# Compaq Presario V3000Z - supported memory?



## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

Hi, I just won a Compaq Presario V3000Z and this is what the seller put in the listing:

AMD Turion 64bit 1.6ghz processor
512mb RAM installed (256MB x 2)
*2GB max RAM supported*
60GB hard drive
14" LCD Display 1280x800
Windows XP Home SP2
NVIDIA GeForce GO 6150 Video
DVD-RAM Multi Drive
Internal WiFi 802.11g
Connectors include 2 USB, RJ-11 phone, RJ-45 Ethernet,
Mic, Headphone, Expansion port 3, S-video out, VGA
Power adapter
Battery (holds 1hr+ charge)
Original Manual and Disc Packet

HOWEVER, the HP website says that with 64-bit windows, 4GB RAM is supported.

Soooooo, what did I just buy?? (only gave $145.00 for it) Can I go upgrade to 2GB x2 or just upgrade to 1GB x2??

FYI, All I want it for is watching DVD movies and surfing the net, no gaming, no downloading programs, etc.

Thoughts?


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

According to Crucial.com (which is what I normally use - good memory prices, reliable, and they haven't been wrong yet), the maximum you can use in that notebook is 2GB (as noted in your post), specifically using 1GBx2 configuration.

The 2GB limit is due to the hardware limitations for that laptop, not due to the OS that's loaded on it. I'm not sure it'd even work with 2GBx2; I wouldn't try it...I'd just upgrade to the maximum stated above.

For what you want to use it for, even with Vista, 1GBx2 should be plenty of memory; and you might find (I haven't checked on this) that you can upgrade the processor in the future. For sure you can install a larger hard drive in it; if you ever want more speed out of it, getting a hard drive that spins faster (the one in yours spins at 5400RPM; upgrading to a 7200RPM would eke out a bit more speed) and has more cache (yours probably has 4MB or 8MB; you can get hard drives with 16MB or even 32MB of onboard cache).

In short, a 64-bit OS like Vista would benefit from even just 2GB of total RAM.

Hopefully that answers the question.  (BTW, I think you got a good deal. Maybe not the deal of the century, but not a bad deal either.)


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

You can probably get away with 512 mb of memory if you stay with XP, but having 1 gb will keep you out of trouble. If it were my machine I would probably add a 1 gb module to take it to a total of 1.5 gb.

At minimum you should consider another 512 mb module, since they are under $10 delivered.

http://computers.shop.ebay.com/Computers-Networking-/58058/i.html?LH_BIN=1&_nkw=DDR2+PC2-5300&_trkparms=65%253A12%257C66%253A2%257C39%253A1%257C72%253A3116&_npmv=3&_sticky=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_sop=15&_sc=1

You should look at your existing memory module before ordering though. There were two speeds of memory that could come with that computer (PC2-4300 or PC2-5300), so you want to match what you've got.


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

Nevada said:


> You can probably get away with 512 mb of memory if you stay with XP, but having 1 gb will keep you out of trouble. If it were my machine I would probably add a 1 gb module to take it to a total of 1.5 gb.
> 
> At minimum you should consider another 512 mb module, since they are under $10 delivered.
> 
> You should look at your existing memory module before ordering though. There were two speeds of memory that could come with that computer (PC2-4300 or PC2-5300), so you want to match what you've got.


Good catch, Nevada. If you plan on staying with XP, it's not as much of a memory hog as Vista or 7 are; 512MB will 'do' and 1GB will do nicely. 2GB will be GREAT for XP.

For Vista, in my opinion, 1GB should be an absolute MINIMUM, and I personally would use no less than 2GB.

Either way, if you buy 2 sticks, as he suggested, make sure the speeds match. I WILL point out that your laptop evidently does not support dual-channel configurations.

In other words, with newer laptops, the best speed is always achieved with 2 identical sticks of memory - same speed, same memory size, etc. Yours does not have that requirements, so you CAN use a 512MB stick in one slot and a 1GB in the other slot, if it saves you money, for instance.


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## lharvey (Jul 1, 2003)

I believe that you will find that Win XP will only support 3Gb of Ram. You can install more but it will not recognize it.

I have four 1 Gb sticks in my main machine. Tri boot, Ubuntu, XP and Win7

When running XP 3 GB shows and runs. When running W7 4 Gb shows and runs.

