Questions about memory upgrade 1 -> 2 GB

[Tobi1982]

Hi guys!

I consider upgrading my memory from 1 -> 2GB, and I have 2 questions about this:

1) Will it improve my gaming performance even in games which should not demand 2 GB? I'm very statisfied with my system's overall performance, but in some games, even older ones, I sometimes get halts of 0.1s or so. I guess these do not come from the graphics, as my graphics card is pretty powerfull, rather from too small memory in combination with the relatively slow HDD.

2) Can I buy any DDR2 SO-DIMM or are there compatibility issues with certain brands? Here in Germany, for example Kingston Value Ram, MDT, A-Data and Corsair are sold a lot, besides some noname-products. Any experiences or suggestions?

Greets,
Tobi

[PhoenixFx]

I think going from 1 to 2GB you’ll notice a considerable boost in overall system performance + gaming. So I’d say go for it. As long as you get standard 200PIN DDR2 SODIMMS matching your exisisting RAM speed you should be fine. Corsair and Kingston are very good brands, don’t know about MDT, A-DATA is cheap buy ok I guess.

[Tobi1982]

Thank you for your answer!

OK, when upgrading, I'd also go from 533 to 667 MHz, which should be fine on my Inspiron 9400, as the difference in price is tiny.

BTW: What do you in the US pay for notebook memory? Here, a 1GB module DDR2 667MHz costs about 60$ (45€), some are cheaper, very good ones more expensive.

[PhoenixFx]

I’m not from U.S, but the average price for branded 1GB module in U.S starts from $35 upwards (check out the prices at newegg.com, a very popular american site).
Buy the same speed as your existing memory module(you can buy a faster one, but both will run at the speed of the slower one).

[Tobi1982]

Computer Hardware seems to be a lot cheaper in the US, thats kinda annoying for us in Europe... My notebook including wireless mouse, AIO printer and 2 years at-home service was 1600€ last October (at today's currency rate about 2130$), here in the forum I read about prices far below 2k $ for similar configurations at that time.
But with all shipping costs and customs, I guess it's not cheaper to buy from the USA (if possible at all, see Dell).

I have to change both modules anyway, because I have 2x512MB installed right now.