Memory speed, noticeable gains?

I have a HP Compaq nx8220 which has a 915GM chipset. It has a 533FSB.

From the factory the OEM memory is a 512mb DDR2 400MHz dimm. The extra 512mb I have (HP memory) is DDR2 533MHz. I assume that my 533MHz is running at 400MHz.

Is there much to gain if I replaced my DDR2 400MHz with a 533MHz dimm?

Also, does anyone know if the memory in my notebook is dual channel?

Thanks

 

dual channel capability comes from the motherboard, not the RAM. that being said, the 915 is dual channel capable.

if you mix 400 with 533, it will not run in dual channel, the specs need to be the same; specifically the amount of ram and the bus speed.

you will probably not notice any gain replacing the 400 with 533 if you are simply staying at a total of 512 megs.

assuming both chips are 512, you WILL see a gain if you are able to run the 400 in conjunction with the 533 giving you a total of 1GB. it will run at 400 (the lower speed), but the 1GB will provide a visible boost regardless of the slower bus speed.

 

Hmm so if I have 2x512 dimms, they will run in dual channel at whatever the slowest dimm is.

But if I get 1x1GB dimm and 1x512mb dimm, they will only run in single channel?

 

That's right, for dual channel they have to be the same size. I'd rather have 1.5 though in single channel than 1GB in dual.

 

There is a slight performance increase with dual-channel, but it's not huge. If you are running programs such as SiSandra, or other programs that require a lot of memory bandwidth, then it might make a difference.

You won't see any gains going from 400MHz to 533MHz memory. Use what you have.

 

Sweet as, thanks for the advice guys. I will most likely replace the 512MB 400MHz dimm at some point when 1GB DIMM's get cheaper.

 

You'll get more of a performance boost upgrading the hard drive.

 

But at the sacrifice of battery life.

Then again, I'm on AC most of the time.

 

the jump in HD rpm produces a negligible hit on battery life.

i have the 6 cel and 9 cel batteries on my dell i6000 with a 7200 rpm drive. i get about 4 hrs with the 6 cel and 6 hours with the 9 cel. that's pretty much the same battery life specs as the 5400 rpm drive.

 

The sales pitch for my HDD says it runs the same as a 4200rpm drive.