New Laptop Owner Needs Help

ReddeRick · 09-28-2005, 03:43 AM

Hello Everybody,
I just bought a new laptop, a customizable Compaq v2000z, w/1.6ghz sempron 2800+, 256mb pc2700 memory, 40gig 4200rpm, built in video with shared memory, built in wireless and I think that covers the basics. This model appealed to me because of #1: the price, $599 new, #2: the price, #3: has a 14" wxga making it a bit more portable but large enough to use for long periods of time and it weighed under 5.5lbs because i must take it to school and back 5 times a week. My first question is is this a good laptop for simply going to school and back? Secondly and more importantly i want to upgrade the memory. From what ive seen Newegg.com has the best deals. The laptop can support up to 2gig worth of memory. I want to have at least 1 gig in there when im all done with it. Is this laptop nice enough to bother putting in two gigs of ram? does the performance boost from adding ram drop off above say around a gig in a system like this? if i put in a stick of 512mb with my 256mb that came with it does it slow a little because they are of a different size? Guess thats about it. Your help is appreciated.

Johnnyboy0056 · 09-28-2005, 04:33 AM

well, the sempron processor is a poor processor, but fine for normal word documents and such for school. this processor will not like games and apps that demand higher end parts. microsoft word, powerpoint, etc. will work fine.

as for the ram, it wont slow down because of the different sizes of ram, but if ur gonna put, i say save a little money and just get another 256, because it is the processor that is really going to hold u back, and u prob wont see a difference for what ur using the comp for if u go up to a gig of ram.

alanuofm · 09-28-2005, 04:38 AM

Quote:

well, the sempron processor is a poor processor, but fine for normal word documents and such for school. this processor will not like games and apps that demand higher end parts. microsoft word, powerpoint, etc. will work fine.

have you ever used a sempron processor?

computerhakk · 09-28-2005, 04:40 AM

true.. if you are just using it for school and what not.. its not really necessary to have 1GB in it.. 512 is sufficient enough for everyday use.. when you do look for memory.. its always best to buy same brand, speed, and type of memory to ensure 100% comapatibility.. however, there are also others(by brand, speed, etc..) that are cheaper and will work also. it will depend on you.. as long as ur not doing gaming.. unless ur majoring in "graphic" then you might consider more memory..

Johnnyboy0056 · 09-28-2005, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alanuofm

have you ever used a sempron processor?

yes, i have used a sempron processor, and a celeron, and a pentium 3 and 4 and an athlon. personally, i feel that the sempron is a processor that will work for him, but not a good processor for anything past powerpoint, acrobat and lower end gaming and such. i think that this is why his computer was a good price and i think he wont have a problem with the processors performance.

j0hn00 · 09-28-2005, 11:55 AM

I have the same notebook... and if I were you, I'd get another 512MB to go along with the installed 256MB, considering 128MB will be allocated to video.

09-28-2005, 03:43 AM	#1 (permalink)
ReddeRick New Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Age: 25 Posts: 1	New Laptop Owner Needs Help Hello Everybody, I just bought a new laptop, a customizable Compaq v2000z, w/1.6ghz sempron 2800+, 256mb pc2700 memory, 40gig 4200rpm, built in video with shared memory, built in wireless and I think that covers the basics. This model appealed to me because of #1: the price, $599 new, #2: the price, #3: has a 14" wxga making it a bit more portable but large enough to use for long periods of time and it weighed under 5.5lbs because i must take it to school and back 5 times a week. My first question is is this a good laptop for simply going to school and back? Secondly and more importantly i want to upgrade the memory. From what ive seen Newegg.com has the best deals. The laptop can support up to 2gig worth of memory. I want to have at least 1 gig in there when im all done with it. Is this laptop nice enough to bother putting in two gigs of ram? does the performance boost from adding ram drop off above say around a gig in a system like this? if i put in a stick of 512mb with my 256mb that came with it does it slow a little because they are of a different size? Guess thats about it. Your help is appreciated.

09-28-2005, 04:33 AM	#2 (permalink)
Johnnyboy0056 Platinum Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Miami, Florida Age: 23 Posts: 666	well, the sempron processor is a poor processor, but fine for normal word documents and such for school. this processor will not like games and apps that demand higher end parts. microsoft word, powerpoint, etc. will work fine. as for the ram, it wont slow down because of the different sizes of ram, but if ur gonna put, i say save a little money and just get another 256, because it is the processor that is really going to hold u back, and u prob wont see a difference for what ur using the comp for if u go up to a gig of ram. __________________ John G. :rolleyes: Sweet Ride- By Me, For Me :) ____________________________________________ ATX Clear Side Tower with 500 Watt Power Supply EPoX 5NVA+sli Motherboard Intel Pentium 4 CPU 3.40 GHz 1 GB DDR2 RAM (2 x 512 MB) Seagate 160 GB HDD w/ SATA Connection ATI Radeon X700 PCI Express Video Card

09-28-2005, 04:40 AM	#4 (permalink)
computerhakk VIP Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: THOJhakk county Posts: 3,635	true.. if you are just using it for school and what not.. its not really necessary to have 1GB in it.. 512 is sufficient enough for everyday use.. when you do look for memory.. its always best to buy same brand, speed, and type of memory to ensure 100% comapatibility.. however, there are also others(by brand, speed, etc..) that are cheaper and will work also. it will depend on you.. as long as ur not doing gaming.. unless ur majoring in "graphic" then you might consider more memory.. __________________ "Remember, wrong advice may be worse than no advice at all." ::COMPUTERHAKK:::

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09-28-2005, 11:55 AM	#6 (permalink)
j0hn00 Gold Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 324	I have the same notebook... and if I were you, I'd get another 512MB to go along with the installed 256MB, considering 128MB will be allocated to video.