Please help! Right Memory Upgrade for VAIO VGN-AR170?

Hi there,

My gf just got a VGN-AR170...and instead of getting gouged on the RAM upgrades when buying, we went with the 512MB RAM so we could drop in two 1GB sticks ourselves when the laptop comes this week.

I went to Corsair's website and used their little program which tells you which RAM to put into your computer. Their site kicked out this:

CORSAIR 1GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200)

And we picked up two 1GB sticks from Newegg.

We have a few days before the laptop arrives and I'm trying to figure out though if that upgrade will take care of her for awhile? She primarily does business tasks for our company (emails, web stuff, etc) And occasional game like the Sims, etc. Nothing very intense.

A few questions:

1) Will the 533 be OK? Or will the 667 be needed? (Strangely enough, Corsair's site recommended only 533 memory for my XPS m1210 also...no mention of 667).

2) Is that the correct memory? Sony's support site has been down for days...but I'm trusting Corsair on this right now.

I appreciate your help and input! Never upgraded laptop memory before...

Thanks,
CJ

 

667MHz will be faster. But the overall increase in performance isnt so high, when compared to 533MHz.

 

Thanks Jetstar...now I'm wondering if we should order the 667 or if I didn't do so well.

The 667 RAM is $84.99/stick with Corsair's "Value" memory (will this cut it?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145012

But the memory I got (which is what Corsair's site recommended, surprise surprise) was a whopping $166.49/stick:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145582


Why the heck is the FASTER memory cheaper?!

 

marketing.

 

No kidding, really? But that's not a very helpful response, LOL.

So for the others out there with Sonys....get the 667 above instead?

Thanks!
CJ

 

Oh...and is the 667 memory above the correct memory? Sony's support site is a POS that's been down all weekend...LOL.

 

The AR170 can not run it's memory faster than 533mhz. But the 667 memory will still work. Get whichever one is cheaper.

 

Thanks, Neo - wow...didn't know that. What's the limiting factor in the design?

 

I'm not sure why Sony decided to have the memory run slow than the fsb. Perhaps they thought the performance difference was not enough to offset the savings in power usage and heat? If I were in your shoes, I'd go with the 667 ram just in case they decide to release a bios which would make use of the faster ram.

 

Thanks again, Neo!

So this would cut it right?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145012

Wanted to make sure I had the right "type"

CJ