I have a Sony Vaio AR Series laptop (exact model Sony AR 21s) that Sony says comes with a limit of 2GB of RAM. I wanted to upgrade this to 4GB of RAM but was not sure if it would work. The reason for the upgrade is that I am using Virtual Machines for CRM and Test environments more often and the "host" operating system has been struggling to keep up with these VM memory hogs in addition to running Visual Studio, SQL Server and all the other development tools.
I got the specs of my laptop and confirmed them with Crucial.com and they are as follows
# Maximum Memory: 2048MB * (*Not to exceed manufacturer supported memory.)
# USB Support: 2.x Compliant
# Standard Memory: 1024MB removable
# Slots: 2 (2 banks of 1)
# Chipset: Intel 945PM
Hmm, the "Not to exceed manufacturer supported memory" but got me thinking. I checked out the Intel 945PM chipset specs and it should support 4GB of RAM. As I am running Vista Ultimate as opposed to XP I thought that it all should be accessible from the operating system.
The reason I thought this will work is because there are different VAIO AR series models that use the same chipset and DDR2 memory types that officially support 4GB. I think it could be Sony trying to make differences between their product models to charge different prices. This was pure conjecture however so I went with my hunch and I bought the RAM from my friendly supplier MemoryC.com in Kildare that has a good returns policy.
Actual Memory Modules Spec is: 4GB DDR2 667MHz memory kit for laptop computers. Two matched 2GB modules, guaranteed to work in dual-channel setup. 200 pins, 1.8V, CL5, covered by G.Skills lifetime warranty. PC2-5300 notebook memory kit.
I installed the RAM last night and it worked ! There is now 3,143,323 available to windows Vista 32 bit. But what about the 4GB ? Well according to this Crucial Article not having the full 4GB is normal in 32 bit windows.
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For instance, when you install 4GB of memory in a 32-bit Windows system (the most common version; 64-bit systems are typically used only by high-end users), your system will see (and utilize) only 3GB or 3.5GB. Is the problem bad memory?
Relax, there isn't a problem with the memory. Windows allows for 4GB of memory to be addressed, but this isn't 100 percent the same as having 4GB of physical memory.
What happens is that some of the addressable memory (regardless of how much you have physically installed) is reserved for use by page files or by some of the devices that you are using, such as a graphics card, PCI card, integrated network connections, etc., so it's unavailable for use as normal main memory.
The amount of memory needed for these devices is calculated by your system at startup; if you haven't maxed out the memory in your system, it's invisible to you, and all your physical memory (the RAM that's installed) is available for use. However if you've maxed out the DRAM in your system, this amount will be deducted from your physical memory, so you can't use 100% of your DRAM.
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Upgrading to a 64 bit Vista would make the full amount available but that's a job for another day.
The memory upgrade did not improve the Vista score though, it stayed the same at 4.5.
The old 2GB of memory will be going up on eBay shortly to recoup some of my costs. There is a noticeable speed improvement from the additional memory though when running multiple apps, especially the Virtual Machines.
