Q35 on-board memory

Just a quick query, does every version of the Q35 come with the 1.25GB of memory allocation or is it only when specified? I'm asking this because PCWorld have the Q35 listed as having 1GB of memory but they are also advertising it with a T5200 Core 2 Duo and 667Mhz FSB and unless I'm mistaken, the T5200 doesn't support 667Mhz. This is rather confusing me since if every version of the Q35 does have 1.24MB of RAM then it will more than likely be the laptop I get. Thanks for any info!

 

There have been rumours that the next batch of Q35s would have 512MB on board (the old specs here say 512MB from May which I think was intended to be 2006). I think this is the first of the new batch which DSG have managed to get in advance of the other outlets. I think it is highly probably that the PC World Q35 has 512MB on board and 512MB in the single RAM slot, so in that respect it is a step forward because you could upgrade it to 1.5GB.

The T5200 runs on a 533MHz bus (contrary to what PC World have in their specs). However, this is independent of the RAM speed. The RAM in my Q35 is only 533MHz although the T5600 is on a 667MHz bus. The T5200 will be a little slower in benchmarks that the T5600, but not enough to lose sleep worrying about. The baffling thing is why Intel produces so many different CPUs. I guess that the T5200 provides a marking slot for those CPUs which can't, on testing, run on a 667MHz bus.

John

 

That would be a nice step forward since expanding up to 1.5GB would be nice. If not, I'll just take it as another typo on PC World's behalf.

 

Update:

I was recently at PC World and I managed to get a little bit of hands on time with that particular model of the Q35 (its nice to know the passwords for Windows screensavers from work!) and from looking at the Windows Experience Index then I'd also hazard a guess that the memory allocation is 512MB on-board and 512MB SO-DIMM since the given amount of memory was 1019MB. Unless Vista was using all or nearly all of the Intel GMA 950's shared graphics then this allocation certainly seems likely. Unfortunately, the staff members I talked to did not know the memory allocation of the machine. As your review mentioned there was slight rippling of the screen when pressure was applied to the back of the screen although it was more than would be present in daily use. Vista appeared to run fine with little slow down and acceptable performance on Aero. The laptop was also surprising light and with the price drop to £799 at PC World I should be purchasing the laptop soon.

What I've been hearing at my work place (Comet) is that soon we will be getting the Q35 in stock. This seems likely because the price drop at PC World would set the notebook in the same price as the Red Q35 from Comet.

 

Thanks for the update. It seems that new stocks of the Q35 all have 512MB on board. See here and here.

Thanks also for noting that PC World have dropped their price on the Q35. However, I'm glad I grabbed one of Comet's Q35s since I'm yet to be convinced that I will get on OK with Vista because I have some old software which I use occasionally. I did order the Vista upgrade so that I can give it a try. At current progress that could be several months away.

John

 

Im just wondering if the new Q35 Bios (The Vista one) supports more memory?
I wouldnt mind sticking a 2GB stick in to be honest being as Vista craves memory so bad.

 

Even if the notebook doesn't support 2GB sticks (which are at the moment incredibly expensive) the upgrade to 1.5GB of RAM is certainly welcome. The Q35 seemed to run Vista fine with the 1GB of RAM so 1.5GB should ensure smooth running.

 

Yeah, I mean Ive got 1.25GB of RAM in mine and it runs fine, but i'll bet that adding that bit more memory really improves the instant search times...

 

I doubt that it is a BIOS issue. My understanding is that the Intel 945 chipset will handle up to 4GB so, unless Samsung have done something non-standard in the Q35, it should handle a 2GB module. At current prices this remains a dream.

On the matter of non-standard hardware, I did notice that my Q35 has only one IDE channel serving both the HDD and ODD. On the X60 they have separate channels. I don't know if this was done on the Q35 to reduce power consumption or simplify the hardware design. There may be a slight performance hit if copying between the two drives, but I haven't noticed it. Perhaps the biggest issue is that any replacement ODD would need to be set up as slave.

John

 

Instant searches take time???

XD Hardly instant then!

Would the setup between ODD and HDD affect the general speed of ripping music and what not then?

 

I've just tried comparing ripping a CD using Winamp on both my computers and the the speeds are the same. The performance difference arising from sharing one channel might be more noticeable when transferring just data but earlier today the Q35 read a DVD full of files at a very satisfactory speed. So I wouldn't see having the HDD and ODD sharing one channel as a factor against buying the Q35.

