Cheaper 2GB upgrade for Q35

I'm shopping around for a Q35 at the moment (still haven't decided whether to get the red one, or the 2ghz silver one).

Anyhow, I noticed this offer for a red Q35 for £829.43, with an optional 2gb upgrade for £151.58

I assume it's some kind of error, as it would only be possible to upgrade the Q35 to 1.5gb or 2.5gb.

£150 is a lot of money for the amount of RAM you'd be getting, but it's still much cheaper than the prices I've seen for 2gb sodimms.

Anyone else seen this, or know whether it's true?

 

Examination of various notebooks on that site suggests that the 2GB RAM upgrade is a standard offer across the product range and whoever listed the product isn't aware that the Q35 (and Q40) have non-standard RAM configurations. You are correct that the only upgrade option for the Q35 is to put a 2GB module in the single slot.

At present, we are not 100% certain that a 2GB module will work in the Q35. Yesterday I found this http://www.memory-configurator.com/memory/TS256MSQ64V6U.html Transcend TS256MSQ64V6U module and ordered one. It has the pricing level of a 2GB desktop module and the site doesn't say that it is a SO-DIMM. However, I can read data sheets and know it is. It's the brother of the TS128MSQ64V5J 1GB module that I already have in my X60plus. The intended home of the 2GB module is in my X60plus, but I will try it out in my Q35. If MemoryC discover that they don't have that module (I found it via Google, not through their menus) then Orcalogic are selling the same Transcend module for about £150 http://www.orcalogic.co.uk/asp/prodtype.asp?prodtype=20855&ft=s&st=2. It as £400 less than 2 months ago.

I won't be able to report on the 2GB module compatibility until early May, when I get home.

With respect to the choice of Q35 models, I have the T7200 in my X60plus and the T5600 in my Q35 and in normal use the performance difference is insignificant. The price differential also includes the extra 512MB of RAM.

The big difference between the two models (apart from the colour) is the operating system. The red Q35 has Vista Home Premium while the silver one has XP Pro. There is also the PC World version of the silver Q35 with T5200 CPU, 100GB HDD and Vista for £750 http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/219392 .

John

 

Thanks for the info.

I'm fairly relaxed about the CPU. I do want Vista, but I don't want to run it on 1gb (I've heard it's pretty sluggish on less than 2gb). So I'll be very interested to know how your memory upgrade works out. I'll certainly want to purchase the 2gb SODIMM if it works on yours.

It also needs to look fairly business-like, so I'm somewhat concerned about the red lid. How garish is it? It's difficult to tell from the photos.

I don't want it to look like the laptop equivalent of a Ferrari (although of course, I'm happy for it to be fast on the inside!)

What do you think?

 

1. Sub-D seems quite happy with his Q35 running Vista with 1.5GB. I suspect the RAM requirement depends on what you are trying to run concurrently. Graphics software and GIS software like to swallow RAM and my Google Earth will take 256MB (I gave it a big cache).

2. I'll report back on the 2GB module in early May.

3. The red is a darkish red. "Burgundy" was the colour I used in my review and I think that is about right. Distinctive, not garish, is the way I would describe it and a pleasant change from the usual colours. Personally, I would like a dark green one with a lower power CPU, but I don't think Samsung have been reading my thoughts.

John

PS: I was using my Q35 yesterday for a while (the X60plus is the main computer). This reminded me of the main consequence of the smaller display size: Either everything is smaller or, if you adjust the display properties to get the display back to the desired size, you can fit a lot less on a smaller panel.

 

I've been playing about with my Q35 under the two different memory configurations recently and found that performance under normal use is very similar when using either 1GB or 1.5GB. When running task manager with the 1.5GB setup the RAM percent being is used drops by about 15 to 30% depending on what the notebook is running. On idle (desktop, sidebar and wireless on) with 1GB there was a 55% RAM useage whilst this would drop to around 35% with 1.5GB. Under load there is a similar 20% or so difference. However, by no means does the Q35 ever seem sluggish (regardless of memory configuration). If you are looking for a bargain then I'd recommend going for the PC World Q35 at £750.

The main reason I upgraded to 1.5GB RAM is that I do a bit of casual gaming (which the GMA 950 is fine for) and I simply felt more at ease with the larger RAM configuration.

John mentions that he hopes for a dark green one. That would be nice although I would love a Q35 with a deep blue lid. As a result I am considering getting a sticker for my lid to fulfill this desire!

 

Looks like the price of a 2gb SODIMM has dropped again. Crucial are selling them for £68.

Anyone gonna try an experiment?

 

That is 2 x 1GB so unsuitable for the Q35 but the price is quite attractive and it could be of interest to other Samsung notebook users who want to upgrade to 2GB.

The Crucial module you would need is this one. However, the price is still somewhat more than I paid for a 2GB Transcend module from memoryC (£101.64). The postman tried to deliver it last Friday, but no one was home. Orcalogic have the same module for about £140.

John

 

I can now confirm that this 2GB module works fine in the Q35. The bottom line came to about £101. The timing is 4-4-4-12-16 at 266/533MHz (which is the speed of the on-board module in my Q35).

The 2GB module is now in my X60plus, where it is also working OK. It also works OK in the slightly older X60.

John

 

Ive installed the same module... its recognised as 2GB in the BIOS but only 1GB in windows...:S

 

Which computer? What other RAM on board? 32-bit Windows can only address 3GB maximum.

John