Help with RAM choice for a Fujitsu Lifebook

I have a Fujitsu Lifebook N6110 with two sticks of 256MB ram. I would like to upgrade to the max ram, which I believe is 2GB.

So my first question is; can the laptop hold a 2GB ram stick in one slot, or does it have to be two 1GB ram sticks to get the max 2GB ram?

Second question is; assuming I can go either route above, would I be better off using two 1GB sticks (utilizing something called "dual memory" I believe??), or would I get about the same performance with one 2GB stick?

 

The 2x 1GB RAM module route will be the better (safer) choice, precisely because of Dual Channel mode.

Even if it happened to boot from a single 2GB sodimm stick, I would guess that it would be very prone to instability inside any modern, complex O/S.

The Dual Channel mode, assuming your notebook's chipset supports it (it should) will give you around 5% faster RAM benchmarks, but will be all but impossible to 'feel' under normal use.

Actually, here is the RAM you should be looking for:

From:
http://www.mobilewhack.com/reviews/fujitsu_lifebook_n6110_notebook.html


Note that I would still download CPUz to verify that that is indeed what the RAM installed is running at (DDR2 533 Mhz PC2-4200).

Also note that you can also safely purchase matched sets (matched = identical - doesn't have to be a 'set') rated for:

PC2-5300 DDR2 667 MHz or,

PC2-6400 DDR2 800 MHz

if the price is better than the recommended PC2-4200 DDR2 533 MHz sodimms. The RAM modules will 'clock down' to match the chipset on your motherboard, or better, it may even work at the higher (better) setting if your motherboard supports it, but was simply shipped with lower cost RAM for budget reasons.

If you do get to the point of actually changing the Sodimm modules, unplug the computer from the power outlet and make sure you also remove your battery before changing the modules. Go into the BIOS and verify the new RAM sticks are identified correctly (the amount of RAM should be 2GB, of course) and inside Windows, download and run multiple instances of MEMTEST overnight to verify the new RAM is compatible with your notebook.

Good luck.

 

Thanks very much tilleroftheearth, much appreciated.

Good advice on using faster ram if it's cheaper...never thought of that.

I'll start hunting around today for some...