saving RAM questions

[James Wilkinson]

I suggested:

> What sort of graphics do they have: separate graphics cards, or is the
> graphics integrated into the chipset? In the latter case, make sure that
> you only allocate the memory you need to the graphics subsystem: 1 to 4
> MB, usually, depending on resolution.

Matt Morgan replied:
> Thanks! These are Compaq iPaqs, which are what Compaq sold as their
> commodity business desktops prior to the HP buyout. They have some
> Compaq-specific BIOS, and sadly, they don't have that option. They
> hardly have any options, actually. I'll look for a BIOS update.
> 
> This does look like it would make a big difference, potentially; I
> have a big monitor set to 1400x1050 and 32 bit color; even that
> requires well under 8Mb.

Anything like these?
http://h18002.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/10832_div/10832_div.HTML

As that page suggests that you've got an onboard cache (although it
doesn't sound enough to support the resolution you're talking about).

What does the first line of /proc/meminfo say? That will tell you by how
much memory Linux sees. If it's just over about 130000 on a 128 MB
system, then your graphics memory is separate to your main memory.

James.

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