DV9500 - Just upgraded my RAM to 3GB

Hi all, I have just received the 4 GB (2GB x 2) of 667 RAM for my new DV9500 and installed it. It appeared only 3GB installed in System Info and I thought that Windows as usually don't let you to use all hardware on 32-bit version. Well, Removed one stick of 2GB and replaced it with 1GB stick. So, now it has 2GB + 1GB = 3GB of hardware confirmed by VISTA. What is the main thing, is that performance improved for a LOT!!! Now all the soft I am opening opens so fast, as never happened before (even with 2GB installed). If you guys want more of your laptop - ADD MEMORY...The most is the best!!! In any case.

 

really your specs are almost exactly the same as mine except i have the 8400 and my laptop is so fast i can be surfing the internet in less than 60 seconds from the time i push the power button i didn't really think it could get much faster but i guess vista uses most of my memory anyway so its alawys good to have more lol

 

I have a dv9500 as well and would like to upgrade my ram. My computer isn't super slow, but it isn't super fast either. lol. How exactly does it work? Be patient w/me, I'm new to this upgrading process. ;^) Where do I buy? How much? What manufacturer? How do I install? etc, etc, etc. If someone could fill me in, it'd be greatly appreciated!

 

For now I don't need one stick of 2GB (bought two and only one used), so I can send it to you at a cost I've paid for it. Let me know if interested in PM. Also have 1GB stick if you need (in case you have had 512+512 in your dv9500). Both (2GB + 1GB) work perfect in my system. Installation is EASY as you can only imagine. You will need a small philips screwdriver to take the memory bay cover off. I will post pictures on my dv9500 blog later on (see my signature).

 

So, is the "Dual Channel advantage" a bit of a fallacy?

I've heard it said that using mismatched memory causes a slowdown. So it would seem that if it is so, it's made meaningless by the increase in memory??

How much is the 2 GB stick?

 

Umm, if you have 2 sticks of 2 GB, use that, even if it only recognizes 3. In actuality, it Vista x86 will recognize 3.2-3.5 GB of RAM, but putting in two matching sticks allows you to Dual Channel the RAM, effectively adding 10-30% to the speed of the RAM. Just an FYI.

And a 2 GB stick can be found for about $120 nowadays.

 

I see Lithus's logic.

I was wondering though. Does the video card grab memory from the Vista recognized portion, or does it grab it from the "surplus" not recognized by the 32-bit OS?

 

SP Forsythe, I see where you're coming from, but that's just not how it works.

The reason a 32-bit OS can only support 4 GB of RAM is because 2^32 equals about 4.3 GB of addressing space. Now everything in the computer has to pull from that addressing space. The system RAM uses up about 3.2-3.5 GB of that space, while the rest is divided elsewheres, normally to video. When a video card pulls RAM, it steal some of that space up, but no matter what, there cannot be more than 4.3 GB of addresses. The system runs out of 1's and 0's.

 

4.3 GB is more than the ~3 GB that 32 bit Vista will recognize. So why is the ~1 GB not available to video? If I install 4 Gigs, the OS recognizes 3, so that leaves the balance of 1 gig, in which the total is less than the 4.3 gig you mention.

So, why can't the video card use it?

 

It does...

 

It does not. It leaves 3GB in total, and 768MB of that goes to Video. So, in total you have got 2GB and 256MB of memory. And the rest 768MB goes to Video. I will sell my 2GB stick for $110+shipping to you. It has lifetime warranty from Transcend. As I mentioned before, my machine has a huge boost in speed after putting these 2GB + 1GB sticks (Transcend+Crucial). So, manufacturers are not important as the compatibility of memory they manufacture. And again, there is no change in speed after changing 2GB+2GB with 2GB+1GB.

 

Of course, another option with memory hungry Vista, applications and graphics is to have a 64-bit version of Vista installed. The only down side to upgrading to 64-bit Vista on your own is finding all the 64-bit drivers you need.

HP notebook customers are lucky that HP offers 64-bit Vista from the factory ... complete with the required 64-bit drivers.

 

I always hear about some missing hardware and software for 64-bit Vista even with HP, so think it's better to wait until all that sorted. But when that's gonna happen? I would switch to 64-bit with great pleasure if someone can tell me that all the soft and hard I am using will work 100%.

 

64-bit issues depend on the hardware and software you're using as well as how your installation of Vista 64-bit was done. Many of the people complaining about 64-bit Vista are people who had 32-bit and upgraded on their own and now are having trouble tracking down all the drivers they need.

People who upgraded from XP to 32-bit Vista are having similar problems with drivers.

I've only had the opportunity to use one system with Vista Ultimate 64-bit installed, the pre-production HP HDX we had in for review.

It had almost no problems whatsoever. There were a few benchmarks that we couldn't run, but that was because the benchmarks had compatibility issues with 64-bit Vista (blame FutureMark for that). We had zero hardware or driver issues. Every game we played ran smooth and trouble free. When I opened task manager in Windows I could see that Vista was easily able to run applications in 32-bit if the software needed 32-bit and it ran in 64-bit mode for everything else.

I'm sure there are plenty of minor issues and headaches with the 64-bit versions of Vista ... but there are plenty of minor issues and headaches with the 32-bit versions of Vista. Microsoft Vista is a mess regardless of which version you're running. The only real difference between 64-bit and 32-bit is the ability to use 4GB or more of RAM.

If you don't want to deal with issues/headaches stop using 32-bit or 64-bit Vista and switch to XP, Linux, or Mac OS. But if you want to enjoy Microsoft's latest OS then you have to put up with Vista. Again, 64-bit isn't any worse than 32-bit.

 

I'm thinking about doing this as well to my 9500. Does it matter if the ram has a heat spreader, will it fit and are there any benefits to it?

 

Heat spreader is not necessary. Works fine without it...No problems at all. It will fit with spreader. Tested. Tight though.

 

JerryJ is completely right. I remember XP having a ton of problems when it first came out. Then again with SP1. Then again with SP2. But now it is majority stable and problem free (most of the time) We are going to have to deal with Vista, in any form, until it reaches that point.

 

The performance increase of dual channel is debatable, but throwing around numbers like "10-30%" is very much exaggerated. Other reports I've seen say 2-5%.

 

Yeah, I see the same 2 to 5% performance gain with dual channel, no more than this... seems to me a manufacturer trick just to sell more ram. I will not worry about dual channel.

 

You mentioned an increase in speed of loading applications, but have you had any performance gains in gaming? This thread ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=125246 ) shows there is with the F3SV-B1 and was wondering if it is the same for the dv9500.

 

Hey guys first post here, I was wondering which panel to open to add/remove rams. Also is there a pic to help better verify where the rams are located ona hp dv9500

Thanks

 

Look on the bottom, it's the one in the middle. There are 2 other panels, each one is for a hard drive.

 

Check this out

http://dv9500.blogspot.com/2007/08/ram-and-hdd.html