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HP Memory upgrade question

post #1 of 8
2/12/06 at 4:52pm
Thread Starter 
I just got my first laptop it's a
HPzv6130
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (2.0GHz)
512 MB DDR-SDRAM

As I have never owned a laptop I asked the salesperson about getting this upgraded to 1gb of ram. He told me that the current memory was 2 sticks of 256. He said I must install 2 sticks of 512 and that I can't just put in a 1 gb stick of memory in place of one of the 256 sticks.
Does anyone know if this is true?
all suggestions are much appreciated.

Thanks!
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post #2 of 8
2/12/06 at 5:26pm
I don't think this is true at all. New laptops should support up to 2GB of ram and the only way to do that is to put two sticks of 1GB in there. Maybe the guy just don't know nothing lol. You should check to see what the max ram is for your laptop.
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post #3 of 8
2/13/06 at 12:39am

Go to Crucial.Com

It has to do with dual channel bandwith and all that stuff. Go to Crucial.Com, select your computer, then click on "what does this mean". The site has lots of info on memory upgrades. Good luck
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post #4 of 8
2/14/06 at 12:10pm
The salesman was an idiot. Sure you can mix 1GB RAM with a 256MB RAM chip, you just can't mix different MHz chips (like say a 400MHZ and a 533MHz chip).

A few of the most important things to look out for when mixing chips is the MHz of the chips, the pin count of the chips, and the timings/latency of the chips.

If you match the above specs of the chips, you'll be fine. No need to worry about matching the capacity of the chips, although if you match the capacity of the chips it in theory will give you an incremental performance boost by activating dual channel capability. But in normal real-world experience the speed gain is nominal at best.
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post #5 of 8
3/10/06 at 11:38am
I am trying to upgrade my memory on this laptop.

I can easily do the one at the bottom, however how can I do the one that is located below the keyboard?

I called HP tech support and they said that they cannot walk me through the 2nd slot and that if I do it, it would void the warranty.

I guess I should just go back to a HP certified repair center and have them do it...

Thoughts?
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post #6 of 8
3/10/06 at 12:56pm
Thoughts...ur gonna get ripped off if u go to HP for a simple thing such as a memory upgrade.

The question is, do u need more than 1.25gb of memory. If u do, then u will need to access the slot under the keyboard, then u might have to go to a pc repair shop to have em do it for u (dont go to hp). But if u dont need more than that memory right now, just buy a 1gb stick and put it in the bottom slot. Then u can always upgrage later the keyboard slot, or be fine with 1.25 gbs of ram for a long time, well at least for basic tasks in the future.
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post #7 of 8
3/10/06 at 1:45pm
Archmemory.com has some good deals too. I just ordered Two 1GB 667MHz DDR2 SODIMM cards today for $255.98 shipped
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post #8 of 8
3/13/06 at 8:26am
Galbicake:
Pay a visit to the HP site and try to find the Service and Maintenance Guide for your model. In the Guide you will find a detailed description of assembling and disassembling every detail in the computer.
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