Laptop Upgrade

[JackSkellington]

Hi,

I currently have an Acer Aspire 3000 that is running dog slow due to the amount of RAM only 256 of PC2700 and the hardisk. I'm looking to buy to sticks of 1GB but not sure if it is best to stick with 2700 or go to PC3200 and upgrade the hardisk to a Hitachi Travelstar 7K100 80GB Hard Drive are there any advantages/disadvantages with what I intend to do?

Thanks

Jack

 

[kestrel1]

There's not difference in price for the PC3200, so I would use that. What size & speed is your current hard drive?
I would think that installing a new HD would be a good idea also. You could always get an external caddy to place your existing drive into, so that you can use it for back-up's etc.

 

[ski]

First, check your system for viruses, remove any spyware, and shut down all unnecessary programs that are running in the background(Note: an antivirus program can slow things down considerably).
If it's still running slow, then installing additional RAM can speed things up if all of your current RAM is being used during normal usage. 3200 is faster than 2700 if the former is compatible with your system. Also, make sure that 1 GB modules are compatible.
If your current HD is filled or nearly filled, then a larger HD is recommended.

 

[kestrel1]

From the info available 1GB of PC3200 sticks are compatible. not sure if you can use two though.

 

[JackSkellington]

HD is only 20gb and running at 4200RPM

 

[kestrel1]

Upgrading the HD is a must. Not sure you will get the full benifite from the faster drive, this will depend on your mobo. Check in the manual, to see the fastest that the mobo will take. You can still install that drive, but it may be reduced in speed.