install xtra ram onto hp pavilion zv5000

[smith]

hi anyone,
i intend to upgrade ram in the above machine, currently 2 slots total 512. have downloaded install instructions, however i am not sure if i must put the extra ram in slot 1 or 2. slot 2 is easy, slot 1 requires dismantle of whole machine it seems.
i get conflicting info from internet sites, some say does not matter where u put the xtra ram, others say slot 1 first. could someone please enlighten me. many thanks

[Ferrit]

This is a laptop, so therefore it has only 2 memory slots.
The best practise is too install identical memory modules in each slot.
Anything other then that, such as just changeiung 1 module because the other is too hard to get at is asking for problems.
My advice would be to take it to someone to do it

[NooNoo]

OK, ferrit, I am going to disagree with you.

I am posting from an Acer Laptop with 1 gig in the user accessible slot and 256mb internally. I probably will get around to putting the other 1 gig in the internal, but it's time and downtime for my laptop so I haven't as yet.

It's now been 18 months and I still haven't gotten around to it - why? Because it runs perfectly fine as it is. I will do it when I upgrade the hard drive and dual boot vista on it.

So on a laptop, the slot order is not so critical. Desktops are different.

[Ferrit]

Heh as i said
The best practise is too install identical memory modules in each slot.
Never said it couldnt be done
And you are very lucky that your not getting issues is all i have to say.
And why would it matter whether its a laptop or a desktop?
Dont both run in the same fashion using the same principles?
What's different with a laptop?

[NooNoo]

Laptops don't generally have dual channel memory...

[CCT]

The unique thing is, in cases of additional slot computer memory, size and placement doesn't make a whole lot of difference!

The real key is matching every other spec.

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tuto...torial122.html

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.c...id=1573&page=1

http://www.tomshardware.com/2004/01/19/ups_and_downs/


In fact, Tom's found that Dual Channel didn't appreciably change anything.

Do some looking.

[Platypus]

According to Crucial:

Manufacturer Specifications - HP - Compaq Pavilion zv5000 Series
Number of Slots:

Slot 1 Slot 2

Each memory slot can hold DDR PC2700 with a maximum of 1GB per slot.

Maximum Memory: 2048MB
USB Support: 2.x Compliant
Standard Memory: 256 or 512MB removable
Slots: 2 (2 banks of 1)
Upgrading the "non-accessible" memory socket should be performed by an authorized service center.
Q: Do I have to install matching pairs?

A: No.

No, you can install modules one at a time, and you can mix different densities of modules in your computer. But if your computer supports dual-channel memory configurations, you should install in identical pairs (preferably in kits) for optimal performance.

Q: Does my computer support dual-channel memory?

A: No.

Your system does not support dual channel.

[Platypus]

Platypus: confirm this lappy supports DDR.

Q: Does my computer support dual-channel memory?

A: No.

OMG, I'm not sure if you're posting a question or a statement here.

All the references I've found agree that it supports PC2700 DDR SDRAM, and single channel memory controller configuration.

smith, everything indicates that if you want to add just one 1GB, you should be able to use the externally accessible slot. I'd suggest purchasing the memory from a supplier who offers money-back if the memory they offer as suitable for your system isn't satisfactory.

If you wish to add more than 1GB, or to use the internal slot now in order to make the external available for future upgrade, then take up Ferrit's suggestion of having it installed by a service centre (HP's advice also), or if you're up to the technical challenge of installing it yourself, the Maintenance and Service Guide is here:

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00212209.pdf

[Platypus]

a dual channel lappy

What convinces you it's dual channel? All the information I've seen says it's single channel.

Single channel doesn't equal half performance, you typically drop about 10-15% in memory throughput.

[Ferrit]

Its truly irrelevant because at the end of the day its still
BEST PRACTISE to match ram sticks in any machine laptop or deaktop

[xpuser357]

Not to stir anything up I just put 1 gig pc2700ddr and it had 256mb.I still have
256 with 1 gig of ram. Mine is a presario M2000, and only thing wrong is me jumping up and down because this lap top finally is much faster

[Platypus]

The service manual states DDR ram, FYI single 2700 channel ram runs 133mhz, dual channel ram runs 266mhz thus how did you arrive at 10-15% preformance differance.

For your information, there is no single or dual channel RAM. Single or dual channel is a property of the memory controller.

You appear to be confusing single rate SDRAM and double rate DDR SDRAM. DDR (Double Data Rate) clocks transfers at twice the memory clock rate (data is transferred on both the rise and fall of the clock waveform, compared with only on the rise for SDRAM). So DDR 2700, which runs at a 166MHz clock rate, has effectively twice the bandwidth of single rate SDRAM on the same clock speed, and is referred to as 333MHz (not 266).

We're not talking about that, we're talking about single channel or dual channel architecture - the width of the data path between the memory and the memory controller. Because of the greater operating efficiency of having two channels independently addressing separate DIMMS, dual channel gives a real world throughput improvement of typically 10-15% as I've benchmarked it.

That would mean if smith's lappy motherboard was dual channel architecture, and this reverted to single channel due to unmatched DIMMS, there would be a loss in memory throughput, but it wouldn't be huge. But the info suggests the motherboard architecture is not dual channel, so in this case as it's already single channel, no performance change would occur due to dual channel reverting to single.

[Platypus]

Its truly irrelevant because at the end of the day its still
BEST PRACTISE to match ram sticks in any machine laptop or deaktop

Yes, best practice, I agree matched sticks would be ideal.

But I don't agree that it's irrelevant whether smith can get satisfactory results another way. I think we're all about providing helpful and accurate information. If it should work fine for smith to simply add a single SODIMM to the user accessible slot, then I don't think it would be helpful to insist that the laptop should be dismantled to replace difficult to access memory and incur extra cost, unless smith wishes to do so.

I've tried to present various options to assist in the decision.

[NooNoo]

OMG why are you confusing bandwidth with bus speed?

perhaps you should brush up on your Dual Channel architecture

[CCT]

I dug up this excellent tutorial:

http://www.directron.com/fsbguide.html