JeffWard Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 I have a HP Pavilion dv8000 Laptop w/ 2-512MB RAM modules (1GB). I can get 2-2GB RAM modules for under $100 at Best Buy. The laptop can handle up to 4GB. I'm not doing any high-end gaming or movie editing, but the computer is slowed down with everything else on it. If I do buy... Is it worth the investment to max out my RAM? What/where is the cheapest decent upgrade? What do I need? What do I NOT need? (667MHz operating speed vs 1066MHz?) Side question... What's the best clean-up tool out there? Or should I drop it off? Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMBOpen Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Have you used the disk cleanup and defragmenter programs? Do the cleanup first, then defrag. You can do the Analyze function of Defrag first to get an idea of the severity of hard drive fragmentation. Memory expansion won't hurt, but may not help if the hard drive is messy. 4Gb can't be used directly unless you run a 64-bit version. 32-bit can only use up to 2Gb. Start All Programs Accessories System Tools Disk Cleanup Disk Defragmenter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffWard Posted December 2, 2009 Author Share Posted December 2, 2009 (edited) Have you used the disk cleanup and defragmenter programs? Do the cleanup first, then defrag. You can do the Analyze function of Defrag first to get an idea of the severity of hard drive fragmentation. Memory expansion won't hurt, but may not help if the hard drive is messy. 4Gb can't be used directly unless you run a 64-bit version. 32-bit can only use up to 2Gb.Start All Programs Accessories System Tools Disk Cleanup Disk Defragmenter I'm running a 64 bit dual core AMD Turion 64, running XP. I've got 334MB of 1024MB "available". Should this be enough to run fine??? I did a disk-cleanup and defrag... Defrag bought me a little speed. I'm debating $500-750 for a new Dell desktop, or just beefing up what I have for $100... Jeff Edited December 2, 2009 by JeffWard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMBOpen Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 (edited) While the processor hardware may be 64-bit, the key to using over 2Gb of RAM is a 64-bit version of the Windows XP/Vista/7 OS. Edited December 2, 2009 by NMBOpen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffWard Posted December 2, 2009 Author Share Posted December 2, 2009 While the processor hardware may be 64-bit, the key to using over 2Gb of RAM is a 64-bit version of the Windows XP/Vista/7 OS. Where do I look to see what version I have? Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002 Service Pack 3 Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffWard Posted December 2, 2009 Author Share Posted December 2, 2009 Answering my own question... So My computer/processor is 64 bit... but my OS (XP ME 2002) is 32bit (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081229142432AAKBL23). Soooo... I will max effectiveness at 2GB??? Is the bump from 1024MB to 2GB worth the investment? If so, where, for how much? Thanks! Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halogrinder Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 i just upped my pop's from 512 to 4 gig, and from a AMD 3200 single core to a 4400 dual core on a factory HP. its LIGHT YEARS faster. the computer only recognizes 3.48 gigs of ram (pc3200) but 150 bucks in upgrades to shore it up is way cheaper than a new one. malware bytes is bueno virus killer. if you have issues for free on their forum they will help you, then update the system for everyone to reflect it. neat! crap cleaner is awesome. it cleans out lots o stuff i use symantic corporate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gose Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 (edited) Have you used the disk cleanup and defragmenter programs? Do the cleanup first, then defrag. You can do the Analyze function of Defrag first to get an idea of the severity of hard drive fragmentation. Memory expansion won't hurt, but may not help if the hard drive is messy. 4Gb can't be used directly unless you run a 64-bit version. 32-bit can only use up to 2Gb.Start All Programs Accessories System Tools Disk Cleanup Disk Defragmenter Well, a 32-bit version of Windows XP can theoretically use 4GB of RAM. However, some of the address space will get allocated by various devices (PCI bus, video card etc), so the amount of memory actually available to the OS will be less than 4GB. Throwing 4GB into it wont hurt though. Edited December 2, 2009 by gose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Boudrie Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Well, a 32-bit version of Windows XP can theoretically use 4GB of RAM. However, some of the address space will get allocated by various devices (PCI bus, video card etc), so the amount of memory actually available to the OS will be less than 4GB. Plus it's split 2/2 between user and kernel space unless you change that to 3/1 with a boot.ini option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLM Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Well, a 32-bit version of Windows XP can theoretically use 4GB of RAM. However, some of the address space will get allocated by various devices (PCI bus, video card etc), so the amount of memory actually available to the OS will be less than 4GB. Plus it's split 2/2 between user and kernel space unless you change that to 3/1 with a boot.ini option. Which EVERYONE, well at least some of us, knows how to do! