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    Should I upgrade to 2GB for XP?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by a529612, Sep 3, 2007.

  1. a529612

    a529612 Notebook Geek

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    I'm currently running 1GB on my Z61m with XP SP2. There's quite a bit of unused RAM left even with all my apps running. Will I get better performance if I upgrade to 2GB since the integrated graphics (GMA 950) uses system memory. Thanks!
     
    a529612, Sep 3, 2007
    #1
  2. Sam

    Sam Notebook Virtuoso

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    If you have the cash for it, yes, get 2 GB. Your games and applications such as Photoshop will run much faster with 2 GB of RAM.
     
    Sam, Sep 3, 2007
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  3. Waveblade

    Waveblade Notebook Deity

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    Do you hit your max often? I mean if you do then sure but..I rarely break 800 megs with XP on my desktop...
     
    Waveblade, Sep 3, 2007
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  4. a529612

    a529612 Notebook Geek

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    I'm around the 800MB max ballpark. Should I even bother with 2GB? Will I get XP to load faster with 2GB? Thanks!
     
    a529612, Sep 3, 2007
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  5. ScifiMike12

    ScifiMike12 Drinking the good stuff

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    Yes..

    2GB is perfect for XP and 4GB seems to be the optimal point for Vista (if you upgrade.. :cool: )

    Mike.
     
    ScifiMike12, Sep 3, 2007
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  6. vespoli

    vespoli 402 NBR Reviewer

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    If you're not dipping into virtual memory often/at all, you will probably not see a huge increase. If you work with bigger programs and files, you'll notice a faster load time and just generally a snappier response, as Sam mentioned. RAM is one of the best, cheapest and easiest ways to increase performance.
     
    vespoli, Sep 3, 2007
    #6
  7. David

    David NBR Random Reviewer NBR Reviewer

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    You'll definitely be better off with 2gb, especially if you multi-task.
     
    David, Sep 3, 2007
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  8. JabbaJabba

    JabbaJabba ThinkPad Facilitator

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    I'd say it very much depends on how you use your system. For most users who do not play power hungry games (which you won't be doing anyway due to the GMA 950) and who do not do extreme multitasking, there is no reason to get an additional 1GB RAM, even with the integrated graphics hogging some of that memory.

    Sure some memory hungry applications like photo editing tools are only happy if you have more RAM but for normal use 1GB is fine in XP.

    But many like a lot of RAM just for the psycological factor it gives. Many people think they need a lot of RAM when in fact they do not.
     
    JabbaJabba, Sep 3, 2007
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