what ram is compatible with a dv7 notebook

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

it depends on what model dv7 you have.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/ProdSearch.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&taskId=&prod=dv7

Paul

[nigelj]

hi, its a dv7-2110sa.  but i cant find it in the list of dv7's on the website

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

Below is the link to the support and driver page for your notebook.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=3976111&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&query=dv7-2110sa&tool=

You can install up to 8 GB of PC2-6400 memory (DDR2-800).

The Product Specs for your PC states it shipped with Windows Vista 64 bit, so installing 8 GB of memory would be OK.

The service manual is at the link below. Chapter 1 provides the memory specs and chapter 4 provides the removal and replacement procedures.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01815884.pdf

Paul

[nigelj]

thank you very much, i have looked on the hp website and they dont seem to do 4 gb ddr2 800 ram, can i use ddr3 ram instead, thanks again for your help. most appriciated

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

No, you cannot put DDR3 memory in a DDR2 slot. They use different voltages, etc and they cut the notches in different places so you can't short out the motherboard.

You can buy and non-ECC, unbuffered DDR2 PC2-6400.

They are quite expensive and you may just either want to save up or buy one at a time.

Here is a link to some brands out there that will work. If you don't live in the USA, get the memory part number and do a search.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007609%20600000426%20600000399&IsNode...

I used the Patriot memory in my two HP notebooks that needed DDR2-PC2-6400 memory. It worked just fine.

Paul

[nigelj]

hi,

thanks for your help and sorry to bother you again, im either gonna get my laptop upgraded to 8 gig, or maybe get a new dv7, i do like this series, best lap top ive had. its just a little slow for some of the programs i run, i'e autocad. would you think the ram upgrade will improve it ?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Yes, I do. If you like the notebook, a memory upgrade, even at that price, is still cheaper than buying a new notebook.

When you have a 64 bit operating system, the more memory you have, the better.

Go to your resource monitor (in system tools) and look at how much memory is being used with your system in idle.

I have a PC with 32 GB of memory (I have W7 Pro on that) and my resource monitor reports 8% of my memory is in use at idle.

So that gives me plenty of room to run programs and never run out of memory.

I bet yours is somewhere around 25 - 35%--just sitting there doing nothing.

[nigelj]

ok you lost me there, if i got ram doing nothing, then why does getting  more help me out, sorry to soúnd stupid. so will my cad programs run more smoothly if i double the ram in my laptop . i just want to be sure that by getting more ram i will benefit from it. i been told i need a better graphics card not more ram. so im confused now... obviously more ram is a cheaper option.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You cannot upgrade the graphics card on your notebook without completely exchanging the motherboard.

Then you're better off buying a new notebook before you do that.

CAD works better with better video adapters with discrete memory, and certainly that is more important than more physical memory, but what I'm saying is that if you have 25-35 % of your memory being used at idle then check it with the cad program running.

If when that program is running, and you are at 75% of your memory being used, I certainly think more memory is the way to go.

Like I said, buy one 4 GB chip. If you think it makes a difference, buy another.

I'm not going to sit here and 100% guarantee you that more memory will make your PC respond soooooo much better that you can't believe it.

I'm saying it will certainly improve performance to some degree.

I have never heard anyone say that installing more memory does absolutely nothing with regard to improving performance, let's put it that way.