John

 

Instant searches are never totally instant, that isnt physically possible, use the file name and they are, but searching inside documents takes about 5-10 secs.

 

Yeah, I know that. Just trying to make a little joke thats all.

 

lol sorry, Im a rep for Microsoft, i get it all day any day... i become immune to MS related humor! not to mention the publics great knowledge about Viysta, Vesta... etc..

 

Not had too many good experiences with public ignorance then? Much the same here! Just to post an update to the memory situation on the PC World Q35 I recently recieved a reply from PC World's customer service:

"Dear Mr Luke Crawford,

Thank you for your email of 05 March 2007.

The Samsung Q35 has an on-board 512MB memory and a 512MB upgraded memory. The Q35 model can hold up to 1GB of SO-DIMM DDR2 PC2-4200 or SO-DIMM DDR2 PC2-5300 in its sole slot, which makes it possible for you to upgrade the 512MB to 1GB. The store offers an upgrade installation service. The memory installed will include a years' warranty.

Thank you for taking the time to contact to us. I hope that these actions will bring a satisfactory conclusion to this matter.


Yours sincerely

XXXXX XXXXXX
PC World Customer Services"

 

The question I would ask, to someone who understands the hardware, is "is there any reason why the Q35 would not support a 2GB module in its single SODIMM slot?". The Intel chipset supports 2GB modules although 32 bit Windows has a problem at around 3GB.

I strongly suspect that 2GB modules weren't available when the Q35's specs were written, so they weren't mentioned. Now the modules are available, but at around £400, they remain unaffordable for most users.

This extract from the X60 spec shows similar confusion:

Memory / Max. Memory : 512MB / Max.3GB
Memory type PC2-4200(533MHz) / PC2-5300(667MHz) DDR2 SODIMM
Memory Modules : 256MB, 512MB, 1GB SODIMM
Sockets 2-slot SODIMM's

Now how to get the 3GB using only 1GB modules in 2 slots?

John

 

I would hazard a guess and say that if the chipset supports a 2GB SO-DIMM then both the Q35 and X60 will. Someone will hopefully decide to take the risk and blow £400 or so on a module just to test our theory. I will fire another question off to PC World tomorrow at some point seeing if they can answer this.

 

I'm 100% sure that the X60 can handle a 2GB module and when the price is more reasonable (<£200) I would think about getting one. In the mean time, I think it would be better to ask Samsung than PC World. There is an electronic messaging system somewhere under contact Samsung and they usually reply after a few days.

John

 

I see that the web price of the PC World Q35 is now down to £749.99. Also another version (NP-Q35A001/SUK) of the Q35 with 160GB HDD is being offered by Laptops Direct for £824.97. However, if you want XP Pro and 1.5GB RAM, add about £150 to the price.

John

 

So long as that PC World web price for the Q35 holds until May I will be getting it from there and will be swiftly upgrading the RAM to 1.5GB so that Vista runs that little bit smoother. If not, the Q35 from laptopsdirect does look good even though I don't think I'll notice the difference in speed the T5600 will grant.

 

1. I think the Q35A001/SUK at Laptops Direct may be the red one. Check the part number at other suppliers.

2. On the original question about the maximum RAM, the recently posted spec for the R20 says:

Memory / Max. Memory 512MB ~ 2GB
(Technically can support max. 4GB with 2 channel when 2GB Module is available)

So the question for Samsung is whether the support for 2GB modules also applies to all their current models including the Q35.

John

 

The Laptops Direct model just got a lot tastier if it is the red variant. I wouldn't mind paying a price premium to get my hands on it however £750 for the PC World version is simply too good.

Unless there has been a dramatic change in the chip sets used between the R20 and other models then hopefully 2GB can be used.

 

Greetings,

I just bought the Q35 from laptops direct for £699.
It is the Q35A000/SUK T5200 model with 512mb on board and 512mb DDR2.

One thing I forgot to check before I bought this laptop was the max amount of memory it can take.
This machine came with vista, which uses up the entire 1gb RAM from the word go and I find it pretty slowed compared to XP too, task manager shows little more than 16mb free at any time. So as soon as I start using any other apps, it is slowing right down as it is having to use the swap file.
I am going to be using it as a dev machine, running things like JAVA apps, Dreamweaver, and VMWARE, so I need a lot of spare ram.
Has anyone tried putting a 2GB SO DIMM into this model yet, as if I really am restricted to 1.5GB I am gonna have to dump vista and return to XP to free up some memory.

