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    Should I Update my RAM Or Buy A New Laptop?

    Discussion in 'Toshiba' started by adhoul, Oct 7, 2008.

  1. adhoul

    adhoul Newbie

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    Hello everybody,

    I've got a Toshiba A series model A10-S811. It is a 3-4 years laptop at least.

    I think it's a good laptop, but certainly time kills everything.

    It has got a 256MB RAM,and a 2,33 sth Ghz Intel Celeron CPU. A lot of times I feel it's age and capabilities while using some programs (Eclipse,Matlab,V Studio) etc.

    It gets slow, it overheats, it sucks.

    So I was wondering, is a RAM upgrade worthwhile? I could go till 1024MB, so maybe I'll buy 512MB extra or sth.

    The question is, will upgrading RAM make a big difference? Will it be able to work much better when for example programming.

    Or should I consider buying a new laptop?

    I'm asking cuz buying a new laptop VS. upgrading RAM is a question worth 500Euros at least ;-) So it is an important question.

    thank you in advance for your thoughts/suggestions!
     
    adhoul, Oct 7, 2008
    #1
  2. Nankuru

    Nankuru Notebook Evangelist

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    It sounds like you want a new laptop, but a 512MB stick of ram will set you back about €20 and I'm guessing your machine will then have 640MB and will probably run a lot quicker.

    Why not try that and then decide.
     
    Nankuru, Oct 8, 2008
    #2
  3. jada1717

    jada1717 Notebook Enthusiast

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    you can always say the RAM stick didn't fit and take it back if you decide on a new laptop.....
     
    jada1717, Oct 10, 2008
    #3
  4. Gregory

    Gregory disassemble?

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    Putting more ram in there will make a big difference. The performance boost will definitely be noticeable all around. I'd fill it up to its max capacity.

    It won't help your overheating issue, though. You might want to read through some notebook cleaning & CPU guides for that.
     
    Gregory, Oct 10, 2008
    #4
  5. Andy

    Andy Notebook Prophet

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    Also try upgrading the HDD to a Samsung HM160HC/HM80HC, which are cheap and the fastest IDE drives available. Fast HDDs boost the overall performance of Windows !!

    If you are facing heat issues with the Celeron, you could try upgrading to a Pentium M depending upon your current CPU/Socket, which are also cheap, and run very cool.
     
    Andy, Oct 10, 2008
    #5