PPCtechs brings a whopping 128MB RAM to the HP H5450!

June 24, 2003 | mill london | format - Other (ar.) | viewed - 48x
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PPCtechs brings a whopping 128MB RAM to the HP H5450!

This is the front splash screen of the T2T 128MB RAM upgrade now available to all H5450 users through PocketPCTechs.

In essense, this upgrade brings your H5450 up to the same RAM available on the newly announced HP iPAQ H5550 series. The only difference is the additional 64MB RAM added by PPCtechs is accessible through the utility shown on the left. It works very similar to the iPAQ File Store. Here is Pocket PC Techs explanation as to why this approach is necessary:

"This memory upgrade does require our proprietary driver and is segmented as 64MB 'conventional' and 64MB as our Hi-Speed T2T Disk. This unit uses BGA memory, so stacking is not available and 128MB will be the maximum capacity."

I have chosen to load both programs and large files in the T2T disk space for right now. I am an avvid GPS user and loaded my favorite software (currently under NDA, but watch for future review) and several state maps. I tried loading SnoopSoft Dashboard into the T2T disk and ran into problems at startup. For some reason Dashboard did not want to initialize properly. So I moved it back to iPAQ File Store where I normally save it. I will try to do some more research on this issue and post update if required.

The screen shot above clearly shows how the T2T disk functions similar to the iPAQ File Store. As you can see, my GPS maps are already using up a good portion of my 64MB storage space. As the saying goes "The more you have, the more you spend!"

There are a bunch of nice tweaks built into the utility as well:

"Move Avantgo"
"Move Temporary Internet Files"
"Set FAT Buffers"
"Clear Internet Temporary Files on restart"
"Format T2T Disk"
"Rename T2T Disk"
"Memory Testing" (Fast Mode and Thorough)

The T2T Disk is what I would call a volatile memory store. Meaning that if you have to perform a "Hard Reset" on your iPAQ, you will lose all data stored in that area. PPCtechs says "If you restore from a previous backup, you will need to reinstall the driver to support the 128MB. Any data on the T2T Disk will not be erased unless a hard-reset is performed." The driver they speak about is pre-loaded on your H5450 when they ship the unit back to you after performing the RAM upgrade process. They send you a .zip file with the driver utility should you ever have to reload the driver in the future. This driver will only function on the H5450 the upgrade was performed on according to PPCtechs.

As far as how the Upgrade process works, it went flawlessly! Pocket PC Techs has an F.A.Q. on their website that explains how the upgrade process works (shipping of unit, etc...) Just in case you don't want to follow hyperlink above, here is text from their F.A.Q.:

Q: Ok, I'm sold. What is the process for upgrading/repairing my unit?

A: Place an order online first. We will then email the packing & shipping instructions to you within 2 to 48 hrs. You are responsible for paying the inbound shipping on all orders. We provide 2nd day return shipping on most RAM upgrade orders. On some of the lower end upgrades, you will pay for the return shipping. On most other repairs and orders, you pay for return shipping and select the method of return shipping at the time of placing the order.

My H5450 arrived at my home via FedEx delivery a couple days after I shipped it out and was packaged better than it was by Hewlett Packard when I originally purchased the device from PC Mall. The upgrade does void your manufacturers warranty through Hewlett Packard. But Pocket PC Techs does include a 90-Day warranty on the upgraded H5450.

Q: What type of warranty is included with the upgrade?

A: We offer a 90-day warranty on our parts and labor as well as the motherboard of your PocketPC. This warranty excludes the battery and physical damage such as to the screen and case. This upgrade will void your original Manufacturer's warranty, therefore we recommend that you have the upgrade done near the end of your warranty period. If you have any warranty work that needs to be done, please have it done before sending the unit to us for an upgrade.

If your unit has a failure of any kind please contact us first as your warranty is now through us and not through the original manufacturer. If you send your unit to the original manufacturer for any type of repair, you will lose your memory upgrade and they will charge you to repair the unit.

Based on our years of experience in the portable & handheld arena, we have been able to determine the causes of most iPAQ board level problems and in most cases we can repair the motherboard instead of replacing it. You may have been told that any memory upgrade not authorized by the manufacturer will cause power related failures. We have performed extensive testing to ensure that the iPAQ power supply can handle any upgrade that we have released. We have installed several hundred upgrades to date and have not seen a single case of power supply overload failure due to the memory upgrade.

Leonard at Pocket PC Techs was also kind enough to send along one of their iPAQ 38/39/5400 3-in-1 Stylus for inclusion in my review. It offers a stylus tip and reset pin at one end. And a standard replaceable ink pen at the other. I use a PDA Panache chrome stylus currently and found the 3-in-1 stylus from PPCtechs to be a little light. For reference, the 3-in-1 stylus is almost identical in weight to the stock HP stylus. It definitely fits nicer into the iPAQ silo compared to the PDA panache stylus, but I still prefer a little more weight. However, If you are looking for a combination stylus/pen and don't want to spend more than $15, the PPCtechs 3-in-1 stylus will do the trick.