cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

DDR Ram & laptop battery

dgreen007
Grafter
Posts: 169
Registered: ‎05-03-2008

DDR Ram & laptop battery

I need to buy 2gb of DDR ram for a DELL Dimension 1100 & 2gb for a Dell Optiplex GX260.
Both machines have only got 512mb which I now realise is pathetic.
They are both running extremely slow and I mean slow.
Firstly, would upgrading the memory improve the speed considerably & secondly can anyone recommend the best place/price  to buy them from.
My other question is - I need a battery for an ACER Travelmate 4600. Brilliantly, ACER don't supply batteries for this model anymore so does anyone know where I could buy one of these from.
Thanks
David
38 REPLIES 38
HPsauce
Pro
Posts: 6,998
Thanks: 146
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎02-02-2008

Re: DDR Ram & laptop battery

I always use Crucial www.crucial.com/uk for RAM unless it's for really old systems when eBay can be a better option. Why?
1. They have a good system scanner that will confirm what you have installed and recommend upgrades
2. Easy to buy from (and the scanner links straight into buying)
3. Prices are as good as anyone else
4. Delivery is usually quick (and free)
If you're running XP then 512MB is probably inadequate, though 2GB would equally usually be overkill. 1GB does for most users.
Batteries I don't know - try eBay maybe?
dgreen007
Grafter
Posts: 169
Registered: ‎05-03-2008

Re: DDR Ram & laptop battery

Great advice HP, thanks.
I did use crucial but then someone suggested misco who recommend Kingston for the Ram.
So if you're suggesting I only go up to 1gb would that mean I'd have to buy to 512mb?
Would 2gb make the machine better or worse?
When you say 'overkill' do u actually mean it's not worth it or I'm being greedy  Huh
matt_2k34
Grafter
Posts: 1,300
Registered: ‎09-07-2007

Re: DDR Ram & laptop battery

http://www.laptopbits.co.uk/Database_files/Travelmate_4600.htm ;
2nd option is a battery which is compatible.. 3rd option is a high capacity version and is only a little bit more expensive (Would be recommended to get the high capacity ver)
i always buy ram from ebuyer - depends how knowledgable you are Smiley
Depends what you want to use the computer for depends how much ram you put in .. Unused ram is a waste of money, but not enough means it will use space on the hard drive (called a page file) which will slow the machine down  -  More is usually better, as long as you dont have a full chip sat there idle, its surely been worth it Smiley
hope that helps
edit: didnt just google laptopbits by the way, have used them in the past when i spilt a glass of coke on my laptop and trashed the KB, support were knowledgable and helpful Smiley (The part i wanted was extremely difficult to find!)
dgreen007
Grafter
Posts: 169
Registered: ‎05-03-2008

Re: DDR Ram & laptop battery

Thanks Matt, also great advice.
I just used Crucial to scan my PCs and it recommends getting 2gb for both of them.
Would this be safe to go for or should 1gb be sufficient, I'd rather go to the max as long as it wouldn't be a waste.
The battery is on Ebay for £27.80, do you think this is risky?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Battery-For-ACER-TravelMate-4000-4100-4500-4600-4400mAh_W0QQitemZ390075962748Q...
Thanks
matt_2k34
Grafter
Posts: 1,300
Registered: ‎09-07-2007

Re: DDR Ram & laptop battery

ebay price looks much better 😉 and it says its new so should be fine
Personally i put 2gb in for xp, vista id 3+, win7 id recommend 2 or more Smiley
What do you use the machines for ? just light browsing emails, office stuff 1 gb should be sufficient
Lots of apps running simultaneously, games, or heavy browsing pages (lots of flash, games etc.) then 1.5 / 2 would be better Smiley
dgreen007
Grafter
Posts: 169
Registered: ‎05-03-2008

Re: DDR Ram & laptop battery

At any one time there may be several programs running.
A typical example is: Outlook, Internet explorer, Skype, AVG, norton ghost, active sync, adaware, bit torrent.
It seems to take a long time to boot anyway and then ages to load individual programs even when the PC has been fully booted.
matt_2k34
Grafter
Posts: 1,300
Registered: ‎09-07-2007

Re: DDR Ram & laptop battery

a quick google just told me the memory limit of both machines is 2gb,
Putting 2gb in each will improve things dramatically, if it was me id put two in - but i do tend to just fill each machine, id rather have too much than to have too little Smiley
dgreen007
Grafter
Posts: 169
Registered: ‎05-03-2008

Re: DDR Ram & laptop battery

Matt, I agree, that's the way I was thinking, ok done !
Does this look like the right ram for the Dell Dimension 1100
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/114484

matt_2k34
Grafter
Posts: 1,300
Registered: ‎09-07-2007

Re: DDR Ram & laptop battery

Yep looks about right
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/55295
Is only 8p more though and is from a major brand 😉
also as its over 50 quid its free postage from ebuyer, altho in honesty im suprised that DDR is so expensive, i guess its just not as popular as it used to be ! Smiley
dgreen007
Grafter
Posts: 169
Registered: ‎05-03-2008

Re: DDR Ram & laptop battery

thanks,
Can you find the equivalent brand for a DELL Optiplex GX260
it's a PC2100.
Be3G
Grafter
Posts: 6,111
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: DDR Ram & laptop battery

Quote from: Matt_2k34
also as its over 50 quid its free postage from ebuyer, altho in honesty im suprised that DDR is so expensive, i guess its just not as popular as it used to be ! Smiley

RAM prices are going up across the board unfortunately... I want some RAM for my Mac and every time I look at Crucial to check the price it's gone up. Sad
By the way, just a general tip to the OP and anyone else... when buying RAM I always tend to go for whatever's the most cost-effective to buy unless there's a particular reason for not doing so. So, for example, if 1GB is £10, 2GB is £15 and 4GB is £40, I'd go for the 2GB unless I knew I definitely wanted 4GB right now.
matt_2k34
Grafter
Posts: 1,300
Registered: ‎09-07-2007

Re: DDR Ram & laptop battery

you can use PC3200 in a PC2100 slot .. the main reason for doing this would be cause i cant find 2gb for a decent price compared with that kingston set Smiley
Be3G has a good point also, but its also a benefit to buy a kit if the machine in question supports dual channel - but i was trying to keep things simples ! Tongue
dgreen007
Grafter
Posts: 169
Registered: ‎05-03-2008

Re: DDR Ram & laptop battery

ok, so I can buy the Kingston 2GB sets for both my machines - Thanks
shutter
Community Veteran
Posts: 22,206
Thanks: 3,769
Fixes: 65
Registered: ‎06-11-2007

Re: DDR Ram & laptop battery

After you have filled up the ram, you could also give them a clean up, using CCleaner. ...... run it a couple of times, then go to the Registry cleaner (also on ccleaner) and do a couple of runs on that.... could help with speeding up the boot, etc.