Recently, [Dell][1] had a [gonga coupon][2] on their [Inspiron laptops][6], and we purchased one to run [Linux][3], [OpenBSD][4], and [Windows][5], for network and interoperability testing. Dell ships these with slower memory, so we wanted to see how faster memory would improve performance (and also increase the memory size for less than what Dell charges).
The machine we ordered is an [Inspirion 6000][6], with a Pentium M 730 (1.6GHz), which has a 533Mhz Front Side Bus (which connects the processor to the rest of the system). Dell ships these with a single 256MB module of PC2-3200 (AKA DDR2-400) memory. The [Mobile Intel 915PM Chipset][7] that this model uses supports faster PC2-4200 (AKA DDR2-533) memory, and can also support dual memory channels, both of which should give the machine a performance improvement in the memory department.
We purchased two 512MB SO-DIMM modules rated at PC2-4200 from [Crucial][8], and installed them, first in a single channel, then dual channel configuration. Testing was done using [MemTest86][9], version 3.2.
_Results_
* Single Channel PC2-3200 (As shipped from Dell) - 1176 MB/sec - baseline
* Single Channel PC2-4200 (Crucial memory) - 1385 MB/sec - 17.8% faster
* Dual Channel PC2-4200 (2 x Crucial memory) - 1484 MB/sec - 26.2% faster
As you can see, a memory upgrade can considerably improve the memory bandwidth of this system. Memory intensive programs such as databases, file serving, or content creation and graphics manipulation would all benefit from this system improvement.
Knowing what to buy and how to upgrade can maximize the performance of a system. We routinely offer this and other [services][10] to our customers - please [contact][11] us if you are interested, or just have a comment on this article.
[1]: http://www.dell.com “Dell Computer”
[2]: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050412-4805.html “$750 off a $1499 purchase!”
[3]: http://www.kernel.org “Linux”
[4]: http://www.openbsd.org “OpenBSD”
[5]: http://www.microsoft.com “Microsoft”
[6]: http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_6000 “Inspiron 6000″
[7]: http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets/mobile/915_fam.htm “Intel Mobile 915 Family”
[8]: http://www.crucial.com/ “Crucial.com”
[9]: http://www.memtest86.com/ “MemTest86″
[10]: http://www.artisancomputer.com/services.php “Artisan Services”
[11]: http://www.artisancomputer.com/contact.php “Contact Artisan”
Join us at the La Encantada Apple Store for the Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger Launch on Friday, April 29th from 6PM to Midnight.
Everything gets started at 6PM, when Tiger will be released for purchase. We’ll be there doing demonstrations of the new features, and handing out flyers for our services (including a special service deal)
Come by and just hang out with a bunch of fun loving Mac users, or if you’re just curious about what all the noise is about.
* [Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger][1]
* [New Features - 200+ in Tiger][2]
We hope to see you there!
[1]: http://www.apple.com/macosx/ “Apple’s Tiger Page”
[2]: http://www.apple.com/macosx/newfeatures/ “New Features in Tiger”
The new Artisan Computer Services website launches today! Let us know what you think of the new design and information. We hope the redesign will help us serve you better.
From a technical perspective, we designed the site using a variety of next-generation technologies, including:
* [XHTML 1.1] [1]
* [CSS] [2]
* [RSS] [3]
We hope these will make your browsing experience fast and enjoyable!
[1]: http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/ “Extensible HyperText Markup Language”
[2]: http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/ “Cascading Style Sheets”
[3]: http://www.reallysimplesyndication.com/ “Really Simple Syndication”
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