cheap RAM

fedupconsumer

looking to upgrade the RAM on my laptop toshiba satellite series L300 where is the cheapest place to get either a 1 or 2 gb RAM module? thanks in advance

fedupconsumer

Thanks a lot cheapest 1gb ram i could find was £11.71 including delivery, play.com are certainly the most competitive. Its the first time I have upgraded my ram myself how easy is it and tips would be appreciated.

DatabaseError

very easy.
tips? don't lose any of the little screws! maybe put them in a bowl for safe keeping (I do!)

AHAR

You can download the manual from here. It has a section on adding memory.
Have you found out whether both memory slots are occupied?

macman

fedupconsumer wrote: »

looking to upgrade the RAM on my laptop toshiba satellite series L300 where is the cheapest place to get either a 1 or 2 gb RAM module? thanks in advance

Use the crucial.com memory scanner to ensure you get the right RAM. You don't have to buy there (they're good, but not the cheapest) but it's a useful tool.

rmg1

Hi all

I'm also looking to upgrade RAM from 1GB.
This is the results of the Crucial scan:
Maximum Memory Capacity: 2048MB
Currently Installed Memory: 1GB
Available Memory Slots: 0
Number of Banks: 2
Dual Channel Support: No
CPU Manufacturer: AuthenticAMD
CPU Family: AMD Sempron(tm) 2400+ Model 8, Stepping 1
CPU Speed: 1666 MHz

But now I'm stuck on the best to get from the Play.com website (link here)
One of the modules in my machine is actually a 1GB stick but it's only being recognised as a 512MB as it's dual channel (or something)

All advice greatly appreciated.

Donnie

Don't purchase anything just yet. Can you download and run CPU-Z?

You can post the info about the Motherboard and Memory/SPD.

Ignore my earlier recommendation, it is based on a different model.



CPU-Z does not need to be installed. Just unzip the files in a directory and run the .exe. In order to remove the program, just delete the files.

A possible reason why your 1 GB RAM module is being recognised as 512MB could be that High Density memory is installed. But since you have written that it is your first time upgrading, that doesn't make sense either.
Either way, you require Low Density memory.

vodkandredbull

fedupconsumer wrote: »

Thanks a lot cheapest 1gb ram i could find was £11.71 including delivery, play.com are certainly the most competitive. Its the first time I have upgraded my ram myself how easy is it and tips would be appreciated.

You know when you get a static shock? Thats annoying for you but deadly for ram and other chips.

Touch something metal and grounded (cold tap, bare metal of the radiator,) to ensure you get rid of any static buildup and dont walk around holding the chip

CrazyCod

Thanks to the OP for creating this thread.

I too have been thinking of adding additional memory to my laptop. Currently I have 1GB installed with a a further 1GB slot unused. Never done this sort of this before & am curious as to what sort of benefit i'll get from upgrading to 2GB memory. Any comments ?

From crucial.com (thx to previous poster) what I need is -

1GB 200-pin SODIMM DDR2 PC2-5300

Will this do from play.com ? Link http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/-/2164/1431/-/3435850/Corsair-VS1GSDS667D2-Value-Select-PC2-5300-1GB-667MHz-DDR2-200pin-SODIMM-Computer-Memory/Product.html?searchtype=genre

Thanks in advance.

rmg1

Donnie wrote: »

Don't purchase anything just yet. Can you download and run CPU-Z?

You can post the info about the Motherboard and Memory/SPD.

Ignore my earlier recommendation, it is based on a different model.



CPU-Z does not need to be installed. Just unzip the files in a directory and run the .exe. In order to remove the program, just delete the files.

A possible reason why your 1 GB RAM module is being recognised as 512MB could be that High Density memory is installed. But since you have written that it is your first time upgrading, that doesn't make sense either.
Either way, you require Low Density memory.

Hi Donnie

Thanks for that. I did upgrade to what I thought would be 1.5GB from 512MB but the 1GB stick is high-density (as I found out later).
I'm looking to swap that out for a 1GB Low-Density stick (if there is such a thing.
OK - if I'm reading the CPU-Z thing correctly, that says I have 1536MB of DDR installed (on the memory tab). On the SPD tab, Slot 1 says 1024MB and slot 2 says 512MB

If that's the case, why does the Properties tab on System Properties only shows 1GB?
If it makes life easier, here's the HTML dump from the same program:-

CPU-Z 1.50 report file
Processor(s) Number of processors 1
Number of cores 1 per processor
Number of threads 1 per processor
Name AMD Sempron
Code Name Thoroughbred
Specification AMD Sempron(tm) 2400+
Package Socket A (462)
Family/Model/Stepping 6.8.1
Extended Family/Model 7.8
Core Stepping B0
Technology 0.13 um
Core Speed 1666.7 MHz
Multiplier x Bus speed 10.0 x 166.7 MHz
Rated Bus speed 333.3 MHz
Instruction sets MMX (+), 3DNow! (+), SSE
L1 Data cache (per processor) 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache (per processor) 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache (per processor) 256 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Chipset & Memory Northbridge VIA KM400 rev. 00
Southbridge VIA VT8237 rev. 00
Graphic Interface AGP
AGP Revision 2.0
AGP Transfer Rate 4x
AGP Side Band Addressing supported, enabled
Memory Type DDR
Memory Size 1536 MBytes
Memory Frequency 166.7 MHz (1:1)
DRAM Interleave 4-way
CAS# Latency (tCL) 2.5 clocks
RAS# to CAS# (tRCD) 5 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 3 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) 7 clocks
System System Manufacturer Tiny Computers
System Name KM266-8237
System S/N Mainboard Vendor MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD
Mainboard Model MS-7061
BIOS Vendor Phoenix Technologies, LTD
BIOS Version 6.00 PG
BIOS Date 07/28/2004
Memory SPD Module 1 DDR, PC3200 (200 MHz), 1024 MBytes, unknown brand
Module 2 DDR, PC3200 (200 MHz), 512 MBytes, Micron Technology
Software Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 (Build 2600)
DirectX Version 9.0c

Hope it makes more sense to you than to me!!!

AHAR

rmg1 wrote: »

If that's the case, why does the Properties tab on System Properties only shows 1GB?

All I can think of is that you're using the integrated graphics on the motherboard and it's set to use 512MB. If so, you should be able to reduce that in the BIOS.

Edit: The product spec on MSI's site mentions you can only assign up to 64MB. So...um....

What does it say amount memory on the Performance tab in the Task Manager?