Testing:

So, here's my stock 2GB memory as it came from HP...

You may notice that the stock memory is 2GB and running at 667MHz at 5-5-5-15. Now the Kingston 3GB kit that I'll be upgrading too is rated to run at a lower latency rating of 4-4-4-12. Hmmm, will this Kingston kit and my laptop play nice together? Let's find out!

Here's the same four CPU-z screenshots with the new Kingston 3GB kit installed...

It works! WooHoo! I didn't even have to access the BIOS of the laptop or anything else to set the memory. I simply installed it and I went from 2GB at 5-5-5-15 to 3GB at 4-4-4-12!

Testing:

2GB Stock Memory at 5-5-5-15

Kingston HyperX 3GB Kit at 4-4-4-12

   Ok, so the memory bandwidth improvement "on paper" isn't astounding, but what I did get was snappier performance opening applications and also the improved performance of going from 2GB to 3GB. You'll notice in the benchmarks that the memory and cache latency was reduced quite a bit. Just as 2GB of memory was the sweet spot for Windows XP, 3GB of memory is the sweet spot for Windows Vista.

Conclusion:

    I'm thoroughly satisfied with the upgrade. What else can I say? Being a hardware enthusiast I just feel better having a larger, faster and a lower latency memory kit in my laptop. And to have it come from a top name like Kingston is just all the more sweeter.

I think my biggest surprise, and delight, was right after I installed the new Kingston 3GB kit and booted up for the first time. To have everything set itself to 4-4-4-12 and work perfectly was just great. I really thought I would have to dig into the BIOS and force it to run at Kingston's SPD ratings, but to my enjoyment, I didn't.

I've been using the new Kingston HyperX 3GB kit for 2-3 weeks now running it everyday doing countless tasks for hours on. I have experienced ZERO problems with it. I couldn't be happier. Since I'm the editor here on VH, and this is my choice for my personal machine, I think it's only right to give it an Editors Choice Award! Anyone looking to upgrade their notebook memory and you're using Windows Vista, I would strongly recommend the new Kingston HyperX notebook memory kits.

Update:

   Well here's a little update for you guys. I got an email from an angry reader asking why on earth we would do such a review on a 3GB kit (2GB and 1GB sticks) when it's not "true" dual channel because the sticks don't match in size, and basically I was the anti-christ for confusing the world! Well anyway, I spoke to Kingston directly about their thinking behind it:

"The main reason we came out with a 3GB kit was due to the 32-bit Vista OS limitation.  In a laptop, it really does not make sense to put in 4GBs of memory while running 32-bit Vista.  The maximum amount it will see is 3.2GB, therefore the user is paying for 800MBs of extra memory that will go unseen.  If a user has Vista 64-bit, then by all means use true dual channel and install 4GB of memory.  This is the reason why Kingston ALSO makes a 4GB SO-DIMM solution!

It is true that in the desktop world, it is better to go dual channel.  There isn't that much of a difference in performance in notebooks if one goes single channel by using a kit comprised of a 2GB and 1GB module.  If major vendors thought this was a problem, then why oh why would they sell notebooks AND desktops with 3GB of on-board memory?" 

So there you have it. If you were the .01% that was curious why we would "dare" review a 3GB kit, there you have it. *as typed from my laptop w/3GB Kingston kit installed*

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