Memory Upgrade Advice

I want to upgrade the RAM in my DV9548us which has 2 GB (2 X 1GB).

I am currently running 32 bit Vista but I do plan on upgrading to 64 bit Vista next spring.

So...

Should I purchase a 4GB (2 X 2GB) in anticipation of getting the 64 bit Vista and run in Dual Channel?

Or...

Should I purchase 1 2GB and replace one of my 1GB sticks and not run in Dual Channel and then buy a 2nd 2GB stick when I get the 64 bit OS. (money saver version )

Is there a major difference in running 4GB in Dual Channel even though my OS will only see 3GB from running 3GB in non Dual Channel?

And while I'm on the topic... why on earth does HP say that their systems are only expandable up to 2GB when that is not really the case?

 

Just go ahead and purchase 2x2GB sticks. You'll save yourself from wasting money on the 1GB stick. Anyways, your laptop can only 667Mhz RAM and only 4GB max, so go ahead and purchase them now. Newegg has some great prices on RAM. Also, I have 2x2GB G.Skill RAM 667Mhz that I used in my machine for one week, then I returned the laptop so they are practically brand new. If you would like to purchase them message me.

 

Thanks for the reply and the offer. I'm not a big G.Skill fan. I will most likely go with Muskin.

Another question though. I have been researching the upgradeability of my laptop RAM wise and it has a Merom processor in it. (Should have done more research on the laptop and maybe bought straight from HP to get the Santa Rosa, bad me for going to Circuit City and their 14 day return policy)

Has anyone upgrading to 4GB had success with this processor in it seeing 3GB in a 32 bit OS or am I being overly cautious? Any problems I might encounter?

 

just purchase 2 2gb ram

 

32 bit processing can see only upto 3.2GB of RAM (Windows will report 3GB), no matter what. That is just the limit of a 32bit OS.

Anyways, if you go with the 2x2GB sticks it should run in dual channel mode, even if Windows can only see 3GB of RAM. I haven't done a lot of research into this, but when I get the free time I will be researching this to see if its true or not.

 

Yes, dual channel is a hardware thing, not really related to how much ram the system can see and use. Dual channel isn't that big of an advantage anymore, so it's not something one should worry about.

Having said that, the price of 4GB of RAM isn't likely to change that much between now and the spring. There will always be fluctuations, but it always seem that when prices are coming down, there's an earthquake or something that sends them back up. It's up to you if you want to deal with it again in a few months, or just get it all now.

 

Thanks for all the advice. I am going to go with the 4GB upgrade just so I don't have to worry about it when I get Ultimate 64 bit.

 

I don't plan on ever upgrading to a 64bit OS. Will the HP dv9500z accept a new 2GB + 1GB RAM which came with it ? I'm assuing my system has two 1GB sticks. If not, even better. I'm thinking about buying 2 GB stick of Corsair Valueselect ram from Newegg. Should be OK, right? Since I won't be upgrading to a 64bit OS I don't see much use in buying 2x2GB sticks when I'll only be getting 3.25 or whatever.

 

Yes, the system will work fine with 1GB + 2GB. This may disable dual channel memory operation, but the advantage of having the extra GB will outweigh the drawback. Dual channel has a negligible effect, if any, on a system's performance anyway.

 

Ok, I bought a 2GB stick of OCZ and replaced the top 1GB chip that my laptop came with. I expected to see 3.0GB on the My Computer window, however only 2.75GB shows up. Is this correct? Does it matter which slot I use the 1GB and 2GB sticks?

I'm currently running memtest.

 

Yeah, in the end you will move on to a 64-bit OS. Eventually, you're going to have to use a 64-bit OS, since thats all that will be out there. You will be fine taking one of the 1GB sticks and adding a 2GB stick, but I would suggest not getting any "value" RAM.

So, again, yes, you don't need to have 4GB of RAM if you don't see yourself installing a 64-bit OS on that computer.

Be warned though, I guarantee the next version of Windows won't be offered in 32-bit! Not sure where Linux distros stand in terms of 64-bit computing but I do know they will leave 32-bit behind someday.

 

my WEI score for memory operations per second went from 5.9 with the factory install 2GB ram, to a 4.9 when I swapped out of of the factory 1GB sticks with the OCZ 2GB ram.

Is this a dual channel configuration loss? Any other way to test performance of such an upgrade?

Oh, and when I said "ever" I should have said "on this laptop". I assume by the time 32 bit Vista becomes completely useless I'll be wanting a new system anyways.

 

Should only buy the RAMs if you're going to upgrade at that moment because the prices will be cheaper in the spring.

I too had 3gb with Vx32 and it runs well. Then I went ahead and used Vx64 and upgraded to a max of 4gb. When my laptop crashed I tried to re-install XP ME and it can only recognize 2gb. I said to myself, why waste all that memory, so I re-installed Vx64. I've learned my lesson though. Don't tweak Vx64 too much with special settings and tweak programs or else it will crash like mine did.

 

Is your original license good for 64 as well? That would be the only way I would consider upgrading, don't think I want to pay for it though.

 

I've read I should put the larger memory module in the first slot, how can I tell which slot is which? I can't see any markings like there are on desktop slots.

 

Changing 32 and 64 bit isn't an "upgrade", just a different architecture, so your license for Home Premium works on both 32 and 64. Upgrade only refers to going from Premium to Ultimate, for example.

On a laptop it does not matter. Just put them in however you like. I also recommend running memtest before your return period is over, see the guide in my sig.

 

What system do you have? Did you run into any driver issues when going to 64 bit? I imagined such a process would be painful, but if it is not, its definitely something I should consider to get past the 3GB limit thing.

 

You should check the HP support site for driver downloads. The dv9500 does support Vista 64bit, so there shouldn't be any issues with driver support of the internal parts, but you might have issues with other external parts, like printers or PDAs. In that case, you will need to check the web sites of those manufacturers.