When booting to Ubuntu, it is crazy fast.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

I believe you wrote it has Windows XP Home* SP2*
It would be in your best interest to get that updated to SP3 as soon as possible. SP2 is not going to be supported any more in just a month or so.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

Alright! Yes, it is running XP, and it will stay that way! (even though the seller is including the upgrade-to-Vista disks.......that ain't no upgrade ;-))

Right now, it's configured at 256MB x2, so I simply ordered 2 1GB sticks of the same make. I was pretty sure 512 x2 would work "ok" in XP, but the 2 1GB sticks only cost me $28.96 a piece at www.memory-up.com, so I'm still under my $250.00 budget for a laptop.

I can download service pack 3 for free, right? When I get the laptop (should be thursday), I'll install the new memory and plug in my USB-connect AT&T internet. I assume I can find the SP3 on the windows downloads pages?

Oh, yeah, Kung, I thought I got a real decent deal myself! Back in it's day, this Presario was very well received; I read through several independent reviews of it before I started bidding on the auction.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

jill.costello said:


> I can download service pack 3 for free, right?


Yes, it will actually install along with automatic updates.


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

Yeah, had I seen it for that price I'd probably have gotten one for myself. The ONLY thing I don't like is the 2Gb limit; but in all truthfulness that's not a big deal, as even though I use the HECK out of my laptops, I don't do much more with them than you do - maybe some light graphics and web design.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

Kung said:


> Yeah, had I seen it for that price I'd probably have gotten one for myself. The ONLY thing I don't like is the 2Gb limit; but in all truthfulness that's not a big deal, as even though I use the HECK out of my laptops, I don't do much more with them than you do - maybe some light graphics and web design.


Have you been watching the eBay trend at all? Seems in this economy (when you'd THINK people would be hanging onto their old stuff instead of buying new), folks are really dumping their laptops for CHEAP! I was watching 20-30 different PC laptops all configured similarly to this Presario, all running XP Home or Pro, and they were no-reserve auctions: highest bidder got 'em. For obvious resons, the "off-lease" models went for a bit higher; more like $170-$265 depending on configuration, so I focused my attention on the personal, one-owner laptops from private sellers. 

There was a real nice *Toshiba Satellite M45-S359 Laptop* that went for $276.00! THIS is how it was configured:


Processor Speed: 2 GHz 
Screen Size: 15.4 inch 
Dual Core Operating System: Windows XP 
Memory (RAM): 2 GB
Hard Drive Capacity: 250 GB

Installed Software


MicrosoftÂ® Office 2003 Premium - 11 Applications including Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc. (CD included)
TOSHIBA Express Media Player Quick access for CD and DVD watching

Processor and Chipset

Intel PentiumÂ® M Processor 760
2.00GHz, 2MB L2, 533MHz FSB
Mobile Intel 915GM Express Chipset
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG (802.11b/g),

Fixed Optical Disk Drive

DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive supporting 11 formats maximum speed and compatibility:
CD-ROM (24x:read), CD-R (24x:write), CD-RW (10x:write), DVD-ROM (8x:read), DVD-R (Single Layer, 8x:write), DVD-R (Double Layer, 2x: write), DVD-RW (4x:write), DVD+R (Single Layer, 8x:write), DVD+R (Double Layer, 2.4x:write), DVD+RW (4x:write), DVDRAM (5x:write)

Display

15.4â diagonal widescreen TruBriteâ¢ TFT active-matrix LCD display at 1280x800 native resolution (WXGA) 

Graphics

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 with 8MB-128MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory

Sound

Analog Devices, Inc. AD1981B 16-bit stereo software sound
Supports 3D Sound, Direct 3D Sound, DirectSound, Direct Music, MIDI (playback)


NICE! I bid up to $260. but missed out because of my $250. budget...

.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Such antiqued machines as most of those are, no need to even go and take a further look, I threw out ones that had more power then those, and gave one away and now I am sure those people pitched that one in the garbage also.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

jill.costello said:


> There was a real nice *Toshiba Satellite M45-S359 Laptop* that went for $276.00! THIS is how it was configured:
> 
> 
> Processor Speed: 2 GHz
> ...


Next time PM me ahead of time. You can find buy-it-now auctions for laptops of that vintage for under $200 if you know what you're looking for.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

Gee, sorry I don't have the money for anything BUT " such antiqued machines". And I did get the Presario V3000Z for well under $200.; like I posted, I got it for $145.

No need to go into what I use as my desktop, then; arabian knight might sneak into my house and throw it away...

Guess I'll mosey back up to the more gentle forums up top.....


