Are these hubs not usable on this machine?? Aspire 5 A515-44-R41B

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Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,869 Trailblazer
    >>>so if I have a ton of ram  my need for swap  is  0  ---   am  I making sense? >>>

    Yes, I know which laptop you have. I'm trying to figure out which SSD brand and model you have installed. It won't be an ACER branded SSD. For that, you have to look at the BIOS Information tab which should describe the brand (for example, Samsung, Western-Digital (WD), Seagate, SanDisk or Hynix) and the model number (for example HFM256GDJTNI). Some of them are dramless or without a RAM cache so a ton of RAM might be useful.  But some have a sizeable internal RAM cache where a swap partition might be more useful than using external RAM. Am I making sense?   :) Jack E/NJ



    Jack E/NJ

  • JackStarz
    JackStarz Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    huh..  thems is some real fancy words....  I am glad I asked you these questions..  because this is way outside my clearance..  haha ....  I understand yes,  but I didn't  know any of this. I will reboot and check in the BIOS.   and photograph the detail ...  thanks
  • JackStarz
    JackStarz Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    how goes it??  I  got that pic  I think this covers it  --   well  --  it looked better before  --  if you cant make it out I'll try again.  it looks blurry here but I thought I could read it fine before--  maybe I'm going crazy--  all hallows eve -  BOOO!
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,869 Trailblazer
    You need a new phone with more cam  pixels. It looks like a 250GB WDC (Western Digital) m.2 card. Perhaps you could just jot the number down with an old fashioned pencil or ballpoint pen on a napkin. Then enter the number on your keyboard and post it here. A bit clumsy, but should work.   =)   Jack E/NJ


    Jack E/NJ

  • JackStarz
    JackStarz Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    why does everyone make fun of my phone??  lol  sorry --  I went and looked -- I wasn't crazy -  I think there must be a script operating to reduce data when I use copy image function --  the original is legible-  I'll have you know my phone predates the invention of the pencil and is ten times as clumsy--  also  -  I am so ignorant of new drive tek that I wasn't sure which info was important so I tried to get it all --  my last phone had a floopy drive and 800 baud modem -   boy was that a hassle to carry around!  Thanks a lot!
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,869 Trailblazer
    It's an m.2 NVME SSD with twice the speed of an m.2 SATA3 SSD. So it's probably better to use a small 4-8GB swap partition on it if the Linux installer gives you an option. FYI, some ubuntu installers  have had issues with using HDD1 or sdb instead of the usual default HDD0 or sda on Windows-oriented machines. LinuxMint 20 has reportedly had less issues. So I recommend trying to install its Cinnamon flagship GUI if you haven't done so already. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • JackStarz
    JackStarz Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    huh..  so what about all that stuff I read about not using swap with SSD because it destroys by writing too much?? I saw a lot of warnings  about that.  or are you saying that this thing has a ram cache attached that I would be using?  thanks  --  this  new tek  is a lot of bits ...    and then as far as ram  --  I would need less if I have  swap.. 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,869 Trailblazer
    WesternDigital has claimed that your nvme series uses a DDR4 RAM cache but don't specifiy how much in their advertising blurbs. But if the Mint installer gives you a choice, I'd probably go for a small swap partition especially since this nvme series doesn't automatically use your system's RAM as a cache. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • JackStarz
    JackStarz Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    thanks ,  so then in your opinion -  I deduce - swap on this SSD isn't a problem..  

    Filename Type Size Used Priority
    /swapfile                              file    8703996 0 -2


