RAM upgrade for old laptop, what kind of ram does it use?

Hi, my sister's laptop is running slow, and she wants me to have a look, as I do not have her laptop, so I asked her to run a software and send me the screenshots:



It is running Vista Home Premium, so I think I should upgrade its RAM first, but not sure what kind of ram is it, I think it is PC2-4300?

Also, how can I know the maximum ram it supports? And since the system is 32-bit, I guess it cannot use all 4GB ram? I can buy a 2GB and replace one 1GB to make it 3GB in total, or buy two 2GBs and replace all existing RAMs, to make it 4GB and dual-channel? Which way is better?

Thanks a lot!

 

Yep, PC2-4200/4300 ,depending on the manufacturer.

 

To be 100% certain I would like the notebook model. I want to make sure there was not a MoBo or BIOS limitation keeping the maximum amount of RAM under the approximate 3.2GB/3.5GB max on a 32bit system.

But yea DDR2 PC4200/4300. 3GB vs 4GB? with 4GB you might get from ,2GB/.5GB more RAM being recognized vs 3GB. Also and while not a major deal if you have 3GB installed the 1st 2GB will match up and run in Dual Channel the last 1GB in Single Channel, if you put 4GB in the entire amount recognized will match up and run in Dual Channel.

2GB on Vista I don't see dogging a lot you should also consider HDD upgrade. Not that RAM is not good to upgrade but I really think HDD might be the bottleneck here. It could be as simple as a major fragmented HDD. I would download Smart defrag (free) and defrag 1st and see if that helps.

 

Thanks, but it is really hard to find PC2-4200/4300 here, someone told me I can put PC2-5300 or even PC2-6400 and the system would automatically down-clock it to PC2-4300, is it true?

Here is a screenshot of a local shop's category, which one would be fine?



Thanks!

 

Thanks for your reply, she does not know much about computer, I asked her the model of her laptop, she did not even know which brand, so I asked her to send me the screenshot:



The first line is Manufacturer and the second line is Model. But I think the model is too generic as I found lots of different specs of the same model.

 

I found this review at NBR I think similar it say 2GB max but they generally could handle 4GB, link. It is a Socket P CPU so 4GB should not be a problem other than OS limitation.

After looking at the reviewed model if you have a 80GB/120GB old HDD that has a lot on it and fragmented that is every bit as much your issue.

In you picture I see Kingston PC4200 for $49. But yes any DDR2 will work as you heard.

 

Thanks, I think I will buy a 2GB RAM and defragment its HDD.

 

Not all laptops can downclock RAM

I suggest you Buy RAM AND HDD. 7200rpm and large capacity. Also teach her how to create 2 partitions (give her videolesson )

 

Look into the manufacturer website and see if it shows the specs

 

Since DDR2 prices are increasing, I'd suggest buying just one 2GB module, for a total of 3GB of RAM. That's all she'll really need--my brother's Core i7 quad-core gaming machine only has 3GB, and it runs plenty well.

As for partitioning, I'd advise against it. Partitioning produces only mild performance/ease of reformatting benefits, but introduces a bunch of complications (ie, relocating personal files to D, programs installing to C versus D, etc). For the non-intensive user, I'd strongly recommend sticking to a single partition.

 

I agree with MidnightSun on upgrading the RAM to 3GB.
To be honest, going to 4GB will not produce high results.

Also... your sister seems to be using SP1.
I recommend she moves onto SP2.

Have you also taken a look into the amount of startup programs her OS has?
I'm referring to programs that are starting up with the OS.
I usually recommend to people keeping only the antivirus on the startup.
Everything else can/should go (unless it's imperative for OS functions).

As for partitioning... I would actually recommend you do that.
Setting apart the hdd to 2 partitions (c and d) would be prudent.
It's easier to keep most of your data on the larger (d) partition whilst keeping the smaller one for the OS and some programs.
In the long run, it's more efficient and safer in terms of data safeguarding.
If something happens to the OS partition and you have to kill it, just how exactly do you expect to backup the data without too much hassle?
Sure it's possible, but time-consuming.