Is the VAIO SZ-55GN upgradable to 4Gb RAM (max)?

hello people!

just need to clear up the above question, hoping someone may have tried it already

the documentation says it can only go up to 2Gb (max)

however, the SZ-75 series which uses the same motherboard, same chipset, same everything EXCEPT the faster processor speed and bigger hard drive, claims it can go up until 4 Gb RAM (max)

i called Sony tech here in the Philippines and they said they tried putting 2 x 2Gb RAM on the SZ-55 but the laptop only detects 3Gb

anyway, despite this, they claim performance went doubly faster

they think it's just some bug on Windows Vista that cannot detect the full 4Gb RAM installed

anyone kind enough to enlighten me on the subject?

tnx!

 

Those imbeciles... Windows cannot detect the full 4GB due to the addressing limitation of 32-bit operating systems. If it detected more than 2GB, then it should be able to address the full 4GB with a 64-bit OS.

 

First off, there are a few different chipsets and you need to use CPU-Z and tell us which you have. Some have 2GB max, others have 4GB max.

It makes perfect sense that the laptop will NOT recognize the full 4GB, because no 32bit OS can use all 4GB. Vista SP1 will SHOW that 4GB is installed, but less than 4GB can be used.

Doubly faster is garbage. While it will run faster, the fact they said that tells me they have no idea what they are talking about.

 

Older SZ's have a 32-bit memory controller. While it may show the additional ram in bios or utilities, it will not map the ram. Newer SZs (Santa Rosa) can use 4gb of ram.

 

Well I upgraded my Z from 3 to 4GB and it really did go much faster. I wouldn't say 'doubly' faster (even if it was two times as fast, I wouldn't use that word. LOL). But it did help a lot. Especially in Stamina mode/Unplugged. In Speed mode not as much.

 

just upgraded my VGN-SZ4 MN/B to 4GB PC2-5300 (667MHz)... then windows recognized it 100% (4GB)...

 

Here my system info :

 

System Properties lists the physical memory available, not the available memory that is usable to the OS. If you open Task Manager, you'll get the amount of RAM that your machine can use.

 

I recently purchased 2 x 2GB memory modules for my SZ3VP. My model has the older 32bit memory controller so I wasn't expecting the BIOS to recognise the full 4GB, and sure enough it only recognised 3GB.

Oddly enough though, Windows 7 saw 4GB but mentioned that only 3GB is usable.

Anyway I put back in one of the old 1GB modules, so now my RAM is at 3GB, and put the replaced 2GB module into the Sasmung NC10 we use when travelling. That 2GB module makes a huge difference on a netbook!