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

jill.costello said:


> Gee, sorry I don't have the money for anything BUT " such antiqued machines". And I did get the Presario V3000Z for well under $200.; like I posted, I got it for $145.
> 
> No need to go into what I use as my desktop, then; arabian knight might sneak into my house and throw it away...
> 
> Guess I'll mosey back up to the more gentle forums up top.....


Oops! I saw that $276 figure.

You'll have to give me a break today. It's 108 here, and I lose IQ points as the temperature goes up.


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

jill.costello said:


> Have you been watching the eBay trend at all? Seems in this economy (when you'd THINK people would be hanging onto their old stuff instead of buying new), folks are really dumping their laptops for CHEAP! I was watching 20-30 different PC laptops all configured similarly to this Presario, all running XP Home or Pro, and they were no-reserve auctions: highest bidder got 'em. For obvious resons, the "off-lease" models went for a bit higher; more like $170-$265 depending on configuration, so I focused my attention on the personal, one-owner laptops from private sellers.


Evidently not closely enough. In truth, it's partially because, right before I left for the MOS school I'm in now, I bought a laptop; but still, yeah, those are some good prices. Guess I need to keep a closer eye out.


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

arabian knight said:


> Such antiqued machines as most of those are, no need to even go and take a further look, I threw out ones that had more power then those, and gave one away and now I am sure those people pitched that one in the garbage also.


LOL - that's you then. It depends SOLELY on what you use it for...and a laptop like what she bought is MORE than fast enough for net surfing, emailing, word processing, etc.


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

Hey, if it works and keeps working, that is the main point. My wife has an IBM T23 Thinkpad which is a P3 1.1ghz, she uses it every day! I think we've had it for over 6 years now, and I bought it off-lease. I put a new drive in it maybe 3 years ago, thats it.

Watch IBM.com (or .ca for Canada) as well for off-lease systems - every once in awhile they'll have some very good deals and a decent warranty.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

OntarioMan said:


> Hey, if it works and keeps working, that is the main point. My wife has an IBM T23 Thinkpad which is a P3 1.1ghz, she uses it every day!


I couldn't agree more. There's no reason to buy more computer than you need.


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

jill.costello said:


> Hi, I just won a Compaq Presario V3000Z and this is what the seller put in the listing:
> 
> AMD Turion 64bit 1.6ghz processor
> 512mb RAM installed (256MB x 2)
> ...


A couple of issues, You need to be carefull when you look at the info on HP's web site. The compacq 3000 series comes in several versions, an Intel version and an AMD version. They also came with "memory on the motherboard" that cant be removed and depeding on the version, some only support 1 dimm, some supported 2, also being an older laptop 1gb chips were most likley high end at the time of manufacture, but board would support larger. My 3000 has 512mb on the mother board and 2 slots for memory, I have 2.5gb in mine, For Xp or linux thats enough, for vista,windows 7 the machine is to slow .


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

Dunno if I'd agree with that, given what she stated she'd be doing with it. My own laptop has an Athlon 64 X2, and a 500GB hard drive; aside from that, the specs are the same, including RAM; and it easily handles surfing, playing DVDs, basic gaming, music, and the like.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

Well, the Presario arrived! And we couldn't be more happy with it! The seller included the original paperwork, the original restore disks, an extra battery :thumb:, and the condition of the machine is absolutely like-new! 

I pulled the battery, and replaced the 2 256MB memory sticks with the 2 1GB memory sticks I had ordered, replaced the battery, powered her up and voila! The computer instantly recognised the new memory and is now running it's AMD processor in XP Home with 1.93GB of RAM, etc.

The computer is acting just like an obnoxious new computer; asking to configure this and configure that and to start the included Norton subscription, blah, blah, blah.

I was too tired to really devote the time to it yesterday to plug in my USB Lightning celllular internet from AT&T in order to buy an internet security subscription, or to set up email and all that, but we watched a DVD and had fun plying the lame games that came installed on it and fiddling with the Office Suite, Media Player 10, etc.

Today I WILL go online and get it all done, I swear, , because you guys warned me that I need to get Service Pack 3 ASAP...


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

Wow - they gave you the restore discs? That alone makes it a huge deal. LOL

Seriously, sounds like a great deal. I WILL say to remember one thing - you do NOT need all the 'crapware' loaded on there by Compaq/HP. One of the VERY first things I do is go to Add Programs (or Programs and Features in Vista/7) and look at the programs to see which can immediately be uninstalled.

The fewer programs you have, the cleaner your hard drive is, and the faster it runs.  Am glad you're happy.


