Turbo Memory or Verizon EV-DO Rev. A with 4GB RAM

[xaveon]

I can't decide which to get so I was hoping someone can give me an opinion. The integrated EV-DO card would be nice, but it's not the most practical (because with a USB EV-DO card I can use it on many different computers). So what I want to ask is: how effective is Turbo Memory if you have 4GB of RAM? Will I feel any increase in performance at all? I was also thinking of getting a 4GB Extreme III SD card for ReadyBoost. Do you guys think there will be much of a difference in performance either way? Thanks in advance!

[ymarker]

It one less thing to carry. Also the USB is a powerdrain (as maybe the internal card but perhaps not as much?). There was another thread on this here.

[ljmjag]

According to HP engineers, at least, Turbo Memory is not worth it -

As reported by CNet:

http://news.com.com/HP+says+no+to+Intel ... g=nefd.top

"Steve Doddridge, senior notebook technology consultant for HP Personal Systems Group for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), added: "We looked at the baseline system performance of a standard system (with 1GB of RAM) without any Robson or ReadyBoost type of technology added, and we then compared that to the same system with Robson, and the same system but just with an (equivalently sized) SD card or USB stick."

Using Intel's benchmark test for evaluating the performance of Turbo Memory, HP's team did see the improvements in performance that Intel had predicted. However, because 1GB of Turbo Memory is effectively split into two--with one half serving ReadyBoost and the other ReadyDrive--adding a 512MB SD card or a 512MB USB stick to the baseline system resulted in the same improvements.

The greatest improvement came as a result of adding more actual RAM to the system. "We added 1GB of RAM and saw a much higher improvement in performance compared to using any of the ReadyBoost or Robson technology," Doddridge said. He added that: "If you have enough system RAM in the system already, ReadyBoost doesn't give you a lot."

Might be better off going with the integrated EV-DO and an inexpensive 2GB SD card.

Lee