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    FW: Going from 3GB to 4GB RAM -- any noticeable difference?

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by SoundsGood, Dec 1, 2008.

  1. SoundsGood

    SoundsGood Notebook Virtuoso

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    Hi guys,

    For those of you that upgraded your FW from 3GB to 4GB of RAM... did you see any noticeable difference in performance?

    My guess is the answer is "not really", or "not worth it", etc... but I just wanted to check.

    Thanks!
     
    SoundsGood, Dec 1, 2008
    #1
  2. Buddy17

    Buddy17 Notebook Consultant

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    32 bit OS or 64 bit?

    if only a 32 bit, then do not waste your time/money...if running a 64, you still may not even notice, but if you want the most out of your lappy, then do it.
     
    Buddy17, Dec 1, 2008
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  3. SoundsGood

    SoundsGood Notebook Virtuoso

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    32 bit. That's what I thought -- thanks!
     
    SoundsGood, Dec 1, 2008
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  4. wesfrank

    wesfrank Newbie

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    Hey SoundsGood, this is off subject but where did you find that background for your FW thats on your avatar. I've searched for that picture EVERYWHERE with no luck finding it...I want to put it on my FW's background (i promise i won't steal your avatar :) ).
     
    wesfrank, Dec 20, 2008
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  5. SoundsGood

    SoundsGood Notebook Virtuoso

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    The avatar is just a picture I found on Sony's site... it's not a background image.
     
    SoundsGood, Dec 21, 2008
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  6. wesfrank

    wesfrank Newbie

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    Thanks, appreciate the info.
     
    wesfrank, Dec 21, 2008
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  7. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    A faster hard drive would be a good upgrade though ;)
     
    Phil, Dec 21, 2008
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  8. joeskie

    joeskie Notebook Geek

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    Well. Not really in most cases... In my case, I believe it wasn't a worthwhile upgrade but it was an upgrade. Specifically in Stamina mode on my Z. Where the Intel chipset would have more memory to play with. In speed mode, using the nvidia GPU I felt absolutely no difference.

    For under 40$-50 I would do it again... but my DDR3 cost a lot more then that. LOL. Too bad.
     
    joeskie, Dec 21, 2008
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  9. arth1

    arth1 a҉r҉t҉h

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    For those who might not know -- XP and Vista 32-bit have a "hole" in the memory addressing between 3 and 4 GB, so getting 4 GB for a 32-bit Windows OS is throwing money out of the window, cause you'll only be able to use 3 GB.
    Of course, Sony doesn't tell you this, and will gladly charge you extra for 4GB on their custom order page, even when all they supply and support is a 32-bit OS.
     
    arth1, Dec 21, 2008
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  10. ascariss

    ascariss Notebook Deity

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    most FWs now, apart from the business version of vista are shipping as 64 bit OS.
     
    ascariss, Dec 21, 2008
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  11. xand

    xand Notebook Consultant

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    Well, the upgrade sounds good.

    *wink*

    Having said that, I think that only thing you'll really get on a 32bit system is that dual channel memory support will be enabled (generally) - I think this is also the case for GM45 although I'm not sure - does anyone know for certain if on the GM45 chipset the memory banks need to be filled with identical modules to enable dual channel support?

    If so - you'll notice differences of perhaps 5% in situations where (a lack of) memory bandwidth is limiting performance.
     
    xand, Dec 21, 2008
    #11