I am trying to run Linux mint 18 Cinnamon on a i3 at 2.4 GHz. You would think that 4 GB would be sufficient but no it doesn't seem to be.
All I am using is chromium and have about 10 pages open. That's it! Nothing else..

free -h
total utilisé libre partagé tamp/cache disponible
Mem: 3,7G 1,3G 990M 209M 1,4G 2,1G
Partition d'échange: 1,9G 0B 1,9G

Sorry, this is all in french

I thought ok, I will buy an extra 4GB of RAM as I have a free slot available.
When I do a dmidecode -t 17, it tells me the bus speed is 1067 but the part number of the installed memory module reveals that the memory speed is 1333 MHz!

sudo dmidecode --type 17 | more
[sudo] Mot de passe de admin*:
# dmidecode 3.0
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 2.6 present.

Handle 0x0013, DMI type 17, 28 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x0012
Error Information Handle: Not Provided
Total Width: 8 bits
Data Width: 8 bits
Size: No Module Installed
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: Bottom-Slot 1 (top)
Bank Locator: BANK 0
Type: DDR3
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 1067 MHz
Manufacturer: Not Specified
Serial Number: 00000000
Asset Tag: Unknown
Part Number: Not Specified
Rank: Unknown

Handle 0x0014, DMI type 17, 28 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x0012
Error Information Handle: Not Provided
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 4096 MB
Form Factor: SODIMM
Set: None
Locator: Bottom-Slot 2 (under)
Bank Locator: BANK 2
Type: DDR3
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 1067 MHz
Manufacturer: ELPIDA
Serial Number: 8E3E268B
Asset Tag: Unknown
Part Number: EBJ41UF8BCS0-DJ-F
Rank: Unknown

I can't find much information about my computer, an HP Pavilion G6-1B34ca (Canadian version) anywhere other than on the HP site

http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/p...r_na-c02965291

Doesn't tell us anything about the bus clock speed.

Does running a 1333 MHz SODIMM instead of 1067 that 'might' be required by the computer the source of the slowdown ?

Should I order a second 1333 MHz module to match this one or should I downgrade to 1067 MHz modules?

sudo dmidecode --type 17 | grep -i speed
Speed: 1067 MHz
Speed: 1067 MHz

Thank you very much in advance for your help..

StepNjump

A few thoughts.

I agree that 4GB should be enough for any contemporary Linux distro for home use.

Have you tried running top or htop to find out what is actually using the resources?

Did you verify that the RAM chip you purchased is compatible with the motherboard? Not all RAM chips are created equal.

You have 2.1 GB free, adding more RAM will not improve anything.

1 members found this post helpful.

Could it be the clock speed of the i3 cpu that's responsible for the slow state?

OR> is it the Chromium browsers gluttonous appetite for RAM?

Seems like chromium-browser is taking a lot of system resources but I found out that it seems to be lighter than, let's say.. firefox or chrome.

sudo ps -F -C chromium-browser
UID PID PPID C SZ RSS PSR STIME TTY TIME CMD
pierre 1845 1687 6 819952 362000 0 nov16 ? 00:07:08 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --disable-new-tab-first-run --enable-user-scripts --ppapi-fla
pierre 1938 1845 0 109361 63480 0 nov16 ? 00:00:00 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --type=zygote --ppapi-flash-path=/usr/lib/adobe-flashplugin/l
pierre 1949 1938 0 109361 13296 0 nov16 ? 00:00:00 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --type=zygote --ppapi-flash-path=/usr/lib/adobe-flashplugin/l
pierre 2002 1845 3 347288 332592 2 nov16 ? 00:03:39 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --type=gpu-process --channel=1845.0.1416153866 --mojo-applica
pierre 2007 2002 0 128889 13928 2 nov16 ? 00:00:00 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --type=gpu-broker
pierre 2050 1949 0 377230 157712 1 nov16 ? 00:00:50 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --type=renderer --enable-pinch --enable-features=DocumentWrit
pierre 2056 1949 0 360731 145076 0 nov16 ? 00:00:20 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --type=renderer --enable-pinch --enable-features=DocumentWrit
pierre 2086 1949 0 466111 268452 2 nov16 ? 00:00:45 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --type=renderer --enable-pinch --enable-features=DocumentWrit
pierre 2105 1949 0 353959 138728 1 nov16 ? 00:00:06 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --type=renderer --enable-pinch --enable-features=DocumentWrit
pierre 2115 1949 0 348617 111560 0 nov16 ? 00:00:07 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --type=renderer --enable-pinch --enable-features=DocumentWrit
pierre 3322 1949 2 555854 328080 3 nov16 ? 00:01:51 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --type=renderer --enable-pinch --enable-features=DocumentWrit
pierre 3760 1949 2 419199 358368 1 nov16 ? 00:01:18 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --type=renderer --enable-pinch --enable-features=DocumentWrit
pierre 4881 1949 5 449348 459132 2 00:15 ? 00:01:44 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --type=renderer --enable-pinch --enable-features=DocumentWrit
pierre 5720 1949 1 356576 133544 0 00:23 ? 00:00:15 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --type=renderer --enable-pinch --enable-features=DocumentWrit
pierre 5833 1949 0 348817 110756 2 00:25 ? 00:00:08 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --type=renderer --enable-pinch --enable-features=DocumentWrit
pierre 5876 1949 0 348892 96608 3 00:26 ? 00:00:01 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-browser --type=renderer --enable-pinch --enable-features=DocumentWrit
pierre 6497 1949 5 334810 78628 0 00:48 ? 00:00:00 /usr/lib/chromium-browser/chromium-br

