Can someone explain 64MB RAM to me?

[drop]

I know we are not looking at the official Dell specs. Still, HP chose to go that route on the 4700. And Dell's reps are giving out information on the same combo.

What is the reason behind the 64MB RAM / 128MB ROM? I was told battery power consumption could be one of the reason. What makes it so hard to give us 128MB of RAM? A marketing decision? A technical limitation? PPCTechs was unable to upgrade X5's RAM. I am not sure if similar problem would exist in X50. And having PPCTechs upgrade RAM would void the Dell warranty. (Chris, I think you had your X5 upgraded by PPCTechs. But when I called, three separate times, I was told it was so problematic for PPCTechs, they ended up stopping the procedure).

Can someone helps me understand this? So should X50 come out with only 64RAM, I wouldn't puke blood.

Can someone explain 64MB RAM to me?

Nope.

Power consumption and cost would be my guess, but those are such minor factors that I just don't know...

as far as i know, it is easier to scrunch in rom into small places as it can be stacked in ppc's, u need a whole new slot for ram

i think they are just cramming so much stuff into such a small pda they might not have room for it.

the 2700g must take up some space, as well as the fabled vga out slot. stick in compactflash and secure digital and thats pretty cram-packed for a pda that looks as small as it does. 128 would be real nice tho.

as far as i know, it is easier to scrunch in rom into small places as it can be stacked in ppc's, u need a whole new slot for ram

i think they are just cramming so much stuff into such a small pda they might not have room for it.

the 2700g must take up some space, as well as the fabled vga out slot. stick in compactflash and secure digital and thats pretty cram-packed for a pda that looks as small as it does. 128 would be real nice tho.

Well that's a nice try, but that's definitely not the problem. ;)

I'm not sure why they chose to go with only 64 MB RAM, but it's possible that the reason for the 128 MB ROM is to conserve battery power and possibly for the next version of Windows Mobile.

[gadgetnerd]

I don't get why people think that more ram = more power. It doesn't. How can it? Well, maybe a tiny as in 30 seconds less life on a full battery charge in 128MB vs. 64MB, but seriously, it's not enough to notice. I'd personally pay $20 for 128MB vs 64MB, but it definitely doesn't cost them that much to add it.

About the ROM, having extra is always a good idea. Install programs... update OS... Don't need a memory card...

[Tala]

I don't get why people think that more ram = more power. It doesn't. How can it?

Sorry to disappoint you, but we are talking about DRAM not SRAM. DRAM is based on capacitors, which need to be refreshed constantly, drawing some power. To be precise, 128MB would take exactly double the amount of power compared to 64MB, which is a considerable amount.

Tala

[tsaimelv]

Sorry to disappoint you, but we are talking about DRAM not SRAM. DRAM is based on capacitors, which need to be refreshed constantly, drawing some power. To be precise, 128MB would take exactly double the amount of power compared to 64MB, which is a considerable amount.

No, it would only be double the STANDBY power consumption, not active power consumption. The active power consumption matters more when it comes to battery life during some activity (such as mp3 playback, web browsing etc.), whereas the standby power determines how long the handheld can remain "off" yet still maintain the contents of the memory. Active power consumption can be as much as 100 times the level of standby power.

Active power consumption does not double because SDRAM is typically organized into banks, and the system does its best to only supply power to the currently accessed bank. As long as the bank size stays small compared to the total memory, which it usually always is, active power consumption is roughly the same.

To put this issue to rest... 128MB should have a negligible impact on runtime compared to 64MB in a PDA. If someone has benchmarks that prove otherwise, I'd be interested to see them.

[Tala]

No, it would only be double the STANDBY power consumption, not active power consumption.

Obviously i was talking about standby power consumption. I am well aware of the fact, that only 1 memory page needs to be opened at a time.
Actually you always have the sum of both types of power consumption while working with the device, since the whole RAM needs to be refreshed.
In any case, if you want to built a small device (with a small battery) you certainly want to safe power where you can. In particular if we are talking about a imo questionable feature like more RAM.

Tala

[tsaimelv]

Obviously i was talking about standby power consumption. I am well aware of the fact, that only 1 memory page needs to be opened at a time.
Actually you always have the sum of both types of power consumption while working with the device, since the whole RAM needs to be refreshed.
In any case, if you want to built a small device (with a small battery) you certainly want to safe power where you can. In particular if we are talking about a imo questionable feature like more RAM.

Tala

Well it wasn't obvious to me :) , you called the additional power "a considerable amount" which it certainly is not. Saving the added standby power of 128MB is barely worth considering, it's probably less than a few milliwatts, they're not going to lose sleep over it.

[gadgetnerd]

Saving the added standby power of 128MB is barely worth considering, it's probably less than a few milliwatts, they're not going to lose sleep over it.

That is my friggin point.

[darundal]

Anyone ever think that they just want to have a large amount of "SECURE" storage that doesn't go ka-put when you forget about the battery? As they are likely going to replace the x30 with this, it could be a major corporate selling point, or a major point to a student, who amasses LARGE amounts of notes and assignments and may not be able to afford a storage card. Just my two cents. :)

[gadgetnerd]

May not be able to afford a storage card? I saw a 256MB SD (Kingston) on Buy.com for $7!

[nuka_t]

i think they are just trying to get us into a "ram is for open programs nad rom is for installing programs" mentality so that the next pda can have a hdd.

[MichaelX30]

i think they are just trying to get us into a "ram is for open programs nad rom is for installing programs" mentality so that the next pda can have a hdd.

Hard Drives are never going to appear in PPCs