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokshwn Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Here is a video that helps explain the preceding conversation in lay terms for those of us who need a little help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gose Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Well, a 32-bit version of Windows XP can theoretically use 4GB of RAM. However, some of the address space will get allocated by various devices (PCI bus, video card etc), so the amount of memory actually available to the OS will be less than 4GB. Plus it's split 2/2 between user and kernel space unless you change that to 3/1 with a boot.ini option. Ahh, forgot about that... This thing called Linux has helped me forget most of the Windows stuff I once knew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Front Man Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 You might want to see what Crucial recommends. You can plug your computer info in at the website and they will tell you. I doubled the memory of my 4.25 year old not book for under $50; best money I ever spent! FM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajg308 Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 I have a HP Pavilion dv8000 Laptop w/ 2-512MB RAM modules (1GB). I can get 2-2GB RAM modules for under $100 at Best Buy. The laptop can handle up to 4GB. I'm not doing any high-end gaming or movie editing, but the computer is slowed down with everything else on it. If I do buy... Is it worth the investment to max out my RAM? What/where is the cheapest decent upgrade? What do I need? What do I NOT need? (667MHz operating speed vs 1066MHz?) Side question... What's the best clean-up tool out there? Or should I drop it off? Jeff I had a DV8000 myself and it would only take 2 GB total. I ran mine at 2 GB and yes, it is worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Front Man Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 It's worth it just to be able to have a bunch of programs open at the same time! FM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 I'm running a 64 bit dual core AMD Turion 64, running XP. For $100, doubling the RAM is a worthwhile thing to do and will probably give you 2-3 more years of use on that computer. The disk fragmentation built into Windows can do a lot to help. If you increase the memory, you should increase your paging file size. General recommendation is to set it for a fixed min and max of 1.5 times the RAM. There is a freeware program called CCleaner that is very good for removing cr@p (hence the name) from your computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic_jon Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 Other than the good advice above about extra RAM (It never hurts to have extra RAM In my opinion.)defrag, scandisk, and good antivirus and spyware removers, I would suggest taking a look at what you have running in the task bar to the right near the clock. A lot of programs install "stubs" that load part of the program into memory and hold it there so it will "load faster" when you start it. The only problem here is that it eats into your available memory and can make the system run slower than it should...even if you add more memory. How to use MSCONFIG: http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig/ If you know someone that is good with PC's, and knows how to use it, the MSCONFIG command is a great thing to use. IF you don't have a Computer geek handy you can do it yourself but MAKE SURE that you have a second PC around that you can google the things you are disabling.... and even then, be careful. I would only disable the things that you KNOW are safe to disable like the Adobe reader loader and such. Whenever people tell me that their systems are running slow the first things I do are to hit MSCONFIG and disable silly things, run Spybot, AdAware, and MalwareBytes and then scan it with a good and up to date antivirus. After that I run a Defrag and Scandisk and that normally speeds it up to what it can run at. I personally strip out all the cruft on my PC's down to the minimum and most people are shocked at how fast my personal boxes run on 4 and 5 year old hardware! Normally the only things I have loaded in memory are my antivirus and instant messenger. The rest of the things most people have there I have turned off. One more second to start Adobe Reader is more than worth the trade off in shaving 20 seconds off the speed of the other programs I use on a daily basis! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic_jon Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 Here is a video that helps explain the preceding conversation in lay terms for those of us who need a little help Ahhh but he left out the muffler bearings and the blinker fluid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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