Lowering RAM in Vista?

Hi.. I noticed recently that my laptop has been very hot. It worries me that everyone else who has an S1 claims that it "doesn't get hot". The only thing I've changed with my laptop is installed in another gig of ram. Soo.. My question is, I want to reduce my ram usage back to 1 gig, can I do that within the Vista settings? Or will I need to physically remove that stick of ram? If it can be done in the system settings, can someone help me out and tell me where I could find it? Thanks!

 

You only need to worry when the system becomes *too* hot. "Very hot" is pretty subjective. Some people start panicking once their CPU temp rises over room temperature. Others say something runs cool as long as it's under 70 C.

But as long as the system is running without overheating, I fail to see the problem.

But if you want to disable the extra RAM, you have to physically remove it. (Even if it was possible to disable it in software, that would mean the RAM would have to be powered on, yes? Otherwise Vista wouldn't be able to detect it and ask you whether it should be disabled. And if it's powered on anyway, it'll generate heat, regardless of whether it's actually being used to store data)

 

Yeah, that's quite true about the "too hot" thing. I asked that myself in the LG forums when someone said it doesn't get hot at all. The thing about it is that the area just above the CPU (just above my esc key) gets hot enough to make leaving my finger there uncomfortable. So comparing that to someone who said it was ok for them to leave on their lap, I thought that was a warning sign. But yeah, my laptop doesn't crash at all due to heat, so I guess I'll just assume I'm being pedantic (which is probably true). Thanks for your help!

 

well I can see the problem.. even if stays below critical system temperature (of lets say 70C), it still is inconvenient to have a hot baby like this on your lap.. so what you should do first is to locate where it is hottest.. then look up your manual and identify what's inside at that very spot.. if it should be RAM, then I would suggest removing it -if it is really to hot for you to have it on your lap for instance - and maybe replace it with a brand that is cooler

 

Your problem is not the insignificant amount of heat generated by the extra stick of RAM. Your problem is that you need to clean out the fan in your laptop because it's probably clogged with dust. You can also try undervolting your CPU.

 

I don't think the RAM is the problem...
Like Gator said you should clean out your laptop (you should do this once and awhile so that your laptop can cool itself properly). Have a look at the Guide to Cooling Down your Notebook Computer.

Since you're worried about your temperatures you should also look at the Monitoring mobile ATI & nVidia Video Card Temps guide. If I were you I'd monitor the HDD, CPU and GPU. You'll know what's getting hot and you'll also know if and when it does get too hot.

 

Just for the sake of the full info - RAM produces heat -although I believe that cleaning the vents will fix this issue here, but I know that my new notebook is warmer since I have upgraded another 1GB stick of 667MHz RAM. the heat is really concentrated at the place where the new stick is, but it doesn't have a bigger impact on the CPU temp in my case since it is an 17" notebook and it is quite far from the CPU and the heatsink. I just feel the heat when I hold it on my lap.

Ivan

 

tried a cooling pad?

 

Having a fan blowing a constant stream of cool air to your notebook helps too.

 

Yeah, I tried cleaning the fans, and it has drastically improved my heat problem! Thanks everyone for your help