Compaq Presario 2700 Video RAM Module Questions

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jamiphar · #1 Post by **jamiphar** » Tue May 22, 2007 12:50 am

The Presario in my signature has a removable RAM stick for the graphics card. At first I thought it was simply normal notebook RAM, but after taking it out and comparing it, I can see that it's different from anything I've come across. I have two questions: 1) What kind of RAM is this? 2) Is an upgrade possible? Either by upgrading to a larger stick, or by soldering more chips onto the existing module. (there are two empty spots on one side of the RAM)

Here's a link to a photo comparing it to a 256MB PC133 stick:
http://famteam.com/james/ram.jpg
It has the same number of pins as a PC100 or PC133 stick, but the notch is moved over 5 places.

Any thoughts on this are appreciated!

:EDIT:

By the way, I've already run a search of the part number on Google, and all I've learned is that it's probably some type of DDR RAM.

jkahng · #2 Post by **jkahng** » Fri May 25, 2007 1:38 pm

just like to say that this notebook served me for 4 years before i sold it 2 months ago. (still working fine btw)
good solid machine except it weighed as much as me

and the cpu heatsink mounts come off and need to be drilled in...

i can't help you with the vram question but i'd like to add that a hdd drive upgrade from 30gig 4200rpm to a 5400rpm one did wonders on performance...

jamiphar · #3 Post by **jamiphar** » Sat May 26, 2007 12:12 am

jkahng wrote:just like to say that this notebook served me for 4 years before i sold it 2 months ago. (still working fine btw)
good solid machine except it weighed as much as me and the cpu heatsink mounts come off and need to be drilled in...

i can't help you with the vram question but i'd like to add that a hdd drive upgrade from 30gig 4200rpm to a 5400rpm one did wonders on performance...

I'm surprised at the performance I get from the 32MB VRAM, I can run the Halo trial without a hitch. I was very fortunate to get it with a nearly new battery (lasts 3+ hours).

With the heatsink mounts, I hot-glued the two corners that came loose after applying AS5 to the CPU. Seems to have solved that problem.

#4 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Sat May 26, 2007 12:23 am

Yeah, the amount of VRAM you have isn't as important as many may think. My ThinkPad A31 with 16mb VRAM runs GTA San Andreas perfectly and it the box the game came in states that 64 is the minimum to run the game.

jkahng · #5 Post by **jkahng** » Sat May 26, 2007 12:28 am

i've had to drill 3 holes on the bottom case and fit it with rc car parts(nuts,bolts, washers) to get mine settled in. i've tried epoxy, superglue and other methods without success...

what's you're screen res? mine was 1400X1050 and graphic wise, it wasn't a performer...

the max vram for this system is 32megs the gpu chipset is the m6 (same as on the x31)=> i don't think it's worth pursuing the diy chip upgrade to anything higher as you don't know if it'll work.

as for the battery, i got 2:40 off of the 4year old one

good three spindle machine, but a hell of a thing to chug along on a flight...

jamiphar · #6 Post by **jamiphar** » Sat May 26, 2007 12:49 am

@AlphaKilo470

I suppose a lot of the minimum requirements are based on lower-end cards of whatever the stated memory is. I noticed that my T23 was almost able to run AOE 3 smoothly on high settings (got sluggish on water battles, though). And that has a 64MB minimum.

@jkahng

Mine is 1024X768, but my Evo has a 1400X1050 15" screen and a 64MB Radeon card.

I guess the 2700 is Compaq's equivalent of the A30 or A30p.

leoblob · #7 Post by **leoblob** » Sat May 26, 2007 10:45 am

I looked into this a little bit since I thought the original question was interesting. Based on a little research, my opinion is that your 32MB stick is proprietary, and that no larger sticks are available which will fit.

I personally would not try to solder more chips on there, and I consider myself quite skilled at soldering.

jamiphar · #8 Post by **jamiphar** » Sat May 26, 2007 6:21 pm

leoblob wrote:I looked into this a little bit since I thought the original question was interesting. Based on a little research, my opinion is that your 32MB stick is proprietary, and that no larger sticks are available which will fit.

That was my initial thought, unless Compaq made a 64MB stick as well.

leoblob wrote:I personally would not try to solder more chips on there, and I consider myself quite skilled at soldering.

Either way, I wouldn't try adding chips unless I had a second module as a backup. And 32MB is probably a good match for the 1ghz PIII-M. But the mad scientist in me wonders if it's possible. I guess a basic step would be to see if I could find identical chips anywhere. At least then I would know the cost for such an operation.

leoblob · #9 Post by **leoblob** » Sun May 27, 2007 9:41 pm

It appears (from my minimal research) that the only choices were 8 and 32 MB.

These guys sell a 32: http://www.memory4less.com/m4l_itemdeta ... d=27197112

jamiphar · #10 Post by **jamiphar** » Sun May 27, 2007 9:47 pm

leoblob wrote:It appears (from my minimal research) that the only choices were 8 and 32 MB.

These guys sell a 32: http://www.memory4less.com/m4l_itemdeta ... d=27197112

Ok, I see, thanks for the info! I'm waiting on a reply from nowcomponents.com to see if they carry the chip I'm looking for. If they have it, I'll check the price and decide if the mod is worth the cost and trouble to try.

Compaq Presario 2700 Video RAM Module Questions

Compaq Presario 2700 Video RAM Module Questions

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