Xps1330 3gb ddr2 ram vs 2gb ddr2 sdram

Heres the deal .. i am planning to buy a dell xps1330 .. i have to make a choice between 3gb ram and 2gb ram.. basically i need a laptop for casual use .. i am a student .. so mostly into .. IE, music, itunes , movies , MS office , casual games, messenger , downloading few softwares like converting mpeg vid to mp4 to 3gp .. and all stuff lik tht ..on dell website it shows 3gb ram is better compared to 2gb ram except 3gb ram does not have overclocking. ( i hav limited computer hardware knowledge)

(Assume 2 models with exact same config and prices except that one model has 3gb ram and other 2gb) then which model shud i buy ?

Q) Which one is faster or better 3gb shared dual channel ddr2 at 677 MHz or 2gb shared dual channel ddr2 sdram at 677MHz .. which one is suitable for students like me.. recommend ppl giv good explanation comparing differences btw both ram ..

 

I don't think I can answer most of your questions but I'm also a student and basically, I use my m1330 for the same things as you

2gb is enough for me. vista hogs about 1/3 of the 2gb but other than that, 2gb is enough.

But iunno, having 3gb would be nice...

 

For what you say you would use it for 2GB should be fine. I would further tell you do not upgrade from the OEM as it will almost certainly be cheaper to do on your own if you decide it is needed. As to freelancer's comment about Vista hogging, I understand what you mean but you must consider that ultimately unused RAM is wasted RAM! Vista is designed to use more RAM it does help some applications run faster and it will give it up if needed. I have XP and 2GB's, always has lots of free RAM, how does that help me?

Start w/2 and if you need more buy later very easy to install.

 

2gb is enough for you for what you'll be doing.
One question: how can 3GB be DUAL CHANNEL if there's only 2 DIMM's? Are there such things as 1.5gb RAM modules?

 

I am so sorry to everyone who has seen me respond on this so many times in the past. First here there is a sticky on this site ( link) (I wrote sorry but it covers) that might help. Now let me explain for you. Dual channel means that you use two 64bit busses, equals 128bit. 3GB's uses the 1st 2GB's as dual channel (128bit) and the last 1GB as single channel (64bit). Yes they are mixed, Intel calls "flex memory" the rest of us call "asymmetric dual channel". I see no downside to using 3GB's vs 2GB's as the first 2GB's of 3GB's will function like 2GB's, most used closest to the front and when it goes for more 1GB in "single channel" is much faster than hitting the page file which is on the HDD. But if it does not hit the page file none of this matters between 2GB's and 3GB's and it might have to hit the page file regardless of which config you use.

The most important thing I said in 1st post was cheaper to upgrade on your own.

The actual speed of both configs is exactly the same as long as the 2GB does not hit the page file they should run the same.

 

well .. i asked the dell representatives .. they told me .. more the memory the better it is ... but sill i am not fully satisfied ... he told me there are 2 slots in 3 gb ram .. both of 1.5 gb ram .. but is it possible to have a slot of 1.5gb ram .. and 2gb ram has 2 slots both of 1gb ram each ..

 

I don't believe Dell on this but I have been wrong many times! And Dell reps in addition to not knowing what they are talking about also lie, so get it confirmed!

 

A 1.5 GB dimm of RAM does not exist. But more is better.

 

As noted there are no 1.5GB memory chips. 3GB is accomplished by a 2GB module + a 1GB module.

More RAM can't hurt (well, except your wallet).