Lately, a few forces have come together to make this a very good time for adding RAM:
- Most RAM is dirt-cheap right now. We're upgrading a bunch of Sony laptops (1-2 years old) from 512MB to 2GB of RAM for a customer, and it's costing them less than $85 per system for the parts (the labor's free for them, since they're a Managed IT customer). These same sticks of RAM would have cost $200-$250 just a year or so ago.
- Are you on Vista yet? We're not really recommending "the leap" due to lingering compatibility issues (which is another blog post in itself), but that said I have it running on a laptop of mine. I just upgraded the RA M from 1GB to 2GB, and my experience with the thing has gone from about a 5-out-of-10, to an 8 or 9. I seriously think it's the fastest web-surfing computer I have, including desktops and even a Linux workstation.
- Even if you're not yet running Vista, you might have Office 2007. With its highly-interactive interface (full top-of-screen toolbar changeouts instead of dropdown menu-driven functions), Office 2007 is an app that will benefit from more RAM. Same with the newer versions of any Adobe product. If you're using Illustrator, Photoshop or even Acrobat Standard/Pro without having at least 1GB of RAM, you're probably wasting valuable time waiting for your computer.
Strike while the iron is hot right now, because it won't stay that way. As your computer ages and the RAM spec goes out of date, less of that RAM is manufactured and it becomes more expensive to make, and for distribution to stock. For example, RAM for computers from 2005 (usually single-DDR) or earlier is a bit more expensive than newer computers' RAM. That's the bad news; the even worse news is that it'll only get more expensive as less and less of that RAM is produced.
Not sure what RAM to get? E-mail pete@foxtrotsystems.com with your computer make and model (with full computer part number, if possible) and we will get you the guaranteed-compatible RAM for your system.
4 comments:
But can I add RAM to my laptop? Do I need to send it to you to do it? What about processing speed, I thought that was what was slowing me up? How do I know why my 5 year old computer is slowing up when it is starting up?
Although laptop RAM has usually been considerably more expensive than desktop RAM, right now (depending on make/model of your laptop) the prices are pretty close right now.
Processing speed has *some* to do with slowness, but it's less to do with model (2.4GHz versus 1.8GHZ) than it is to do with generation (Pentium 4, Pentium 3, etc.). Pentium-3-or-older computers are probably about at the end of their useful lives, so it won't make much sense to upgrade them. Pentium 4 or newer upgrades might make sense, depending on how the computer's working in general, etc.
As for the startup slowness, there are a few key things to check. I will do a post in the next week or two on what/how to check. Thanks for the idea!!
Pete,
I too am having big problems with a laptop with extraordinary slow boot & startup times. I'm looking forward to your forthcoming post about what can be done.
What I'm doing in the meantime is adding RAM. What's your take on the website crucial.com? Are you familiar with the site and how reliable do you believe their recommendations to be? I just don't want to plunk down $170 for RAM upgrades for something that might not be compatible with my motherboard.
Thanks
Crucial is one of the biggest RAM makers out there. I would consider their site to be as close to 100% accurate as you'll find. If you want other competitive-and-accurate options, you might also check Kingston, SimpleTech, or Corsair. Or e-mail me and I can money-back-guarantee compatibility through my configurator (not a publicly-available one).
Your point about being "out" the $170 is well taken, though, as RAM almost always non-returnable. You definitely want to make sure you've got the make/model as right as it can be.
Thanks for the reminder about the speedup tips. I'll put that in the to-blog hopper!
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