GMA X3100 and RAM upgrade!

soulhuntersoulhunter
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Hi all,



I was wondering about the new GMA X3100. Would I see any graphics/system improvement by adding 4GB of RAM?

What I mean by that is, will adding more RAM help rendering 3D graphics? I know it will, obviously, improve the system responsiveness, but will it help with graphics at all? Considering the GMA X3100 can only support up to 144MB. Is there any way to tell the system to use a constant 144MB? AFAIC, the system uses up whatever it needs at that time!

Would someone be able to help me with this query?

Thanks

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    For the X3100 to give its best 3D performance you need to use dual channel mode. This limits the available memory configurations to 512MB, 1GB, 2GB and 4GB, as any other configurations require unpaired memory.



    512MB is too little nowadays. It'll handle some web browsing and email, but that's it IMO.

    1GB is plenty for light to medium productive use and multitasking.

    2GB is enough for most things. Games, for instance, will not run any faster with 4GB.

    4GB for special cases.



    What 3D apps do you run? Do you have other heavy apps running in the background at the same time? How much memory do you have now?
  • Reply 2 of 5
    wheelhotwheelhot Posts: 465member
    hey, why I heard if you do a 2GB + 2GB combo ram is faster then putting a 4GB ram into your PC/laptop? (well im sure there is no such ram size, im just making a example)
  • Reply 3 of 5
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by soulhunter View Post


    Hi all,



    I was wondering about the new GMA X3100. Would I see any graphics/system improvement by adding 4GB of RAM?

    What I mean by that is, will adding more RAM help rendering 3D graphics? I know it will, obviously, improve the system responsiveness, but will it help with graphics at all? Considering the GMA X3100 can only support up to 144MB.



    Available video memory is one thing. The other one is the processing power of the graphics chip. And there is no much in the GMA X3100. Going beyond 144 MB it makes probably little sense with such a weak GPU.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by soulhunter View Post


    Is there any way to tell the system to use a constant 144MB?



    Probably, but I have never seen a suggestion.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by soulhunter View Post


    AFAIC, the system uses up whatever it needs at that time!



    No worries then.



    Also, Gon's comments are a good general guide about memory configurations and usage in a Macbook.
  • Reply 4 of 5
    soulhuntersoulhunter Posts: 50member
    Thanks for all your replies...



    I am currently using 4GB of RAM and just got a new 7200RPM HD (Hitachi 7k200 - Excellent HDD). So, things are pretty fast at the moment... :-)

    I don't really game on this machine and the only thing I believe uses loads of graphics (+CPU power) is my EyeTV Hybrid. And I also use Adobe PS a lot.

    But with these changes I made, the graphics is just a detail not really noticed by me. :-)

  • Reply 5 of 5
    leonardleonard Posts: 528member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by soulhunter View Post


    Thanks for all your replies...



    I don't really game on this machine and the only thing I believe uses loads of graphics (+CPU power) is my EyeTV Hybrid. And I also use Adobe PS a lot.



    Neither of those are GPU intensive as they are 2D tasks NOT 3D tasks.
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