> 4GB RAM

[Jarod Wilson]

On Fri, 2008-12-12 at 16:45 -0500, Tom Metro wrote:
> I've been looking at "desktop replacement" class notebooks lately, and I 
> see there are at least some that support more than 4 GB of RAM, even if 
> equipped with only 4 GB.
> 
> I haven't looked into this yet, but I'm wondering:
> 
> 1. If greater than 4GB RAM is all that useful. I know it can be if 
> you're running a 64-bit OS and using memory intensive applications, like 
> databases, but the intended application for the machine will be as a 
> developer's desktop, and it'll probably have Ubuntu as the base, with 
> one or more virtual guest OSs (like Windows XP) running at all times. If 
> the VM hosts, like Virtualbox or KVM, can span the 4 GB barrier, then 
> the extra RAM will eventually be quite useful.

Heavy virt is about the only reason I'd need more than 4GB for a laptop.
I've actually got many kvm guests installed on mine, but I rarely run
more than 2 or 3 at a time, so w/each allocated 512M, the 4GB I've got
in my laptop is more than enough.

> 2. Even if the manufacturer doesn't claim support for > 4 GB, the 
> ability to support higher density memory chips is often just a matter of 
> a BIOS change. The problem is that BIOS updates to support hardware 
> beyond what was shipped is less likely in a notebook.

The only laptop I *know* supports more than 4GB are the latest MacBook
Pros, because I've seen 6GB kits for them (apparently, 8GB still isn't
doable, probably due to space needed for the larger DIMM). But
theoretically, any laptop with the same chipset should be able to
support the same... I think that's about as much help as I can (try to)
be.

--jarod