Well ...Someone here will just have to upgrade their TRs to find out. I am surprised at this finding thou. Can you really upgrade the chipset in our TRs btw ?

My CPU Z says its i855GM/GME, Mine is a 1.1 MHZ CPU.

FWIW, their modules definitely work in the VAIO S series…

Reading comparisons side by side, of the GM ( chipset in the S type ) and GME ( chipset in the TR ). In the GME spec it clearly mentions, ’ Intel® 855GME chipset, when paired with DDR-333 memory, contributes to higher integrated graphics performance than 855GM’ hmmmm ...

Also, at what frequency does the GM run the RAM on the S type ? Im sure it will be the same as TR ( 133 MHZ )

The S’ RAM frequency is 166Mhz. The T is correct at running at 133MHz. The reason why is that is the base frequency. Because both use DDR memory, that effectively makes them 333Mhz (PC2700) and 266Mhz (PC2100) respectively.

So, it’s not an outdated chipset as some may think. Well, it’s outdated compared to desktop stuff (DDR2) but it’s still DDR and if you run memory tests in Sandra, you will find that its bandwidth is way higher than a mere traditional 133Mhz bus systems.

I am in a bind for upgrading to anything over 1GB of RAM, because the INTEL specs also say:

The Intel® 852GM chipset is a mobile optimized integrated graphics solution with a 400 MHz system bus and integrated 32-bit 3D core at 133MHz with Dynamic Video Memory Technology (DVMT). The Intel® 852GM chipset has a low power design, supports advanced mobile power management, and supports up to 1GB of DDR 200/266 System Memory.

So it will support the SWISSBIT modules, but only one.

I hope that i am reading this wrong, but if not my chipset can only handle 1GB of RAM and upgrading to 1.5GB would not be possible.

On the otherhand the i855GM:

Support for up to 2GB of DDR 333/266/200 memory technology

i852GM:   

i855GM:   

My TR has the i855GM/GME. When comparing RAM specs your obviously comparing 2 different chipset ECKAMUS, the i855 and i852. May be only one of them supports 2 GB , the other one doesnt.

Eckamus, I would check with another program to make sure your TR has an 852 chipset. To my knowledge even the very first TRs used the 855 chipset. Check your Device Manager and look under system and it should name the chipset as well.

The 852 chipsets were more often paired with Pentium 4M/Celeron processors.

[quote author=“gr00vy0ne”]Eckamus, I would check with another program to make sure your TR has an 852 chipset. To my knowledge even the very first TRs used the 855 chipset. Check your Device Manager and look under system and it should name the chipset as well.

The 852 chipsets were more often paired with Pentium 4M/Celeron processors.

groovy i used the same program as he did and it showed me the i855GM/GME processor, a bit strange i’d say.

Right now i am unable to post the pics of the results but i will list the results below.

With the INTEL Chipset Identification Utility:  INTEL 852/855 GM/GME chipset

With CPU-Z the Chipset is Identified as:  INTEL i852GME/PM

SiSoftware Sandra Identified as:  Sony Corp 82852GM/GME/PM, 855GM/GME Montara host-hub interface bridge (A2-step)  under mainboard info

I apologize if i have gone off in the wrong direction.  This is the most indepth i have ever gone into a computer, more or less i am an ametuer when it come to this kind of stuff.  I guess i had a panic attack that my precious TR, was out of date, already.  I only bought my TR3 back in June.

If someone could help me identify exactly what chipset i have on board, would help my worries out.

Also from what i understand each MICROdimm bay runs at 133MHz so with memory in both bays it would be running at 266MHz.  Am i right here?

Yeah, it’s not the 852. Some programs can’t tell the difference between the 852 and 855 chipsets. I have the original TR1AP and it had the 855. There’s no way a newer model like yours has an older chipset.

And no, 133Mhz is the base speed. Because it’s DDR (double data rate) technology, it effectively transfers at 2 x 133Mhz (266Mhz). The extra slot just adds extra memory. The memory subsystem is not a dual-channel setup (which would double the bandwidth).

Good news is great.

Thanks for helping me out gr00vy0ne.  I guess i should have posted the results sooner, instead trying to interpret the results, myself.  That would have prevented myself from going off on a tangent.

One learns something new everyday.

For me it is here in this forum, at college and from my wife.

Groovy, now that you’ve upgraded to 2 gb , is there a huge difference in performance ? Is it worth spending all that money ? Plus i think it would be safe to say that performance surge in a TR would be the same as in the S type. So what do you think groovy ?

Yes, there is a performance increase but only when I’m working in Photoshop where I’m easily pushing 1.5GB of memory usage. In normal operations, there is ABSOLUTELY NO PERFORMANCE increase.

Everyone has to understand that memory does NOT automatically make your system faster. It depends on entirely on what you do. When you’re running all of your applications on your TR do you ever go over 1GB of memory usage? You can easily check this using Task Manager. If you never get close to 1GB or even 512MB for that matter, then there’s no real reason to upgrade your RAM.

This is the number you want to look at:

That’s what will determine if you really need more RAM of not. If I only had 1GB in the above situation, you would see the hard disk churning like mad as I switched applications or performed operations within Photoshop.

So, it really depends on what you do. I would only upgrade if you need it now and not in the future. If you need it later then upgrade later as the memory will be cheaper then. I need it now due to my projects (and can write it off on my taxes) so that’s why it makes sense for me.

Here’s my simpler explanation:

You are the CPU. Your table/desk is RAM. Your shelf or filing cabinet is your Hard Disk. You can only work on and put so many files on your desk. If you need more files, you must go to your shelf and retrieve them. In return, you must take some items from your desk and put them back on the shelf. That’s called swapping and you can imagine that it takes time to get out of your seat to go get the new files. Adding more RAM basically gives you a bigger desk to work with. So, if you need to work on a lot of stuff, the bigger desk will help tremendously. If you’re only working on a few files, the bigger desk isn’t going to make you faster. Make sense?  :wink:

So processes such as ripping video off my handicam, or encoding a MPEG file to other formats would be faster ?