What chipset does Dell 9300 run on?

[mcbarnet007]

I am trying to buy memory but I am not sure if 9300 uses dual channel or not. Please help

 

[BlingBlingArsch]

Yes, it uses the Intel Chipset 915PM, which afaik has support for DDR2 dual-channel.

 

[deathwalker]

I have the 9300..i ordered with 1 gig of RAM running dual channel

 

[RamIt]

It has the mobile 915 but there is basically no performance advantage running in DC.
My xps2 has a 1 gig stick running alongside a 256 stick and benchmarks the same as 2 256 sticks.

 

[JEDI]

i think dual channel is best for onboard video, when it uses all the added bandwidth that dual channel creates.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: RamIt
It has the mobile 915 but there is basically no performance advantage running in DC.
My xps2 has a 1 gig stick running alongside a 256 stick and benchmarks the same as 2 256 sticks.

This is because dual channel is not enabled right now. You have to have two sticks of the same capacity and they generally have to be "matched," i.e. pulled specifically for DC compatibility. DC is picky about which sticks it will accept generally.
However you only get a 5-10% performance boost with DC, so its not a big deal anyway.

 

[micahgalvas3]

I just got a 9300 but it only has a 256 stick of memory in it. I plan to upgrade asap but would I need to upgrade both sticks of ram at the same time to get it to run quicker? I was planning on putting two 1 gig sticks in it but only one at a time. Would a total of 2 gigs of ram make much of a differance over 1 gig (two 512 sticks)? It has the 1.6 ghz chip in it with 128 video. Thanks

 

[RamIt]

Originally posted by: micahgalvas3
I just got a 9300 but it only has a 256 stick of memory in it. I plan to upgrade asap but would I need to upgrade both sticks of ram at the same time to get it to run quicker? I was planning on putting two 1 gig sticks in it but only one at a time. Would a total of 2 gigs of ram make much of a differance over 1 gig (two 512 sticks)? It has the 1.6 ghz chip in it with 128 video. Thanks

You will never see a difference in any app running a 1 gig stick and the 256 with it.

PCMark04@1x512: 3790 (single-channel)
PCMark04@2x512: 3791 (dual-channel)

SI Sandra int@1x512: 3025 MB/s
SI Sandra float@1x512: 3008 MB/s

SI Sandra int@2x512: 3013 MB/s
SI Sandra float@2x512: 3020 MB/s

There is no 5~10% improvement by running dc on the 915 with the 533 processors.

 

[fbrdphreak]

You will see an improvement in performance w/2GB vs 1GB only in large apps like Photoshop and only when you are power-using it. Otherwise, no.

 

[micahgalvas3]

Originally posted by: RamIt

You will never see a difference in any app running a 1 gig stick and the 256 with it.

PCMark04@1x512: 3790 (single-channel)
PCMark04@2x512: 3791 (dual-channel)

SI Sandra int@1x512: 3025 MB/s
SI Sandra float@1x512: 3008 MB/s

SI Sandra int@2x512: 3013 MB/s
SI Sandra float@2x512: 3020 MB/s

There is no 5~10% improvement by running dc on the 915 with the 533 processors.

Please correct me if I'm reading this wrong but are these benchmarks saying that 512 is running the same as 1 gig? I'm fairly new to reading benchmarks so any advice you could offer would be much appreciated. In your oppinion, what memory upgrades should I do? put in two 512 sticks? one 1 gig stick and take the 256 out? one 512 stick? Other?
I am not a heavy gamer but I do mess around from time to time and I would like something that I do not have to completely replace and waste in the future (like the current 256 stick). I would mainly be using this for work and moderate photo and video editing as well as the occasional game. Thanks!

 

[JEDI]

i thought the main advantage of dual channel was for the onboard graphics (GMA900)??

thats why i got the delll 6000 1.6ghz 533mgz, instead of the 1.5ghz 400mhz bus.

onboard graphics isnt helped that much by either going to 533mhz or making it dual channel?

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: micahgalvas3

Originally posted by: RamIt

You will never see a difference in any app running a 1 gig stick and the 256 with it.

PCMark04@1x512: 3790 (single-channel)
PCMark04@2x512: 3791 (dual-channel)

SI Sandra int@1x512: 3025 MB/s
SI Sandra float@1x512: 3008 MB/s

SI Sandra int@2x512: 3013 MB/s
SI Sandra float@2x512: 3020 MB/s

There is no 5~10% improvement by running dc on the 915 with the 533 processors.

Please correct me if I'm reading this wrong but are these benchmarks saying that 512 is running the same as 1 gig? I'm fairly new to reading benchmarks so any advice you could offer would be much appreciated. In your oppinion, what memory upgrades should I do? put in two 512 sticks? one 1 gig stick and take the 256 out? one 512 stick? Other?
I am not a heavy gamer but I do mess around from time to time and I would like something that I do not have to completely replace and waste in the future (like the current 256 stick). I would mainly be using this for work and moderate photo and video editing as well as the occasional game. Thanks!

The PCMark04 benchmark is a program that simulates general application usage across a wide range. From my experience with PCMark04, it is not memory capacity dependant; moreso CPU and HDD dependant. In real life, you WILL notice a difference in performance between 512MB & 1GB RAM, but not because of dual channel performance. The extra capacity is great, because XP really needs 256MB for its own purposes and the rest can be used for your apps. I noticed a big difference going from 512MB to 1GB on my desktop, laptops will be similar.
The "SI Sandra" benchmarks there are memory bandwidth tests. While it is odd that 2x512 does have less throughput (likely due to the increased latency), those figures generally don't translate into much real world performance.
Winstone Business is one of the better "real world" performance benchmarks out there, it actually uses versions of Office, WinZip, Norton Antivirus, etc and runs them in scripted actions to test performance.

