I got some questions about my laptop

[vegeta9000]

my laptop cost me 400 dollars. i got it brand new from office depot like ~3 months ago

AMD Turion™ 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TL52 1GB RAM (4GB Max) 160GB (5400RPM) HDD DVD SuperMulti (+/-R Double Layer) 15.4” TruBrite™ TFT LCD Atheros® 802.11b/g ATI Radeon® X1200 128MB-319MB ExpressCard™ slot Microsoft® Windows® Vista Home Premium

this is it right here
Toshiba Satellite A215-S4697

now the graphics card when I go into DXdiag is a Radeon X1200 listed with 318 MB of total graphics memory. This is one of those cards that has 128 MB of memory in it, and it steals the other 200 MB of memory from my RAM. thats why it has 318 MB total of graphics memory right now.

ive heard these cards that steal memory from ram work slower, but i dont notice any problems. this laptop plays counter strike : source like candy on max settings and thats what I am using it for. also using it for wc3

I bet it could play starcraft 2 as well It just needs more ram...

I am planning on buying 2 sticks of DDR2-667 (PC2-5300) 2GB ram to give this baby 4GB of RAM. price of that ram will be 160 dollars (free shipping)
Toshiba Satellite A215 Series Memory | Memory Giant

my questions is, once i put in the new ram am I going to have to go into the system and activate something so the graphics card takes the memory from the ram so it goes back to 318 MB graphics memory?

also, since im getting 4GB of ram, is there a way I can cause the graphics card to take MORE MEMORY from the ram, so instead of stealing 200 MB graphics memory i can make it steal more?

[colin]

I run this in both of my laptops. Hard to beat for the price.

Original Price: $99.99
You Save: $20.00
$79.99
Free 3 Business Day Shipping
(Not available in HI, AK and Page Ranking

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Notebook Memory - Retail

click on link

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Notebook Memory - Retail

I'm not sure how much memory you can allocate for your graphics card but you can find out in the setup/bios when your comp is booting up.

[LA1]

cards that has 128 MB of memory in it, and it steals the other 200 MB

most notebooks share ram with the vid

[jorsoft03]

As far as sharing the ram that option is set in the BIOS. You're probably maxed out at 128mb dedicated and 256mb shared but it's worth a look. ATI is good about changing the allocation on the fly to give you the best performance so I wouldn't worry about messing with the settings too much. I think you're in good hands with their drivers.

[atomic tofu]

check your links again...your laptop like many comes with all ram slots filled, usually just a measly 2 slots and they use the small sizes to fill up both...tech specs listed as 0 slots available...so you will have to get larger ram sticks to get more ram...as you cannot use the 4 together.

so based on your initial thoughts, you would be buying 2 more gbs...to end up with only 2 gbs of ram

you can however buy 2 2gb sticks to obtain 4gbs....and then sell or keep the old ram

[Saxon]

Jorsoft03 said it the best, you have maxed out your dedicated an your system is borrowing 256 from the ram to run the program. If your running Vista turn of aero an your graphics card might not be as taxed.

[colin]

Originally Posted by atomic tofu

check your links again...your laptop like many comes with all ram slots filled, usually just a measly 2 slots and they use the small sizes to fill up both...tech specs listed as 0 slots available...so you will have to get larger ram sticks to get more ram...as you cannot use the 4 together.

so based on your initial thoughts, you would be buying 2 more gbs...to end up with only 2 gbs of ram

you can however buy 2 2gb sticks to obtain 4gbs....and then sell or keep the old ram

The link he pasted is correct. If you scroll down in the link to:

2GB DDR2-667 (PC2-5300) SO-DIMM
(Best Choice)
System Memory 56552-08 $79.99 2 GIG MODULE!

79.99 + 79.99 = 159.98 hence his 160.00 reference. In his original post it states " 2 sticks of DDR2-667 (PC2-5300) 2GB ram "
WOW............

here is his post:
I am planning on buying 2 sticks of DDR2-667 (PC2-5300) 2GB ram to give this baby 4GB of RAM. price of that ram will be 160 dollars (free shipping)
Toshiba Satellite A215 Series Memory | Memory Giant

my questions is, once i put in the new ram am I going to have to go into the system and activate something so the graphics card takes the memory from the ram so it goes back to 318 MB graphics memory?

also, since im getting 4GB of ram, is there a way I can cause the graphics card to take MORE MEMORY from the ram, so instead of stealing 200 MB graphics memory i can make it steal more?