How much power does RAM take?

Discussion in 'Laptop Hardware' started by markhedder, Dec 28, 2008.

  1. markhedder

    markhedder

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    No one seems to mention this anywhere so I'll be asking here.

    How much power does an upgrade from 1 GB ram to 1.5 GB draw from the unit?

    Additionally, I'm wondering if the speed will make a noticeable difference, which I know is a vague statement. When I run video files, or do small tasks like right clicking on the Windows taskbar on the bottom, there is often a very slow loading. Will adding more RAM smooth this out or is it just how the processor is? I'm considering returning the AAO for a Samsung NC10 just because of how ridiculous upgrading any component is.
     
    markhedder, Dec 28, 2008
    #1
  2. markhedder

    dattaway

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    Location:
    Kansas Citeeeeeeeeee, MO
    If the memory is idle and only refreshing itself, about the power of a dim LED. Milliwatts. Chances are, the "larger" memories are actually on smaller dies and might even use less power!

    Memory bandwidth is going to crank up the power and put out heat. Depends on what your operating system is doing with that memory...
     
    dattaway, Dec 28, 2008
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  3. markhedder

    markhedder

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    Ah, going by your reply, then it appears there's no drawbacks to upgrading the memory of a general netbook.
     
    markhedder, Dec 29, 2008
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  4. markhedder

    bailout

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    I was just going to ask this question so I will bump this instead.

    Any more views on this question of how much extra power increasing the ram consumes and the related issue of whether it will make it run hotter? One reply here says it will only consume negligible power but a comment on another thread suggests otherwise. I know some people here have looked into power usage of their aao for battery life and monitored temps for fan noise so has anyone got any data for additional ram?

    thanks
     
    bailout, Feb 2, 2009
    #4
  5. markhedder

    jackluo923

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    If you don't need the extra ram, don't upgrade it. It'll only waste battery life. There will be no performance improvement if cannot take advantage of extra memory.

    About the power comsumption:
    2.5W r/w and probably 0.1-0.5W idle (which is never/rarely the case)
     
    jackluo923, Feb 5, 2009
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  6. markhedder

    bailout

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    Thanks for the reply. I decided to go for the upgrade. I tested using powertop before and after. Before was 9.1-3W and after was 9.7-8W. So a fair increase of 0.5-6W at idle. Upgrade was a 1G stick taking memory from 512kB to 1.5G.
     
    bailout, Feb 14, 2009
    #6
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