It’s a better investment at $129 and will help your resale value in the future if you end up moving on to something else. Also, 1GB is just a good solid number to have in Windows XP. XP like memory…memory good.
Is the speed of RAM actually noticed? I would like to put my 512mb stick back in with one of the 256mb that is already in there but… i dunno. Is the fact that both the stick have to go down to the lower mhz really gonna slow it down that much?
Just wondering.
[quote author=“OnMyWayUp”]Is the speed of RAM actually noticed? I would like to put my 512mb stick back in with one of the 256mb that is already in there but… i dunno. Is the fact that both the stick have to go down to the lower mhz really gonna slow it down that much?
Just wondering.
OnMyWayUp, are you referring to using both 333Mhz and 266Mhz memory in the same system?
Theoretically yes, you can use them in the same system although they would be running at the slowest common denominator of 266Mhz. I know some people have reported getting crashes with mixed memory. This may be due to faulty memory, incompatible memory timings or simply obscure brand differences. In general, it’s always better to use matched memory whenever possible as it helps to rule out a lot of possibilities.
Yea i was talking about using the TR’s PC2100 and the S’s PC2700… I’ve already switched it before but I didn’t notice much… so I just went back to the two PC 2700 256 sticks… I was just sorta asking more like if MORE is better that FASTER… i’m not as articulate when I write in here for some reason. :?
In general…I’d say MORE is better than FASTER especially if faster is like only 10-15% faster in clockspeed. Also, the FSB of the Pentium Ms is only 400Mhz to begin with so the faster ram really isn’t that much more helpful.
I am still can’t decide if I need a gig….grOOvy I am watching my system specs….And when running max programs. My memory is running at 82%. The cpu does flunctuate a lot….Causing if I am over perfoming the machine it maxes my cpu before it touches my memory…..Then it will lag a little….
So I know my limits….I am wondering if I add more memory willl this let some of the stress of the cpu????
But, I don’t see why I don[‘t see the memory fluctuate instead I am seeing the cpu….Does the notebook know the ram is almost maxed out so it looks to the cpu to help out?
Also I was wondering if it was neccesary to get a 512 stick instead of just 256.
The general rule of thumb is that you should get as much memory as you can. If you only buy the 256MB now and decide later that you need the extra 512MB you’ll definitely regret since you’ll have to go through the hassle of selling the unused 256MB memory. Also, don’t forget that the Intel graphics chipset can use as much as 64MB of your current 512MB leaving you with only 448MB. So, it’s just more of a cushion if you go up to 1GB.
In CPU bound situations, memory may not make a system faster but it can help in many other ways. You may see CPU usage spike because it is starved for memory and is thus using virtual memory. Don’t be fooled. WinXP always uses virtual memory even if you’ve seemingly turned it off. It is less dependant on it if you give you system plenty of memory.
Plus, with all of that neat desktop software you’re finding, it helps to have even more extra memory free so that you can load up as many of those applets as you want.
Also, should you keep your TR for the release of Longhorn…you will most likely be glad you stuck with 1GB of memory.
