Help to speed up computer

T

Tigger

New Member
I have a Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop and would like to help it "speed" up a little bit. My limited knowledge of computers tells me that if I upgrade my RAM, I can help the computer in areas such as running multiple programs consecutively. Is this correct?

If so, can you suggest what I should purchase? I have performed a small internet search and found several locations to buy 1GB of RAM for about $50. Is this a good price, is there a specific vendor or brand that I should consider?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Regards,
Steven
 
Yeah, adding more RAM to your laptop will help you out, but you'll have to make sure it's the right type of RAM, download CPU-Z and look in the memory tab and tell us everything it says, or take a screenshot :P

That way we'll be able to help you find the best RAM :D
 
hi, its best to look at your space on your hard drive(s) first and see what you can free up. also do reguler disk cleanups and defragmenting.

if that fails, you can look around for your local computer fair and go to them and they will give you the best memory for a lower price than most commercial stores.

hope this helps:)
 
There is more than buy program or ram to speed up your computer.

1st and most important: How long has you OS been installed? More than 1.5 years? If so I would save the stuff you want to save ona cd or dvd and reformat. Not just reinstall, reformat. This will get all the cob webs out of the system, and you wont need to worry about adware and viruses and crap.

2nd: I would try to get the computer closer to 2gb of ram (make sure it is the right ram as stated above).

3rd: DONT install Norton or Mcafee, they use up WAY to much resources.. Ask for a recomendation here, as the programs are always changing (I dont use antivirus, and havent gotten anything in a long time)

4th: Make sure the laptop is able to breath, blow out the dust.

5th:Only install software you need installed. AND only allow computer to startup that you actually want running. I always wondered why AOL was needing to always run in the background. That Quicktime icon doesnt need to be there. Anything running in the tray is taking form your computers performance.

6th:Make sure the computer is up to date from MS, and SP2 is installed(WINXP).

Good luck, this should show a noticable difference... Let us know if you need help with anything.
 
OK, I did the CPU Z download and ran the program. I did a screen shot of it, but it was 6MB and I thought that might be a bit large to post on here. So I have inputted the data below.

I also did some clean up on the computer and ran the disk defrag.

Thanks for all of your help to get me to this point.

Should I add more RAM, if so what type. Thanks.

On the CPU Z memory tab:
General: Type - DDR2, Size - 512 MB, Channels# - Single
Timings: Frequency - 266.3 MHz, FSB:DRAM - 5:8, CAS# latency (tCL) 4.0 clocks, RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRCD) - 4 clocks, RAS# Precharge (tRP) - 4 clocks, Cycle Time (tRAS) 11 clocks, Bank Cycle Time (tRC) - 16 clocks.

If more information would help, I will be glad to try and find it.

Thanks again.
 
DDR2 533 RAM to be exact... But how is an 2GHz Core 2 Duo "slow"?

Wait... ouch... 2x 256MB in Dual Channel mode... ow..

Budget?
 
???? Budget

I am willing to spend a couple hundred dollars on the unit, if it is worth it and will improve the performance. However, I do not care to spend so much that I could buy a new computer and get the same results. This computer was bought in early 2006, so I am not really ready to buy a new one, but would if necessary.

So can I change out the two 256s with two 1GBs?

Thanks again.
 
Tigger said:
I am willing to spend a couple hundred dollars on the unit, if it is worth it and will improve the performance. However, I do not care to spend so much that I could buy a new computer and get the same results. This computer was bought in early 2006, so I am not really ready to buy a new one, but would if necessary.

So can I change out the two 256s with two 1GBs?

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Yes you can...

An couple hundred?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231118
 
what RAM

p5n32

When I am looking for the RAM, do I just need to look for DDR2, or is there more to it?

Thanks.
 
Thanks for the website Oscaryu1. I think I will be buying the two 1GBs and installing them.

I will let you know how it does afterwards.
 
Yes tigger, Newegg is awesome and your merchandise arrives surprisingly quick, especially if you are on the east cost!
I have used them for quite a few custom builds and they are far superior to any other site as far as price and customer service. Newegg is simply the best. It has come to the point where I wont even waste my time looking anywhere else, their selection and extremely competitive prices are unmatched anywhere.

NEWEGG RULES!
 
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