dell inspiron e1505 memory and ram upgrade

Okay, boys and girls.

I got my T7200 in the other day, the job is done and the results are in and they are (mostly) favorable.

- Install 64-bit OS (Windows 7) on an old Dell Lappy designed only for 32-bit: success!

- Modded Catalyst 9.3s for the X1400: success!

- 4GBs of RAM active in Windows: not so much.

Yep - it's still showing the 32-bit maximum of 3.325 GBs for use. Which makes no sense, because if the (new) processor allowed the use of a 64-bit OS, the OS *should* have recognized all the memory.

I'm confused, but I'm going to doggedly pursue this.

Enjoy the screenies.

Fester

 

...two more things:

I took a (poor, cell-phone) photo of the memory info page of my BIOS, and it said, "Due to amount of memory assigned for system use, 'Memory Available' is less than 'Memory Installed'."



Okay, so that's the source of our problem, but...? What, specifically, does that mean? I never noticed a disparity between my installed/available memory when I had only 1GB/2GB of RAM installed!

Secondly...might any of you please take a screenshot of your GPU-Z for me? I'm ready to purchase a "256MB X1400" to replace my 128MB X1400, but I want to be sure such a creature exists!

My screenshot below.



Thanks in advance, y'all!

 

64-bit CPU, 64-bit OS, 32-bit memory controller.. all need to be 64-bit to bypass the limitations of a 32-bit system

 

I have a E1505 with 4gb of ram, T7400, and 32 bit operating system.
My Bios looks exactly the same. I am guessing its a hardware chipset limitation.
I have the 256Mb ATi X1400 in mine according to the dell spec sheet. However GPU-Z picks up 128mb. That makes sense because the white papers for the dell mobility x1400 say that it has 128mb dedicated memory and 128mb shared memory. Thats the 256mb.

K-TRON

 

Okay,

@namaiki - I'll accept your answer for now, but something just doesn't smell right. I mean, it clearly states that it's allocating the (or, at least, some) of the missing memory for "system use"...that's too vague for my satisfaction.

@k-tron - you need to get out of the 32-bit OS, friend - you've got a 64-bit processor and it's (partially) being wasted...set that baby free!

Further - okay, say that the 'board allocates an additional 128MBs of system memory for the video card, that STILL doesn't add up to 4.0GBs, yah?

Anyway, I apologize if I'm a bit testy, but it's damnably frustrating: the missing memory AND the fact that I don't have a clear-cut answer, you know?

*pout*

Fester

 

Here's an explanation better than I could ever write:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=4205812&postcount=2

edit:

The rest is specific to that Acer notebook.

 

@namakai,

Thank you again for the reply/effort, but I must apologize - that still doesn't clear it up for me. If anything, the further into detail Andy goes, the foggier the explanation becomes.

It simply doesn't make sense that Intel (or anyone, for that matter) would marry both 64-bit and 32-bit parts at the chipset level...it just doesn't make (efficiency) sense to not have all of one or all of the other, as (I imagine) comes naturally when creating a unified chipset for production.

Further: @K-Tron, thanks for your reply, as well, but I'm hoping other E1505 owners will indulge me with a GPU-Z screenshot, because: a) is the "white paper" specific to your (laptop's) service tag? Because if not...then you've got a 128MB GPU, just like me; b) but just because you and I have 128MB chips, doesn't mean nobody else hasn't got a genuine 256MB part; and c) lastly, this makes no sense: having a GPU with ANY amount of onboard RAM...and then stating that it ALSO has the option to allocate system memory, as well...the latency issues (between the video RAM and system RAM) would be catastrophic!

Anyway.

Might y'all (E1505 owners) post a GPU-Z shot for me? You can get it here. Thanks in advance!

Fester

P.S.
K-Tron: you can use much more up-to-date video drivers here. (Or here, if you've stepped up to a more recent OS.) And mod them with this. It works WONDERFULLY!

 

*bump*

Anybody got any GPU-Z screenshots of their ATI Mobility X1400s? I'll send you flowers!

