Looking into buying more ram for my laptop.

[Thetech]

I have a Toshiba M40 Laptop with a Intel i915PM/GM chipset.
Currently in the system are two 256MB sticks of Kingston PC2700, the timings on the sticks are Cas#2.5, RAS# to CAS# 3, RAS# Precharge 3, and Tras 7.

The sticks I'm considering buying are the, OCZ Value Series 1GB 200-Pin DDR SO-DIMM DDR 333 (PC 2700) which has timings of 2.5-4-4, and a voltage of 2.5V.

I had a conversation with an OCZ support tech that recommended the (Model#OCZ4001024VSO) OCZ Value Series 1GB 200-Pin DDR SO-DIMM DDR 400 (PC 3200) which has these timings 2.5-4-4-8 (I don't know what the voltage is), for extra compatibility with my current ram since I am only replacing 1 stick, although he said that the first PC2700 stick should also work.

There's also other options of course like the (Model#KVR333X64SC25/1G) Kingston ValueRAM 1GB 200-Pin DDR SO-DIMM DDR 333 (PC 2700) but it costs more than the OCZ ram.

My first question is, How will my systems performance be affected since, if I read correctly, the timings of the OCZ ram are worse than my ram? And how much of a difference in performance is there between the two OCZ chips and their respective timings?

Also how compatible do you think these chips will be with what I have in my system already? And what can I do with the chip I replace(other than to sell it on Ebay)?

 

[Athena]

Why wouldn't you just go with the Kingston sticks on sale at Circuit City? Is the OCZ that much cheaper?

You can post a message in the F/S forum here but generally, eBay is the fastest way to get rid of memory.

 

[Thetech]

Originally posted by: Athena
Why wouldn't you just go with the Kingston sticks on sale at Circuit City? Is the OCZ that much cheaper?

You can post a message in the F/S forum here but generally, eBay is the fastest way to get rid of memory.

Thank you

I don't mean to sound rude but, the only problem I have is CC doesn't list any specs on the chip. And I can't find the same chip at the Kingston website.

 

[Athena]

Originally posted by: Thetech
I don't mean to sound rude but, the only problem I have is CC doesn't list any specs on the chip. And I can't find the same chip at the Kingston website.

I know that it is CL 2.5 and voltage 2.5, which was sufficient for my purposes .

For more detailed information, you might try using the online form at theKingston site to ask a detailed technical question. Follow the screens until you get to to a form where you can fill in the model number from CC then ask for the information you want as well as ask how it compares to the memory you already have in the machine.

 

[TheStu]

Generally when it comes to laptops, the timings count for a good deal less than on desktops. And unless I am wrong, your processor is so bandwidth starved already that you could give it DDR1200 with CAS .5 and it still wouldn't make much of a difference.

That was (to my understanding) one of the problems with the Pentium M, solid little chip, but the memory controller in the chipset couldn't feed it fast enough. In that sort of situation, the chipset itself is the problem, and CAS settings will make practically no difference.

 

[Athena]

Or...how about this deal? The rebate is only good for one stick so your net cost would be $120 for two.

 

[Thetech]

Originally posted by: TheStu
Generally when it comes to laptops, the timings count for a good deal less than on desktops. And unless I am wrong, your processor is so bandwidth starved already that you could give it DDR1200 with CAS .5 and it still wouldn't make much of a difference.

That was (to my understanding) one of the problems with the Pentium M, solid little chip, but the memory controller in the chipset couldn't feed it fast enough. In that sort of situation, the chipset itself is the problem, and CAS settings will make practically no difference.

Wow... Thanks for the explanation.

Athena, that second deal you showed me seemed good, I may buy it from Mwave(I saw them listed at buy.com since buy was out of stock) It'll still be around the same as the Ocz but I'll pay less for shipping. I do have to ask why do they say for the Dell Inspiron, it seems to be just your run of the mill ram.

 

[Athena]

Originally posted by: Thetech
Athena, that second deal you showed me seemed good, I may buy it from Mwave(I saw them listed at buy.com since buy was out of stock) It'll still be around the same as the Ocz but I'll pay less for shipping. I do have to ask why do they say for the Dell Inspiron, it seems to be just your run of the mill ram.

If I were you, I'd wait until Monday to see if Buy.com gets any more stock. I always opt for Crucial when I can get it and the rebate makes it especially attractive.

It will work with any Laptop that uses DDR memory; including but not limited to Inspirons.

 

[Thetech]

Originally posted by: Athena

Originally posted by: Thetech
Athena, that second deal you showed me seemed good, I may buy it from Mwave(I saw them listed at buy.com since buy was out of stock) It'll still be around the same as the Ocz but I'll pay less for shipping. I do have to ask why do they say for the Dell Inspiron, it seems to be just your run of the mill ram.

If I were you, I'd wait until Monday to see if Buy.com gets any more stock. I always opt for Crucial when I can get it and the rebate makes it especially attractive.

It will work with any Laptop that uses DDR memory; including but not limited to Inspirons.

Thank you very much for informing me of such a great deal, sadly though it is now the 11th and buy.com still doesn't have anymore in stock. If only they were going to get more in then run the rebate again:frown:.

 

[Sarvatt]

I disagree. I find laptop SODIMM SPD timings more important than desktop ones since you aren't able to manually set timings in bios on most (any?) laptops.

 

[Thetech]

I ordered the Crucial stick,Sarvatt. I believe that it matched the timings of my current ram pretty well. I thank you for your info, but could you please give me more details as to why you feel that way.

 

[Sarvatt]

Well, unless your laptop has a chipset with windows based timing config changing your ram will run at the slowest SPD from an unmatched pair. On a desktop I have no qualms about buying CL3 DDR400 for instance because almost every stick I've bought can run DDR400 at 2-3-3-6 with no problems. 2.5-4-4-8 wouldn't be that much of a difference from your normal ram but being forced to run both at CL3 isnt worth the $5 savings in my opinion If you can find DDR400 CL2.5 SODIMMs they are pretty much guaranteed to have a 2-3-3-7 SPD timing at DDR333 and most likely wouldn't cost any different from a DDR333 stick. DDR400 CL3 would have a 2.5-3-3-7 timing at DDR333. Your chipset supports dual channel operation so you are giving up half your memory bandwidth by getting a single 1gb stick instead of 2x 512's though, definately not worth the extra 256 ram gained by doing that

 

[Thetech]

Originally posted by: Sarvatt
Well, unless your laptop has a chipset with windows based timing config changing your ram will run at the slowest SPD from an unmatched pair. On a desktop I have no qualms about buying CL3 DDR400 for instance because almost every stick I've bought can run DDR400 at 2-3-3-6 with no problems. 2.5-4-4-8 wouldn't be that much of a difference from your normal ram but being forced to run both at CL3 isnt worth the $5 savings in my opinion If you can find DDR400 CL2.5 SODIMMs they are pretty much guaranteed to have a 2-3-3-7 SPD timing at DDR333 and most likely wouldn't cost any different from a DDR333 stick. DDR400 CL3 would have a 2.5-3-3-7 timing at DDR333. Your chipset supports dual channel operation so you are giving up half your memory bandwidth by getting a single 1gb stick instead of 2x 512's though, definately not worth the extra 256 ram gained by doing that

No, my chipset doesn't support dual channel, sadly.

I just installed the new stick today and all of my chips are running at 2.5-3-3-7, I assume that's good?