Memory Upgrade - Slot issue

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timmmay

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#954587 19-Dec-2013 07:21

Check your CPU usage playing 1080p, there's a small chance it's CPU.

SSD replaces hard drive. You clone your drive onto it using something like Macrium Reflect Free.

Keep the OS, programs, and data you REALLY need all the time on the SSD. Keep everything else external, backed up of course as external drives seem to fail more often than internal.

33coupe

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#955084 19-Dec-2013 20:38

Ah ok thanks. That sounds like a good option, but would be quite a bit of money. Not sure how economical it would be as I only paid approx $800 for it a while ago.

I just played a 1080 video and the CPU never went over 30%, but the graph did seem to spike quite high.

33coupe

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#955089 19-Dec-2013 20:52

macuser

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#955092 19-Dec-2013 20:59

I would go 2 + 4GB ram, and then add an SSD

Adding a SSD to a machine without a lot of ram will cause the SSD to get trashed (long story short, the computer uses the HDD/SSD as a form of slow memory when it's run out of ram - SSD's have a limited amount of read and writes available before they fail and a lack of ram will quickly mean the SSD is constantly reading and writing thousands tiny pieces of info - reducing the life of your SSD)

SSDs are only effective when opening a program, or opening/saving a file, if you're the type to leave 10-15 browser windows open at a time and a few other programs, and close your laptop to put it to sleep, then ram is a far better option if you can only afford one.

As I said above, buying a 4GB chip and an SSD would be the best of both worlds.

from my experience memory of the same type (eg DDR, DDR2, DDR3) will work most times regardless of the timings/MHz, the system will automatically set the new faster ram to the speed of the old slower ram, could potentially cause system instability though. You can try find exactly the same ram, but you may end up paying a bunch more. I've put DDR3 12800 in a machine that already had DDR3 8500 memory, and put DDR3 12800 memory in a machine with a chipset that supported up to DDR 10600. Both of these don't crash.

timmmay

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#955210 20-Dec-2013 06:46

That blockyness in the video playback is weird. I'd be looking at things like video drivers and software used, though I can see VLC which is good.

33coupe

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#955254 20-Dec-2013 08:28

Thanks for the detailed reply macuser.

Youre right, I often have several tabs open, then put the laptop to sleep.

I thought the blockyness was due to the graphics card not being good enough. I think its shared, not dedicated.

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andrewNZ

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#955275 20-Dec-2013 08:43

I've looked at the specs of that laptop range as per your first post, they come with either an i3 or i5 CPU. You don't get Intel CPU's with AMD GPU's built in, so it must be discrete graphics.

That card should absolutely handle 1080 video

33coupe

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#955311 20-Dec-2013 09:29

Oh really?

Mines i3.

If it helps the display states:

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470
ATI display adapter (0x68EO)
Internal DAC (400mhz)
2226MB
1366x768 - 32bit 60hz

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