 800 Mhz and the other 667Mhz?
     
    KillWonder, Feb 4, 2008
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  9. Apollo13

    Apollo13 100% 16:10 Screens

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    If one stick is 800 MHz and the other is 667 MHz, it will run at 667 MHz. But right now the latest laptop chipsets can only support 667 MHz anyways, so even if you had 800 MHz RAM it would run at 667 MHz. Basically it's not worth it at all to pay extra for 800 MHz RAM.

    There are a couple exceptions - some of the laptops designed for desktop processors can also handle faster RAM for example - but in general, faster-than-667 MHz in a laptop gives no performance gain right now.
     
    Apollo13, Feb 4, 2008
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  10. KillWonder

    KillWonder Notebook Evangelist

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    Would it be maybe better to replace my hd 4200 rpm with an 5400 rpm or an extra 1g of ram?
     
    KillWonder, Feb 4, 2008
    #10