Upgrading an old laptop

[og954]

I have an old Toshiba M55-S325 laptop I bought in 2005 and I was wondering if it would be worth upgrading the memory from 512MB to 1524MB. It currently has one 512MB integrated and I have the option of buying a 1GB stick for 30 off of Amazon. My question is would I see an improvement in usability? Keep in mind we only use this laptop for web surfing and basic word processing/spreadsheets.

 

[creativebluedot]

Hi there! You should see a bit of improvement when you add more RAM to your laptop. More RAM will help lessen the amount of CPU load and also prevent the hard drive from being accessed constantly.

 

[Lord Captivus]

Adding RAM is allways good, cant go wrong with that!
For $30, ill do it.

 

[Alabalcho]

Just make sure your laptop can take 1GB sticks. But - if you can spend a little bit more, replacing your hard disk will give you better results (even hybrid drive like Momentum XT).

 

[geofelt]

Adding ram will fix one problem you probably have. With ram prices so low, $30 seems a bit high for 1gb. I would expect half that. Go to a ram web site, like kingston, and access their ram upgrade configurator. Enter your laptop model number, and you will get a list of compatible ram upgrades. Try newegg for prices too.

If your laptop has a sata hard drive, you can absolutely transform it by replacing the hard drive with a SSD.

 

[dextermat]

hi, the laptop support max 1.5 go memory, but be sure it has similar specs to the one already installed

http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/toshiba-satellite-m55-s325/4507-3121_7-31439169.html

you need ddr 333.0 MHz / PC2700 might wanna check if it's single or double sided.

 

[geekapproved]

Adding ram will fix one problem you probably have. With ram prices so low, $30 seems a bit high for 1gb. I would expect half that. Go to a ram web site, like kingston, and access their ram upgrade configurator. Enter your laptop model number, and you will get a list of compatible ram upgrades. Try newegg for prices too.

If your laptop has a sata hard drive, you can absolutely transform it by replacing the hard drive with a SSD.

Older ram that isn't mass produced anymore is always more expensive than current ram.

 

[og954]

I just checked out the Kingston web site and they don't even have that type of RAM anymore.

This is the RAM I am going to get.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AY3E9U/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Thank you for all the advice.

 

[og954]

The hard disk upgrade sounds interesting. But since SSD are so expensive I think it might be an over improvement since the laptop is pretty old.

Anyways the following is the hard disk info taken straight from the owner's manual.

Mass Storage
•
100GB (5400 RPM) Enhanced IDE (ATA-6) hard disk drive;
8.0mm height; user removable

Is SSD still an option?

How about any other upgrades?

 

[geofelt]

The hard disk upgrade sounds interesting. But since SSD are so expensive I think it might be an over improvement since the laptop is pretty old.

Anyways the following is the hard disk info taken straight from the owner's manual.

Mass Storage
•
100GB (5400 RPM) Enhanced IDE (ATA-6) hard disk drive;
8.0mm height; user removable

Is SSD still an option?

How about any other upgrades?

Too bad, a ssd replacement is not reasonable for you. There used to be some ide based SSD's but they were expensive.
ide 5400rpm is a very slow performer.

I think it is time to replace the laptop.
There are some good sales going on to clear the way for ivy bridge.
Check the lenovo outlet store.

 

[game junky]

Biggest improvement for user experience would be an SSD but since that isn't an option you can at least improve the responsiveness when using multiple applications by upgrading the RAM. I too agree that it might be worth it to look at a laptop upgrade if you really want increased performance. Dell had a sale on their outlet and I snagged several E6220s w/ 128 GB SSDs for under $600 each - frackin beautiful.