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## Mechanic Intern (Jun 10, 2007)

Just for the record, you'd only need 1GB RAM under Kubuntu (which can very easily meet your needs); with 1GB RAM my mom's computer (currently running XP) only recognizes 928MB of the 1024MB RAM that makes up the 1GB installed, whereas Kubuntu 10.04 (the latest stable release) recognizes 1,002.1MB. Quite the difference, eh? Some will argue that LINUX is a lot more elitist; they're dramatists who... well, I can't say what they do because it's graphically explicit. The point is, there are currently very few reasons to stick with windoze, and the only reason I don't wipe that scum from the hard drive of my mom's computer is because I can't get it (Kubuntu) to share my sprint wireless broadband worth *censored* (a key requirement for this [email protected] fanatic).


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

huh?...


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

What he's trying to say (and COMPLETELY discount this if you have no interest in it) is that (ANY) Linux distribution usually runs one HECK of a lot faster on the same laptop.

I've got Ubuntu on my laptop as well (although in MY case I use it not just because I like it, but because it keeps my Unix/Linux skills current) and it runs circles around Windows, both in terms of sheer speed and in terms of configurability.

ALL of this being said...as stated above, do what satisfies YOUR needs and wants as far as computers go. If you don't want to use Linux, then drive on.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

<grin> I was just being dumb; in actuality, if I'd just "apply myself", I'd be able to build a system for myself, instead of accepting what's being spoon-fed me.

Technically, I have the aptitiude to understand all of this, I just don't wanna'....drives my brother crazy. He knows there was a time when we were neck-and-neck in the computer craze, and then I jumped the rail and ran back to the paddock......My brother is now a senior programmer for Google, and his wife is a senior programmer for Microsoft (they live in Seattle so they can both be close to work!). They both work on systems out of their home that basically, only they (and a select other few) can understand. They have yet to develop a program, however, to dumb-down their speech enough for the masses to understand them, so I just gave my usual "huh?" when faced with more jargon....


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

Oh, understood. As geeky as I am, RARELY will I build my own system, because my aims are different.

I mean, the geek in me KNOWS I can build a system. In the Army MOS school I'm in (an IT MOS, actually), one of our 'tests' was to build a system from scratch.

The instructor looked @ me and said "You and SGT Smith...you can supervise because I *KNOW* you know how to build PC's." :gaptooth:

But I don't have time for that; and furthermore, it's a LOT easier getting warranty work done on a 'bigbox' PC/laptop. So that's the route I go.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Whatever else this thread might have accomplished, it has inspired me to finally buy a laptop for a girlfriend who has desperately needed one for a long time. I got it for $95 + $10 shipping.

Brand: Dell
Model: C840
Processor: 2.2 GHz P4
Memory: 1 gb
Hard Drive: 30 gb
Optical Drive: DVD-ROM
Operating System: XP Pro
Software: MS Office
Network: Wireless G
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330441906413

The hard drive is a little restrictive, but I have a 60 gb laying around that I might transplant if I've got time. But if she doesn't start downloading movies the 30 gig hard drive should hold her.


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

I have a C640 Latitude 2.0 ghz which was given to me because the battery no longer charges properly. They're good machines and a nice small size. $105 for a working C840 is a great deal.



Nevada said:


> Whatever else this thread might have accomplished, it has inspired me to finally buy a laptop for a girlfriend who has desperately needed one for a long time. I got it for $95 + $10 shipping.
> 
> Brand: Dell
> Model: C840
> ...


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

Its not even worth your time building a new system anymore - especially when you consider that new systems come with Windows.

The only systems I've built recently were those where I had enough mix 'n' match parts on hand to throw something decent together - especially to use as a Linux box.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

OntarioMan said:


> I have a C640 Latitude 2.0 ghz which was given to me because the battery no longer charges properly. They're good machines and a nice small size. $105 for a working C840 is a great deal.


It showed-up yesterday. Very clean machine and exactly as described. My girlfriend is delighted.

The battery holds about a 1 hour charge. Not bad, considering it could have been completely dead.

The only problem I've identified is in the power adapters. Two 70 watt adapters were included, and both power & charge the system. Unfortunately when I go from battery to AC power I get a warning that the processor won't run at full speed because the AC adapter is less than 90 watts. 

Evidently they are the wrong adapters for the machine, so the machine will run at 1.2 GHz until I get the correct adapter. It's going to cost me $9 to get a 90 watt AC adapter to get the laptop running at the 2.2 GHz speed it's capable of.

If that's the only problem we have I'm happy.


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