Upgrading Memory in a Laptop??

[Chet Swanson]

I have a Dell Inspiron 1150 laptop that has on 512MB ram, 2-256MB sticks. (Please don’t laugh – grin). Obviously by the time I have Windows XP, and MS Office 2003 programs, plus others running, the machine is very slow.

Can’t afford a new laptop yet, so I want to upgrade the memory to 1GB. I’ve found compatible memory at Crucial, and will check some other memory sites.

My question, which will run better, 1-1GB stick with an open slot, or 2-512MB sticks?

Thanks,

Chet

[PrntRhd]

It takes two 512MB chips max, Not a 1024MB chip
Each memory slot can hold DDR PC2700 with a maximum of 512MB per slot.*
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Inspiron+1100+Series

[Fruss Tray Ted]

According to CNET (http://reviews.cnet.com/Dell_Inspiron_1150/4507-3121_7-30836485.html?tag=sub) the max memory is 1 gig. Putting 1 gig in 1 slot may not be a good idea because it may not recognize a stick of that size.


Edit:

Prnthd, you toe stepper! Get to the back of the line where you belong!

[Chet Swanson]

Interesting, when you run the Crucial website's memory advisor (The Crucial System Scanner (www.crucial.com/index.asp) it recommends 2GB maximum, with 1GB in each slot.

And on that results page it says each slot, "can old DDR PC2700 with a maximum of 1GB per slot." Of couse then it says not to exceel manufacturer supported memory. But if you go through the "3-step" process to find the memory, it dos say a max of 1GB.

So, it's better to go with 2-512MB sticks rather than 1-1GB stick?

[Chet Swanson]

Oops, dumb question, "So, it's better to go with 2-512MB sticks rather than 1-1GB stick?"

Since each slot can only support 512MB that's the only way to accomplish the 1GB

[Paul Komski]

I upgraded the RAM on a Dell Laptop not long ago. Just to point out that it was pretty expensive in the first place and in the second place that I had to disassemble the laptop to get at the second slot. The first slot was easily accessible. Yours may not be the same of course but do have a look around the web or on Dell support to check how awkward it might or might not be for your model. You might want to consider 1x1gig stick swapped for one of the 256's if there is one accessible and one awkward slot or just one 512 if, as it appears, is all each slot can support.

[rond36]

Do you have the users manual (http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1150/en/F7573a01.pdf) for your Inspiron 1150 laptop? Pages 68, 69, and 70 give instructions for removing and installing memory, and page 80 gives you the memory specs.

[Paul Komski]

Looks so straightforward compared to where the second module was on my Dell Inspiron 7000 (http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/pcyc/6086c.pdf) (see p92).