sudo ps h -o pmem -C chromium-browser
[sudo] Mot de passe de admin*:
9.4
1.6
0.3
8.6
0.3
4.1
3.7
7.1
3.6
2.9
8.6
9.2
11.8
3.4
2.8
2.5

have you ever seen: www.linuxatemyram.com ?
I would suggest you to try an SSD.

You don't have to apologize for speaking another language, but please use code tags when appropriate:

$ free -m
total used free shared buff/cache available
Mem: 3957 712 865 30 2378 2959
Swap: 3814 0 3814

The RAM doesn't have a clock in it so will run at the speed of the processor. The speed quoted on the RAM is the maximum speed it is guaranteed to work at.
It's probably best to buy another 1333 module if you are going to upgrade. However, bear in mind the posts above noting you already have enough RAM.

Thank you all guys for your help.
Seasons Im not appologizing for speaking french! I appologize for my teminal echoing back in french lol (because I installed linux mint french version). I'm almost fully bilingual (98%) so for me, french or english is about the same.
Of course I don't want to change my system language completely but if there is a command to force terminal to respond in english, please kindly let me know.

Thanks Pan64 for the linuxatemyram page. I learned a lot from that one. thank you.

Ok well I am now just running 1 application under virtualbox now and chromium has only 4 webpages open and my swappiness is at 60
cat /proc/sys/vm/swappiness
60

Here are the results now and all the swap was commited by the cache
free -m
total utilisé libre partagé tamp/cache disponible
Mem: 3751 2857 78 300 815 503
Partition d'échange: 1951 45 1906

Disponible means available: now down to 1/2 GB.
Yes I agree an SSD would be a great idea. I have one here but I have no time to reconfigure my system at this time.

What do you guys think with the new values I just showed here? An extra few 4 GB could be welcomed no? Please kindly let me know what you think.

Thank you 273 for your explanation about the CPU clock vs memory concept. I didn't know that one. Thats great to know.

Step

VirtualBox is a gamechanger of course. You do not run "just one application" in VM, you run entire OS there.

this is your CPU specs for RAM speed max
anything faster then 1066 is a wast of money, and may not even work.

Intel® Core™ i3-370M Processor
(3M cache, 2.40 GHz)

If there's a 1333 module already in there then I think it's likely that another would work. My CPUs RAM clock is 1066 but the RAM I have installed is 1333 and there are no issues running at either stock 1066 or overclocking to 1333.
I'm not about to say that 1333 is 100% guaranteed to work in this situation but I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't especially if the existing stick is 1333. It may also be a good idea to match the type of memory in the machine rather than have mismatched sticks. There's also the availability to consider -- I've really no idea whether 1066 is cheaper than 1333 but I wouldn't assume it was.

then the only thing you'll need to understand is that it will NOT run at 1333 the fastest you'll get is 1066 out of it. I just couldn't remember if it'd actually work or not, is all.

as far as cost less it all depends on where you buy it.