nichols@en.ecn.purdue.edu (Scott P Nichols) (03/21/91)
Does extra RAM on the HP48sx make it run faster?
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_____/ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (nichols@en.ecn.purdue.edu)ervin@pinbot.enet.dec.com (Joseph James Ervin) (03/21/91)
In article <1991Mar20.175757.26768@en.ecn.purdue.edu>, nichols@en.ecn.purdue.edu (Scott P Nichols) writes: |> Does extra RAM on the HP48sx make it run faster? |> |> SN |> -- |> O- /\ |> |\ /\/vv\ |> /vv\ \ __Insight from Oregon...Scott P. Nichols |> _____/ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (nichols@en.ecn.purdue.edu) |> If you mean faster in the sense that a VAX runs faster with more memory, then the answer is no. A VAX, or other virtual memory computer, generally does less swapping between main memory and disk storage when you give it a larger main memory, thus making it run faster. Since the HP48SX has no disk in the traditional sense, there is no speedup as such. The HP48SX's clock runs at 2 MHz, regardless of the amount of memory. In fact, some tasks such as the periodic garbage collection performed automatically by the calculator take longer when you have more memory. On the other hand, having more memory may mean that you don't have to archive/restore the contents of your memory in order to download the most recent version of TETRIS, etc.. In this sense, having the extra available memory is a plus. I have an HP 128KB module, and feel like I'm swimming in memory. I created a directory for my wife with her own copy of TETRIS (she kept bumping my name off the high score list, so I gave her a personal copy of TETRIS. Now we each have our own high score lists :-) >>>Joe Ervin
frechett@spot.Colorado.EDU (-=Runaway Daemon=-) (03/21/91)
In article <1991Mar20.175757.26768@en.ecn.purdue.edu> nichols@en.ecn.purdue.edu (Scott P Nichols) writes: >Does extra RAM on the HP48sx make it run faster? Yes, it does.. It does a couple things. It makes it easier for the hp to deal with where it puts stuff in memory.. Many times when things are tight as far as memory goes, it spends time trying to figure out what it is going to do when it has the memory to put something someplace but just barely. The biggest increase in speed is for things that you need to edit or visit. I find that it is alot faster to pop a program up to edit. Getting a RAM card is generally a good idea.. I think my calc is happier about it. ;) ian -=Runaway Daemon=-
creiman@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Chuck Reiman) (03/21/91)
In article <986@sousa.enet.dec.com>, ervin@pinbot.enet.dec.com (Joseph James Ervin) writes: |> In article <1991Mar20.175757.26768@en.ecn.purdue.edu>, |> nichols@en.ecn.purdue.edu (Scott P Nichols) writes: |> |> |> Does extra RAM on the HP48sx make it run faster? |> |> |> |> SN |> |> -- |> |> O- /\ |> |> |\ /\/vv\ |> |> /vv\ \ __Insight from Oregon...Scott P. Nichols |> |> _____/ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (nichols@en.ecn.purdue.edu) |> |> |> |> If you mean faster in the sense that a VAX runs faster with |> more memory, then the answer is no. A VAX, or other virtual |> memory computer, generally does less swapping between |> main memory and disk storage when you give it a larger main |> memory, thus making it run faster. Since the HP48SX has no |> disk in the traditional sense, there is no speedup as such. |> The HP48SX's clock runs at 2 MHz, regardless of the amount of |> memory. In fact, some tasks such as the periodic garbage |> collection performed automatically by the calculator take longer |> when you have more memory. |> |> [ stuff deleted] Actually, <ahem>, I can attest that have little memory will make your calculator very slow. Don't know about the other way around. Try to fill up the stack. Use something like: << DEPTH DUPN >> Then just stick that in a variable and keep pushing it till you get Insuffceint memory. Try to do a few hundred more dups, w/ dupn. When free memory gets WAY down there, things noticeably slow down. Fun things for a rainy day... Charlie Reiman -- Charlie Reiman creiman@ncsa.uiuc.edu sig limited to four lines??? That's outrageous! My lawyer will be in touch!
ebergman@isis.cs.du.edu (Eric Bergman-Terrell) (03/24/91)
I suppose that having more ram would speed things up slightly, since the machine may not need to "garbage collect" as often... Terrell