Thanks

Russ

 

Yes. I have tried this Transcend 2GB SO-DIMM in my Q35 (it's the slightly older model with only 256MB on board).

The 2GB module worked fine (as theoretically it should with the Intel 945 chipset).

BTW, I think that Transcend module is about the best price you can get. An alternative is a Corsair 2GB. There may be something cheaper elsewhere, but make sure it is not a 2 x 1GB package.

John

 

thanks, I did try asking samsung, but their reply was that they do not support anything above 1.5gb, which doesn't answer the question does it.
That link you posted is certainly a lot cheaper now than when you originally posted it

Do you know, is there any point in getting the faster 677mhz, or will it only run at 533mhz on this machine ?

now to get my battery life improved. I have set the power saving mode, discharged battery through bios, disabled all the vista effects, disabled bluetooth, got the brightness as low as I can suffer, but still i'm only getting just over 3 hours, 4 hours if I also disable WIFI.

 

btw... this i found to be even more cheaper.... you can look here... Kingston Lenovo 2048MB DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHz 73P3847 (KTL-TP667/2G) only €110,73 n that would be around £75.00 only...

eventho there state for lenovo... but i think it should be okay for other too rite...

 

Samsung UK don't seem to try very hard to keep up to date (their website is embarrasingly out of date). I find the usual answer from Samsung UK support is "No". Pop over to Samsung Germany and you will see that their website shows that the Q35 will support up to 2048MB SODIMM.

I think the newest Q35s use 667MHz RAM. You can check yours using CPU-Z. Look on the memory tab. Anyway, I would recommend getting 667MHz RAM since it will run fine at 533MHz and the costs are much the same.

Yes, you should be able to do better. (a) Use Task Manager to show which processes are using CPU time; (b) Are you using the Samsung Optimised power scheme, which I found to be at least as good as the maximum power saving scheme?; (c) Run the performance monitor (start > run > perfmon, pelect performance monitor, right click on the white panel, select add counters, open up the Processor list and select the %C3 Time. With the computer doing very little you should be getting above 90%. C3 is the CPU deeper sleep state when it won't be taking much power.

MemoryC charge €5 for delivery, so their cost is just below £75.

John

 

yeah true... i compared with the corsair only... lol... forgot about the MemoryC transcend.... yup... MemoryC for only €85... nice price... maybe i will get one for my Ruby too later....

 

Quick question concerning the 2GB DIMM with the Q35. Did you use the 2GB stick with Vista or XP John, and if so, did the OS manage to "see" or make use of the full 2.25GB quota? I'm tempted to pick up the Transcend stick soon but I'd like to make sure that my 32-bit edition of Vista will be able to make use of the memory.

 

2.25GB is no problem with XP or Vista. The addressing limit for 32bit operating systems is a bit over 3GB. I'm currently running 3GB on the X60 plus with XP.

That Transcend module at MemoryC is still good value, but Komplett's prices have just taken another step downwards. There's some theory that they may bottom out soon since the manufacturers have cut back on production to try to clear the glut.

John

 

I'm very tempted to pick one up. Stop making my abstaining harder! Did you try your Transcend module in the Q35 or just put it straight into the X60plus?

 

The 2GB module was tested in the Q35 (also in the R20 when I borrowed one for review). Samsung Germany updated their website to include 2GB compatibility for the Q35.

John

 

Success story with 2GB RAM module upgrade


A couple of days ago I upgraded my Q35 with a 2GB Kingston ValueRAM module SO-DIMM 2048MB PC2-5300U CL5 (DDR2-667) (KVR667D2S5/2G). So altogether the machine has 2.5 GB RAM running Vista Business.

http://geizhals.at/deutschland/a223173.html

Available from about 90 EUR, I bought it from hoh.de. The price seems to be quite volatile now. I payed 95 EUR, one day later it was 89 EUR, now it went back up to 99 EUR.

Everything went well: The Vista performance index did not suffer as some other people experienced after a RAM upgrade. I also tested the RAM with Memtest86+ for a couple of hours, seems ok. Battery life seems to be the same as before, too.

Attached are screenshots of CPU-Z and Vista performance index.

 

Wow!!!
Thanks for sharing, ernst42 & John!