Upgrading RAM from 512mb to 1GB in my old laptop or should I buy a new laptop?

Dear All,

I have a 15.4'' Vaio VGN-FS115B model purchased in the UK in May 2005. It is more than 6 years old and still works well but has been very slow when using internet, MS office, Adobe photoshop altogether. It is a 60GB HD with 512MB RAM, 1280x800 TFT display. It is slow when starting up and shutting down too.

Will upgrading the RAM increase the speed of the laptop? I tried Crucial.com with their on-line analyzer for RAM.

I ran the Crucial Sytem scanner from the website. It says:
Memory Type: DDR PC2700, DDR (non-ECC)
Maximum Memory: 1GB
Currently Installed Memory: 512MB
Total Memory Slots: 2
Available Memory Slots: 0
2x256MB installed.

Compatible: 512MB
DDR PC2700 • CL=2.5 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR333 • 2.5V • 64Meg x 64 • • Part #: CT435306
Price: US $25.99

So I can get 2 of the 512MB RAMs for $52 and upgrade it to 1MB right?

Will this resolve the slow laptop and make it more responsive?

I already bought another new Sony laptop and this old laptop has been lying in a corner. I am thinking of buying a new one for my work. I was wondering if upgrading the RAM from 512mb to 1GB in my old laptop would be wise than buying a new laptop.

Do please give me your suggestions.

 

Hi JMilton,

If you want to upgrade the RAM don't buy 2 of the 512MB just buy one of 1 or 2GB. I did the same with my laptop. I just get 2GB and added to my laptop and it is fast.

Hope this help.

 

at first... I have similar laptop and it is fast. I upgraded HDD, CPU and it has 1.5 GB of RAM. I am planning to put 2gB of faster pc-3200ram.

What you should do? you can buy cheap 2x512MB for like 15-17$ on ebay or so.
Or you can buy 1 1gB stick and you will have 1.250 GB inside.

Increasing RAM from 512 to 1024 will dramatically increase performance of your machine. going higher will be useful if you have Windows 7 or Vista. XP will not show you better performance with 1.5 or 2GB vresus 1.250 or 1GB.

Download CPU-z rogram and please tell me your chipset.

 

Um, upgrading RAM will help a lot, but a 6-yr old VGN-FS even with 2GB RAM would not give you similar performance to current laptops.

Depends on what performance level you are shooting for I guess, if you can find cheap DDR RAM probably worth to just upgrade RAM first and see where you land. Since DDRs are old, they are not as cheap as DDR2 in GB per dollar sense, but you are not trying to get 8GB, either.

 

Dear James,

Thank you very much for your reply.

Here is the CPU-Z program analysis of my old laptop



The OS is Windows XP.

Crucial.com anlayser says the maximum memory is 1GB.

Do please let me know what you think about the chipset.

 

Dear Mims77777,

Thank you very much for your reply. Crucial.com anlayser says the maximum memory that can be installed in my old laptop is 1GB.

Is there is any difference in performance between two 512MB and one 1GB RAM.

 

I totally agree. I will be using the old laptop mainly for MS word, powerpoint, Adobephotoshop, internet browsing & downloading stuff from internet mostly.

And moreover it's battery is completely dead and I use it with the adapter. So mobility is also a big issue.

Now the i3 laptops available for $500plus, I am thinking if I should be fiddling with this old laptop or if I should get a new one for work

 

A first you can buy this M750 CPU for 7.45$

I will see your chiset if you printscreen Mainboard menu.
Also I will tell you maximum RAM supported and what type you can put in it.

P.S. This VAIO looks very cool.

EDIT}}}} If you have $$ maybe you should buy smth like this http://www.powernotebooks.com/Sager-NP3250-gaming-laptops-notebooks.php-sys-4049.html from 687$

 

Hello James, I have posted the printscreens below






Should I really need to buy a new CPU?

Yes. The Vaio VGN-FS115B model looks very cool. It was one of the costliest model when it came out in 2004/05 in UK. Spent a fortune to buy this (930GBP). Do you also have the same model?

 

All FS models use 915GM or 915PM (Nvidia Graphics).
You can upgrade CPU to the highest 2.26GHz with Pentium M 780.
You can upgrade RAM to 2GB since chipset supports it.
You can upgrade hard drive up to 250GB.
However, to do all these upgrades, you need to more than $200.
So, if you sell yours, you may get $150 ~ $200 plus the money you need to upgrade, you can buy a new one.