XPS 1330 RAM upgrade question...

Hi!
My girlfriend bought the XPS 1330 last year and I thought that she should upgrade the memory of her machine from the 1gig.
I have 2 questions about that:

1. Will it woid the warranty if I buy and replace it myself?
2. wich will be better buy two 1gig modules (and throw away both 512 ones) or buy one 2gig module and live one 2gig and one 512mb.?

I'm mostly concerned about the 2gig module of becoming too hot, or should it be ok?

Thanks!!

 

Replacing the RAM yourself will not void the warranty. And when upgrading, get 2 1gb sticks, and toss the 512. just getting a 2gb and then having a 512 in the other one will give you far worse performance then if you got 2 1gb sticks.

 

It will not give you far worse performance!

Get a single 2gb stick. That way you can upgrade to 3gb or 4gb easier later. 2.5gb ram is better than 2.0gb ram.

As for heat, it wont be any different.

 

This is not completely true!
Dual channel mode enhances the speed, that doesnt mean 1+1 will give a much higher performance than 2+0.5
More memory always helps(although 32bit Windows only supports upto 3.3GB)

Dual-channel architecture is a technology embraced by motherboard manufacturers. In other words, any matched pair of memory modules may support single- and dual-channel operation, provided the motherboard supports this architecture.
Certain Intel chipsets support different capacity chips in what they call Flex Mode: the capacity that can be matched is run in dual-channel, while the remainder runs in single-channel.

 

thanks to all.
So I should get the 2gb stick and then later I can buy more if needed.
The 2+0.5 won't be slower than 1+1?

Oh and one more thing. Wich do you prefer Kingston or Corsair? These are the brands that are most widely available. Or is there no "real" difference concerning notebook memory modules?

 

u will see considerable increase wit a 2+0.5 config better than 1+1
Get Kingston. Cant give u a reason

 

Get what ever ram is the cheapest with a lifetime warranty. Shouldn't matter brand wise.

 

Yep, thats what I would do. Check newegg.com

 

You can get 2 dimms of 2gb RAM for about 50 bucks these days (and I am talking about Crucial, OCZ, etc.) Check NewEgg and check Outpost/Frys. Replacing your RAM will not void the warranty, however DO NOT throw away/sell the stock SODIMMs. If your girlfriend ever needs a system exchange, you would need to send the stock RAM back to Dell.

 

ok.
Thanks to everyone for the help!

 

Get a single 2GB stick.