Summary: if you can afford 1GB, go for it; dual channel or not

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: JEDI
i thought the main advantage of dual channel was for the onboard graphics (GMA900)??

thats why i got the delll 6000 1.6ghz 533mgz, instead of the 1.5ghz 400mhz bus.

onboard graphics isnt helped that much by either going to 533mhz or making it dual channel?

Dual channel memory boosts performance in general, but unfortunately it won't help much with Sonoma notebooks for two reasons. (1) 533MHz FSB: With 533MHz RAM on a 533MHz FSB, there isn't much room for improvement and thus dual channel doesn't do much. (2) DDR2 Latency: DDR2 RAM has higher latencies, reducing its performance & effectively negating the higher clock speed. DDR1 400MHz @ latencies of 2-2-2 performs at or above the level of DDR2 533MHz @ latencies of 4-4-4. Dual channel improves memory bandwidth effectively, but when it takes SO long for the data to enter & leave the memory (hence latency) dual channel is bottlenecked by that latency.

And yes, you are right that onboard graphics are helped somewhat by dual channel performance; but it will only really shine when low latency DDR2 533 modules are available.

 

[hemiram]

I guess this thread has answered my questions.

I'm getting a 9300 in about 6-8 hours, if the UPS guy shows up at the usual time. I ordred it with 2 256M modules, figuring I can get by with it and add a 512M stick and then add another later.

Just to make sure I have it straight, I'm kind of sleepy right now. I can run two matched modules in it in single channel mode, or dual channel, OR, I can get a 512M or 1 gig stick and run it and the remaining 256M in single channel, without a big hit on performance?

Is just 512M going to drive me nuts? I guess I'm about to find out..

 

[bacillus]

your 2 matched ram sticks will run in dual channel mode!

 

[hemiram]

Right, but if I go with the mismatched pair until I get the second matching module, it will be single Ch and not be that big a hit, perfromance wise, right? I just wondered if it would be worth going to say a 512 and a 256, or it would be better to wait until I can get a pair of 512's....

 

[AmigaMan]

just for comparison's sake, my wife runs through 512MB of RAM consistantly by downloading pics from her digital camera, reading her email and keeping a small Access file open. Those aren't very intensive tasks, but if she can use 512MB that easily, I'd say you will too. Your machine comes with 256 right? WHen it gets here, go out and buy a 512MB stick from Crucial and run at 768MB. Then when you get some moolah saved up, pick up another 512MB stick and you'll be at 1GB.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Sheesh, ppl don't read

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
Your machine comes with 256 right?

Originally posted by: hemiram
I ordred it with 2 256M modules, figuring I can get by with it and add a 512M stick and then add another later.

First of all, 512MB will be enough for general usage. You will see a good performance boost by going to 1GB.
Second, you will not see a big performance hit by going to single channel. In the near future we'll have an article out on Sonoma performance, including single/dual channel comparison.


edited for clarity on my first statement

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Sheesh, ppl don't read

First of all, 512MB will be enough for general usage. You will see a good performance boost by going to 1GB.
Second, you will not see a big performance hit by going to single channel. In the near future we'll have an article out on Sonoma performance, including single/dual channel comparison.

"we"?

what site do you work for?

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: JEDI

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Sheesh, ppl don't read

First of all, 512MB will be enough for general usage. You will see a good performance boost by going to 1GB.
Second, you will not see a big performance hit by going to single channel. In the near future we'll have an article out on Sonoma performance, including single/dual channel comparison.

"we"?

what site do you work for?

*AHEM* /Points to sig

 

[hemiram]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Sheesh, ppl don't read

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
Your machine comes with 256 right?

Originally posted by: hemiram
I ordred it with 2 256M modules, figuring I can get by with it and add a 512M stick and then add another later.

First of all, 512MB will be enough for general usage. You will see a good performance boost by going to 1GB.
Second, you will not see a big performance hit by going to single channel. In the near future we'll have an article out on Sonoma performance, including single/dual channel comparison.


edited for clarity on my first statement

Ok, I just didn't want to have to buy something else right away. I had to buy a case and I probably will have to get a second battery (No, not from Dell!)

Thanks!

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

*AHEM* /Points to sig

lol!

thx!

hope you do a test of the gma900 single channel vs dual channel

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Sheesh, ppl don't read

Hey, I was still waking up

But the rest of my post still stands, if someone who I classify as a low-end user can go through 512MB in no time, hemiram will too. And if I were him, I'd just spring for an extra 1GB stick to be at 1.25GB and ditch one of the 256MB sticks. That's the way my i9200 is set up right now (but it doesn't do dual-channel ddr). As a medium-high end user, having more than 1GB is very beneficial. I'm actually thinking about getting another 1GB stick, but I may end up saving for a T43...

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: JEDI

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

*AHEM* /Points to sig

lol!

thx!

hope you do a test of the gma900 single channel vs dual channel

That is a great suggestion!! Thanks a lot, I will definitely include that now. I was planning on using the T43 which has discrete graphics, but I will also include an R52 we have that uses GMA900.

 

[JEDI]

can you run Serious sam2 and age of mythology as one of the tests to see how single mode and dual mode compares?

I have serious sam2.

i want to play age of empire3 on my gma900 laptop and read that if it can plan age of myth, it can play aoe3.