 

Send me flowers, send me smoke signals, doesnt matter to me

Here you go.
I have taken my system apart and checked the graphics card on my system. It is a 128mb card according to the part and serial number on it, and both Dell's website, my spec sheet both call for 256mb.
I dont care about getting anything better, cause its the best for this laptop. It does everything I need it to.



K-TRON

 

(Not to hijack this thread any further, but...) @K-TRON: okay - I'm not necessarily talking about your video card...but what about your (wonderful, great-for-its-time) old operating system?

I'm telling you, you REALLY don't know what you're missing with "7"! Shoot me a PM if you want to get a free (good until next June) copy - I'm fairly sure you won't be able to download it via Microsoft after this past Thursday-lol!

Anyway...has NOBODY else got GPU-Z and/or Catalyst Control Center screenies of their x1400 for me? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?!

width='560' height='340'><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FVZobzVJrSo&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FVZobzVJrSo&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width='560' height='340'></embed></object>

 

Windows XP is superior to any other operating system. With the software I use, it is the best. I very much dislike Vista, and don't feel like switching to a newer operating system which is worse than XP. I had XP on my e1505 for nearly 3 years and not a single BSOD

K-TRON

 

Wow.

"...a newer operating system which is worse than XP..."

So...you haven't tried it AT ALL, then, have you.

Spoken like a true Luddite.

In any case, there exists much empirical evidence out there from MANY reputable reviewers and PC cognoscenti that that statement above is unsubstantiated, ignorant and, well...just plain wrong.

(Really, which is it? "...superior to any other operating system" or simply "the best with the software I use", because those, my friend, are two different things entirely.)

Which also begs the next question...is the software you use no longer published/supported? Has it been out-of-print for four years or more?

*sigh*

I won't argue with you any further, but I *do* think you ought ease off on offering yourself up as technically adept or savvy or (at the very least) "current" to any of the unsuspecting readers at this website - that is not fair to them at all.

Live well.

 

The software I use for 3D design and rendering runs best on Windows XP (Rhinocerous, Autocad, CS4, V-RAY, 3DSMAXX, Digital Project).
I have done my comparisons T7300 versus T7400.
My laptop has XP, and my T61 had Vista X32
With xp, I was noticing almost 2x the rendering performance, with about a 10% better processor in my laptop.

XP Is efficient for what it is. I have used XP-X64, and Vista Ultimate x64. Havent used 7, XP is miles ahead in terms of performance over vista ultimate.

K-TRON

 

Play nice, guys. I loved Vista and I'm loving Windows 7, but K-TRON's allowed to prefer XP.

 

I think K-TRON is right, xp is the best ATM.

While win7 could prove to be better, I would wait a year before making that call.

 

K-TRON, etal,

Noobie here. Got solid hit on this thread as it is exactly where I am at.

Dell e1505 T7200
Intel Core2Duo 2.0,
2gb memory
ATI 1400

Given I need to keep using the 1505, it appears I can get one more gig which I desperately need due to large graphics tools running inside VMWARE guest. Asking a lot of the machine but it is trashing due to memory shortage.

Everyone here has gone to two 2gb memory cards. Does anyone know or heard if adding a 2gb to run with a 1gb will work?

Here are my cpu-z and gpu-z snaps.

 

If it'll accept two 2 GB chips, it should work happily with one 1 GB chip and one 2 GB chip. You'll lose a little speed from lack of dual-channel, but it probably won't be too noticeable.

 

Hello, sorry for dragging up an old post, but I just used the information here and found it extremely useful.

I had a Dell e1505 that I swore wasn't working with a 2x2GB ram kit from Kingston (HyperX). I kept getting the "Check and reseat your memory" error. After reading through all the posts here, I discovered I needed to have more patience and let the system check the ram and automatically change the BIOS values for me (you can't edit the BIOS options for ram). Now I've got the 3.2GB of ram in Windows XP and I'm happy, because my school required something weird, like 3GB.

Cheers!