Shared RAM?

[hbdragon88]

My sister recently got a laptop, and it's a 2.4 GhZ processor with 256MB RAM. My dad and my own computer have 1.0 and 1.3 GhZ processors w/ the same amount of ram. Yet for some reason, my sister's computer runs slower than either my dad's or my own, even though her computer is 1 gigahertz faster than ours.

I think it might be because her RAM is shared, because I read a Dell advertisement for a laptop that's similar to my sister's model. I know that to solve that problem, you have to install more RAM. In a regular desktop computer, I know how to put in more RAM - somehow open up the case and find the slot for more RAM (I saw it done once). But on a laptop, is there an add-on ability? If so can someone tell me how to do it?

 

[funxus]

Ask at a computer store. They'll probably tell you what to buy and what to do with it.

Although they look as if you can't open them, laptops can be opened. I once opened up one to change the CD-ROM drive, and I'm sure it's possible to access the RAM as well.

 

[Hawkster]

most laptops have a panel on the underside which you can remove to access the memory slots - the manual should give the details and also say which memory type the laptop needs. The memory for laptops is usually a little more expensive than desktop memory and it pays to shop around (or order on-line).

The only possible problem is that laptops often have only two slots for memory and if both are used then to upgrade you will need to replace one of the memory units (unlikely on a newer model but a possibility).

 

[DreadCthulhu]

The thing keeping it slow is probably the harddrive - lots of laptops have 4200 RPM drives, while desktops have 5400 or 7200 RPM drives - this makes a big difference when opening up programs, or when you have to use virtual memory.
(When your computer runs out of RAM, it begins to swap things out to the harddrive; you want to avoid this, since the harddrive is a ~1000 times slower than the RAM.) Adding more RAM will be a big help; check the manual to find out what kind you need - www.newegg.com is a good place to order RAM.

Also, what type of processor is in the laptop, and is in your & your dad's computers? A 2.4 ghz Celeron is probably only as fast as a 1.3 ghz Pentium-M, a 1.4ghz or so AthlonXP, or a 1.8ghz Pentium4.

 

[bobgote]

what OS are you running? are they different from computer to computer?

otherwise, what people have said is about right. laptops run slower. not sure about the shared memory thing, but i doubt that'd be happening unless you have a dual processor setup.

 

[DreadCthulhu]

Shared RAM means that the video chip in the Laptop is borrowing some of the system RAM to do rendering, rather than having its own memory. You can generally go into the bios, and set up how much RAM the video will use; if all you are doing is 2D on that laptop, then set it down to 8 or 4 megs of RAM or so.

 

[Comraddict]

Shared RAM, 32MB of it, would not hurt your performancethat much. Like Ktulu said, it is because of slower hard drive in laptops.

 

[FireBall]

Yep, you can add more ram easily with a notebook, too... Just open it, you'll see the RAM slots, and put the ram in, just like a desktop, although you need smaller RAM...

If you're not sure, ask at a store.

 

[hbdragon88]

Well, my dad has a laptop and it runs super fast. I sometimes think that it's faster than my own desktop computer. And unless Dell put in a completely different kind/type of hard drive than Gateway does, it shouldn't be THAT much slower.

BTW both laptops run on Windows XP.

 

[DreadCthulhu]

Well, you might wanna make sure your sister's laptop isn't being bogged down by a bunch of programs at start-up,(goto Start, Run:, type "msconfig" and uncheck everything you don't need in the startup box) and a bunch of spyware - I gave one of my older computers to my sister, and about a month later she complained it was running slow. I checked, and she had 40! programs loading at startup, and over 400 pieces of spyware on that machine. Use Ad-Aware and Spybot Search & Destroy to check for spyware.

About the harddrives, there is a good chance your dad got a 5400 RPM drive, while your sister got a 4200 RPM one. The speed difference between the two is quite noticable.

 

[hbdragon88]

Is there a way I can check the RPM hard drive?

Since I've gone through all three programs, all of them run about the same amount of programs at start-up and have the same kinds of programs. Most unncessary programs have been eliminated from startup and none of the computers have spyware on them.

 

[Comraddict]

you can find rpm by model name. in device manager you should be able to see it.