    so   8GB  file swap not partition...  I set it last week  ...  or  you mean shrink it down  and then add ram??  my ram is sitting at 80%  usage   most of the time
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,869 Trailblazer
    With 8GB of RAM, I don't think you'll need a swap. Take a look at SystemMonitor/TaskManager once and a while to see how much RAM you typically use.  In any case, a swap partition is probably safer than a swapfile since it's physically isolated from the other card partitions. I wouldn't fret too much over it if you've already got everything up and running. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • JackStarz
    JackStarz Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    My sys monitor is saying my ram is mostly running at around 80%  and  I thought I should stay away from large swap usage --  so the solution I imagined best was to get rid of swap and add another 8GB of ram and just run the machine that way.  Is that what you are saying too  now??  thanks
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,869 Trailblazer
    Do you have everything up and running right now with only the 8GB you already have in there and NO swap? Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • JackStarz
    JackStarz Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    Swap is on -- 8GB  --    and  has 8GB  ram--  runs fine that way  --    I'm  just seeing that my Ram  is typically at 80%  capacity and swap very active,  so since ram is inexpunsive I figured I could give it some space pretty easily by adding some.  This is of course in response to all the warnings in Linux groups  about SSD drives and Swap...
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,869 Trailblazer
    >>>Swap is on -- 8GB  --    and  has 8GB  ram--  runs fine that way>>>

    You really wanna add another 8GB RAM. So do it. It may not run any finer than it does now. But it'll make you feel better and that's what counts.   :)   The warnings are mainly for the really cheap dramless flash drives like the Adata's that I've been using on my 4GB RAM laptops running Cinnamon 18.3 then 19.3  for the last two years. I've been not-too-anxiously awaiting for one or more of the $30-with-free-shipping Adata's  to show at least a hint of distress from swap-induced stress. I'll let you know when it happens.   =)   Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • JackStarz
    JackStarz Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    ok..  so  your saying the  swap partition warnings are just bogus except on old ***** machines..  I don't  care too much,  I just want the thing to be running nice.  The toughest part on this thing was the third monitor  and  figuring out the kernel upgrade  to get video to work at all..  if SSD can do swap then it can stay the way it is until I start playing WOW or something..  thanks
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,869 Trailblazer
    Sorry, I didn't say that. I was just giving you my experience as a tightwad who uses cheap cacheless SSDs on my laptops that were originally equipped with slower cached mechanical HDDs. Please understand that my past decent experience with cheap cacheless SSDs may not be at all indicative of your future experience with a more expensive cached SSD. You may have an even better experience. Or maybe worse? Or maybe same? Who knows? No guarantees.

    As for a 3rd independent screen on a single integrated GPU and mentioned very early in this thread, your USbuss doesn't natively support video output. You need an active USB-2-video converter that essentially converts the GPU's video signal to a data stream that the buss can handle.  Some folks have reported success with the following converters. VGAs are also available. Whether you can get them to operate in a 3rd video independent mode  in a non-Windows environment on  hardware without a discrete GPU is in my opinion highly unlikely. But, hey, you can prove me wrong! You'll be my hero! =)     Jack E/NJ

    usb-2-video
    hdmi
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BPEV1XK/
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0811LTJ1H/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2Q675KK39AE01&psc=1


    displayport
    https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-DisplayPort-Supporting-Resolution/dp/B018YHTUNI/ref=sr_1_10?crid=35VF6GFPGK43N&dchild=1&keywords=cable+matters+usbc+to+displayport+adapter&qid=1598400106&s=electronics&sprefix=cable+matters+usb+to+displayport,electronics,171&sr=1-10

    Jack E/NJ

  • JackStarz
    JackStarz Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    ok  thanks for clarify.   I long since solved the video problem.  it was a bit of a trick .. but everything working 100%  no issues,  even with the kernel upgrade which made it really difficult.  tough for real beginners..  I know sounds funny since I'm  confused about SSD swaps and ram upgrades but I have been dealing with Linux system for 10 years, so even with my limited skills--  repetition does give insight ... I posted all the steps of my fix to the other thread,  if you ever need to answer the question its all there with links ..  I posted it all in MINT forum too.  so   the thing about the SSD  is its kinda hard to say since ACER or  other drive makers are probably not doing serious testing on the swap question .. and  we're going on forum threads.. 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,869 Trailblazer
    >>>I long since solved the video problem.  >>>

    Sorry, it still wasn't immediately apparent to me that you had already solved the  3rd independent screen issue from your threads here. Maybe I missed it. Good luck with your SSD whether you decide to swap or not. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • JackStarz
    JackStarz Member Posts: 52 Troubleshooter
    Thanks!!   I'll see if I see any  good research on the swap issue..