HP Pavilion 9000t RAM Upgrade Question

mr-don

Hey,
I'm about to purchase a new HP 9000t notebook, and I really want 2 gigs of RAM to maximize my video editing and Vista performance. It seems much cheaper to buy third-party RAM than pay HP $200 to go from 512 to 2 GB.
From what I can tell I should buy 667 mhz 200-PIN DDR2 RAM (please correct me if this isn't right). Looking around on the web, it seems like there are many different known and unknown brands. Is it worth spending an extra $10 to $20 per chip for names like OCZ and Kingston instead of brands like Corsair, Mushkin, and G.skill?
Newegg has 1 GB sticks of Kingston RAM for $80, which seem like the most appealing ones I can find. Looking around on the Kingston web site, I see RAM "specifically made" for HP Pavilion notebooks (quite a bit more expensive), but from what I can see it is basically the same (667 mhz, 200-pin DDR2). There's no reason (and probably no difference) in buying this special RAM, right?
Finally, installing the RAM should only involve unscrewng the bottom panel of the notebook case, popping out the old 512 stick, and snapping the two new 1 GB ones in (correct?). Should this be done before I boot the system up for the first time, or after everything is set up and configured?

Thank you so much for your help and advice.
-Mr.Don

edcentric

First, most all notebooks use SODIMMS, these are shorter than standard memory and are needed for notebooks.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=2010170381+1052910525+1309121117+1309221136&Subcategory=381&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=
These are what you need to be looking at.
You can check each manufacturers web site for compatability.

Sledgehammer70

Mr.don

I persopnally have a dv8000t and a dv9000t that are now running Vista with 2GB of memory form OCZ. I have tried a few other brands and the OCZ chips seem to score the best overall.

Here are the Dim's I love:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227099

mr-don

Thanks for the suggestions.
If I'm not too worried about tiny performance gains, can I save a little $ by getting Kingston sticks (about $12 each cheaper than the OCZ RAM)?
And should I install this RAM before I boot the new system for the first time, or wait until after the initial set-up has been completed?

Sledgehammer70

mr.don wrote:

Thanks for the suggestions.
If I'm not too worried about tiny performance gains, can I save a little $ by getting Kingston sticks (about $12 each cheaper than the OCZ RAM)?
And should I install this RAM before I boot the new system for the first time, or wait until after the initial set-up has been completed?

Install the memory at anytime.. doesn't really matter. "just make sure the machine is off and the battery is removed

You can get whatever brand of memory you want for your system.. here are all the 1GB versions Newegg offers.

PC2 5300
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Category=17&N=2010170381+1052910525+1309121113+1309221136&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=381

PC2 5400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Category=17&N=2010170381+1052910525+1309121113+1309221137&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=381

mr-don

What's the difference between PC2 5300 and 5400? I know the Pavilion has 5300 installed, do I need to buy the same (5300) RAM or will there be a performance improvement associated with PC2 5400?
Thanks a lot for answering my noob questions, its very appreciated.

edcentric

The difference is rounding error. If you take 666.66x8 it equals 5333.3, so call it 5300 or 5400. Either way it is the same stuff.

Sledgehammer70

I saw a bit of an increase in performance form 5300 to 5400, but nothing that would be noticeable outside of the benchmark program.

It is always good to run all the Ram chips at the same speed. Most motherboards will just run the faster ships at slower speeds if mixed.

Instrument-Mechanic

I have tried configuring a laptop with 512 ram, and Windows Vista Ultimate, and the site wont let you do it. I know it will take more than 512 mb of ram to run the Ultimate edition, so they wont sell it to you unless you get atleast 1 gb of ram. So I think you will either have to settle for a simple version of Vista or buy their ram. Id go for their ram and the ultimate Vista due to price.

Instrument-Mechanic

Oh I almost forgot... I would buy from Costco, not the HP site. Do your homework first, as Costco doesnt offer buying support, but they are cheaper, ship just as fast, and have a much better return policy if you are a member, 6 months!