Does upgrading the RAM improve booting/shutting down time and multitsking?

Hi,

I recently bought an asus laptop with
Intel Celeron dual core T3100.
1.9GHz processor speed.
1MB cache.
2GB RAM memory.
250GB hard drive.


I havent recieved it yet,

the laptop will be used just for internet browsing, msn, music and online movies, nothing more


But if i find it takes too long to start up/shut down or even multi task ( internet, several tabs + music) , then i will upgrade it

will upgrading the RAM from 2GB to 3gb make everything run quicker?

or is there something else i need to upgrade to speed everything up?

thanks

 

It would definitely make multitasking better.
Not sure about the rest though

 

ok thanks,

so what else could i upgrade to make things run faster besides upgrading the RAM to 3GB ?

 

More RAM will certainly make multitasking faster, but as long as you don't have too many background processes running, it should be fast enough for your needs.

Another thing that will help improve start-up and shut down speeds is buying a 7200RPM hard drive.

 

will it just improve startup and shut down speeds?

ive seen one for £70, is it easy to fit?

will it make that much of a difference?

thanks

 

If you really want fast boot times and shutdown, these days, the best way to go is to get an SSD for your system. You could replace your hard drive with an SSD then buy an external enclosure for your HDD or you could replace the optical drive with the HDD and set the SSD to primary drive and you can also buy an enclosure for your optical drive.

May I add that SSDs are quite expensive at this time. And if you're gonna get one, the best SSD in the market at the moment is the Crucial C300.

There is an alternative, I daresay, to the 7200rpm HDD which is the Seagate Momentus XT. Google is your friend.

All the best!

 

Check this article out: How Much RAM Do You Need?

 

Replace or overclock that cpu.

 

Boot times = Upgrade to SSD
Multitasking = Upgrade Ram
Less lag while running programs = Upgrade Processor

 

Memory will improve everything, to a point.
At some point you get diminishing returns depending on the operating system.

Start times are usually hampered by installed software, drive access times, and on XP, networking. The easiest way to kill off some startup items I have found is Winpatrol. Disable any quicklaunch or automatic updaters. Why does Java update need to run constantly when it updates maybe once per month? Quicklaunchers are pretty useless I have found unless your system is pathetically slow, in which case, the quicklaunch eats up more ram slowing down everything except the program it was intended for.


My advice,
See how much memory it can handle. If it can handle 4 gigs, do that as it will help, is simple, and not cost you half the price you paid for the notebook. Use standby/sleep and try Winpatrol to eliminate some of the pointless startup items.



I know people are saying SSD as it's the hot new trend...
People, it has a Celeron dual core processor with 2 gigs of ram, it's far from high end and you want to put that in it? I admit it would help, but it's inappropriate given the rest of the system. By the time you add an SSD and improve the ram (if it can even handle more ram), you would double the price of the laptop or bought a faster laptop. Besides that, he only wants it for browsing. Changing the hard disk means at minimum cloning the hard disk, and chances are he wouldn't be asking this question if he knew how to do that.



By the way, that article, is like most, good and bad. If you work as they ran the test... Install windows, run test, then it's very valid, but how many run just that one program? They really needed a system, with a typical set of software installed. Run a chat client, antivirus, maybe Itunes, and then run their tests. I would bet you get quite a bit different test results. My theory in building computers is put as much ram as you can reasonably afford. After 15 years I have yet to be unsatisfied with a memory upgrade.

 

True it's just a Celeron, and at the cost of the notebook, adding an SSD is kinda prohibitive. But it's still a dual-core Penryn, and almost as capable as a T6400 Core 2. Price : Performance is great with the later model Celeron cores.

@OP Don't underestimate the Celeron's, but I think your best and least cost prohibitive upgrade would be to just add some memory. Maybe take it from 2GB to 3-4GB. Superfetch in Windows 7 will always work better with more memory. And if you really want to upgrade to an SSD, I'd also recommend upgrading to a Core 2 Duo, maybe a T6600 or higher depending on if your board can handle a 1066MHz FSB Processor.

 

No need to upgrade the CPU. It's a dual core Penryn running at 1.9GHz. It's absolutely fine for what he's doing ( internet, several tabs + music).

Slightly. If you're going to upgrade the RAM better get 4GB. RAM is cheap and it helps a bit.

First do a clean install.

If you're not happy with the speed afterwards upgrade the HDD to a fast one (or SSD). Not every 7200rpm is fast.

I'd recommend Seagate Momentus XT. It will feel a lot like an SSD, with the price of an HDD.

 

1.Upgrade your ram to maximum,4GB,as ram is considered very cheao in any laptop or desktop upgrades.
2.Change to HDD Seagate Momentus XT,slower than a ssd but definitely better than ordinary HDD.
3.Change to a ssd..this can be considered as one of ultimate upgrade in any computer..definite upgrade for those who have money regardless what type of notebook they have.

IMO,there is no need to change processor..cz your processor is 'adequate or more than enough' if your just want to do daily task...

And I accept the fact that some people want a netbook but with a ssd in it...light netbook+quiet ssd+good battery life+faster than those using HDD...I considered this as a trend nowadays or perhaps will become a trend (perhaps)...

True that a ssd price will cost nearly as same as the netbook price itself but some people want light laptop but with satisfied speed of the system...

 

I think upgrade first to 4Gb (if possible) will be a very good improvment, will match perfectly with your usage.
Later you can change to 7200rpm HDD (if actual HDD is only 5400rpm).

 

No actually upgrading from 2gig to 3gig will fetch you a very little performance gap.If it would have been from 1 gig to 2 gig,then it wud be good.Better upgrade hdd