sz160 memory upgrade compatibility and performance

I was contemplating upgrading the sz to 2gb of ram, and when I found 1gb stick of corsair pc2 5300 ram for $80 I had to buy.

My question is...is there any compatibility issues with this module on the sz and will the system allow the ram to operate at 667mhz?

thx

 

AFAIK, the SZ160 only uses DDR2-533, so it will not fully use the 667Mhz bus speed.

As long as you're using DDR2 > 533Mhz and that your laptop won't crash with it, then you're fine..
Usually, it doesn't take too long to notice if the RAM is okay or not

 

It will work, but there is a possibility that the dual channel functionality will not work.

 

No offense, but if you have two compatible sticks of memory that are the same speed (533 or 667) filling the slot, it will be dual channel. You may not get the full speed of 667, but it'll be dual channel. A single stick of memory would not allow dual channel for obvious reasons.

 

I just recieved two sticks of Corsair 1GB 667MHz, I'll upgrade my SZ160 tonight and report back if there any problems.

 

Thx for the input.

I'll be looking forward to your findings.

 

Currently I have 2 sticks of 512MB DDR2 533MHz Ram. If I remove 1 stick of 512MB and add 1GB 533MHz stick, will this cause any problems with dual channel functionality or speed?

 

I think dual channel will not work with 1 stick

 

From my understanding, dual channel works best with matching size and speed.

 

Well just installed Corsair 2GB 667MHz. There where absoutely no problems in the installation, took the old ones out, placed the new ones and just booted up, nothing else to it. The system recconizes it as running at 667MHz. So far the boot times is faster, but there was no relative improvment on the 3dmark05 scores (they stayed at 1885-1900) So the upgrade will not really help gaming performance but if you run any memory intensive tasks like video editing/programming/music recording. The upgrade should help as the laptop is noteciabally faster on the most mudane tasks, loading programs and such.

 

None taken...

But you can't use two different memory sticks and EXPECT dual channel to work correctly. It very well might, but there is the very real possibility that it won't. Unless this is some new compatibility feature I haven't heard about with dual channel. I'm not saying it is neccessary to buy a dual channel matched set kit, but if the ram is not same size speed and timings, there is a good chance it will not operate in dual channel mode.

 

That was my point - you need two sticks of the same variety (speed, size, CAS rating) to get the effect. Two different or just one won't cut it.

 

Thanks for reporting back. I'm excited to hear that it runs at 667mhz. And my average 3dmark05 scores are at 1870...even with new drivers...oh well. For anywone interested, you can get the corsair sticks at outpost.com for $80. It dropped $15 dollars and newegg sells them for $100.

 

So it appears that using a 512mg + 1gig stick of memory disables duo mode. That would mean, if I am reading correct, processor remains in full/duo processor mode rather than throttling down as needed. Right?

 

Let's not confuse terms. Running the memory in dual channel mode has absolutely nothing to do with the "Intel Core Duo" processor.

Basically, if you don't have two matched sticks of memory the chipset cannot run the memory in dual channel mode, so you will not be receiving maximum performance. CPU speed throttling or running the dual ("duo") core CPU in single-core mode (which I'm not sure is even an option - but I could be wrong) isn't at all related.

 

I bought the exact same Corsair DDR2 667 1 GB x 2 memory chips but my SZ18GP (HK version of the SZ160P) is running them at 4-4-4-12 timings at 533 speed only. Any way of getting them to run in 667 speed? This is taken from CPUz and verified with Everest etc, I don't believe any SZ1xx can run 667 ram at full speed unless there is an updated bios that allows this.

 

I'm a tad confused about the different memory options. I have seen this Corsair memory advertised and wonder if anyone could comment - Will it work on the SZ160 and whats the difference between 'normal' and value memory?