display of memory

I just received a HP pavilion zv5000 notebook. I ordered a single 512mb memory stick. When I check the information of memory from control panel-->system-->general tap, I see the display of "386 mb memory". When I click all program-->accesories-->system tools-->system information, I see "total physical memory 512 mb". Under "help and support", "my HP computer", I also see memory 512 mb. I don't know why the readings are different. Anyone else has this kind of problem? Please share your information. Thanks.

 

I'm guessing you bought a zv5000t P4 notebook. It uses the ATI 9000 shared memory graphics chip, meaning that (in your case) 128MB of main memory is being used for graphics. You can change how much memory is shared in the BIOS.

Hopefully you aren't planning on doing anything stressful with your notebook. Shared memory graphics chips are severely inferior to dedicated memory GPUs. They're OK for getting work done though so long as you don't mind tying up a chunk of main memory.

The zv5000t has no real reason to exist when you can get a zv5000z with a dedicated memory GPU and much better CPU for about the same money.

 

Thank you for your help. I guess I can either upgrade the memory or change the memory sharing in the BIOS in the future then.