Adding RAM to aging computer; worth it?

[Emil Svensson]

This question falls into several categories, so if there's a place where you think it'd be better suited, just move it.

Now, my dad's computer is from 2005. It's a Fujitsu-Siemens Scaleo L. He's not interested in buying anything new as of right now, seeing as how A.) it's never given him any hassle so he's quite fond of it, and B.) it's not a big priority
money-wise right now.

That being said, he's sitting on 256 MB of RAM, which in this day an age is nothing. Even so, I've made sure to tweak his computer and install programs with small memory footprints, which alleviates the problem, to a point.
Furthermore, he's not doing anything too heavy himself. Web surfing, Spotify, audio editing in a rather lightweight program. That kind of stuff. Still, 256 MB is 256 MB, and when he's using multiple programs, things tend to get bogged down. Here are the important specs courtesy of CPU-Z: http://i.imgur.com/Zugmq5q.png

My question is a two-parter of sorts:

1. I was thinking about getting 2x1 GB of never-used RAM for cheap off of a friend to use in my dad's computer. More specifically:

DDR-DIMM-400 Corsair Value Select (PC3200/400MHz CL3)
Memory Configuration - Dual Channel
184-pin

Is this compatible with his motherboard?

2. Assuming it is; will he see any noticeable improvement, or is the processor too much of a bottleneck? My sister has an Asus laptop with a 2 GHz Celeron processor and 3 GB of RAM and it's leagues faster than my dad's
computer. Then again that might have to do with the type of RAM she's got, as well.

Thanks a million in advance!

 

[tracerbullet]

Ram should fit: http://uk.ts.fujitsu.com/rl/service...s/motherboards/Fujitsu/D1520/Man_D1520_uk.pdf 184 pin, DDR, board can take up to 1GB / slot. It might downclock it but it can do that on its own.

I think adding RAM will be a big improvement, yes. 256MB is skimping, even as far back as Win98 and especially if he has XP installed.

If you find a cheap SSD, the combo will be like a new computer.

 

[tweakboy]

Ram should fit: http://uk.ts.fujitsu.com/rl/service...s/motherboards/Fujitsu/D1520/Man_D1520_uk.pdf 184 pin, DDR, board can take up to 1GB / slot. It might downclock it but it can do that on its own.

I think adding RAM will be a big improvement, yes. 256MB is skimping, even as far back as Win98 and especially if he has XP installed.

If you find a cheap SSD, the combo will be like a new computer.

TRUE!

 

[GotNoRice]

My sister has an Asus laptop with a 2 GHz Celeron processor and 3 GB of RAM and it's leagues faster than my dad's
computer.

The Celeron brand has been very widely used. The celeron in your dad's computer is based on the Northwood Pentium 4 architecture from ~10+ years ago. A newer Celeron based on the Core architecture would run circles around it, even at the same clock-speed.

It should still be worth it to upgrade the memory, but the computer is very close to the end of the road.

It looks like your computer only has IDE, not SATA, which would essentially preclude an SSD upgrade unless you also added in a PCI SATA controller card.

 

[tweakboy]

Yes and also drop in a SSD , and comp will come alive..... gl

 

[Gronnie]

I saved my parents old computer doing something very similar. Adding a couple gigs of RAM made it MUCH more responsive.

 

[tracerbullet]

It looks like your computer only has IDE, not SATA, which would essentially preclude an SSD upgrade unless you also added in a PCI SATA controller card.

Very true, I knew that but didn't even think of it.

 

[thescreensavers]

http://www.crucial.com/store/listpar...su&model=D1520

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rder=BESTMATCH


I wouldn't spend much more than that into that computer. Its indeed very very old. Anything ~400 range for example would run circles around even with a 100 mile head start lol vs The 2.4gz Celeron

Some more info - http://doc.chipfind.ru/pdf/fujitsu/d1520.pdf

 

[Sheep221]

The Celeron brand has been very widely used. The celeron in your dad's computer is based on the Northwood Pentium 4 architecture from ~10+ years ago. A newer Celeron based on the Core architecture would run circles around it, even at the same clock-speed.

It should still be worth it to upgrade the memory, but the computer is very close to the end of the road.

It looks like your computer only has IDE, not SATA, which would essentially preclude an SSD upgrade unless you also added in a PCI SATA controller card.

My Athlon XP 2500 rig bought in January 2004 had SATA, so his 2005 for sure has SATA ports.
Adding at least 2 gigs of RAM, SSD, and possibly updating bios to add support for, and get Core2(in the case he has LGA775 not PGA478 mobo) could breath a new life to that computer, but still it would be only usable for office and internet as the core2 line is also quite old and obsolete.

So I really think that buying the computer from cheapest components today, would bring you like 10 times higher performance for half of the price.

 

[thescreensavers]

^ The Fujitsu D1520 does not have SATA

 

[Drsignguy]

The memory will help out especially when surfing the web and doing the Lightweight stuff you mentioned. But because of its age, ( and as I am sure you are aware) don't expect too much out of an outdated lappy.

 

[spaceman]

sorry man, for whatever u spent on ram u could spend a bit more and get an antique off cl. thats at least dual core and likely has 8x the mem
or scrounge around, find something that needs fixing, something anything
that thing needs to go in the bin, i can and have told dad the same thing bc i refused to service it anymore with his 2003 dell, theres cheap and then theres ridiculous

 

[DominionSeraph]

Yes, RAM will help.
Two years ago I was stuck on a 2.4GHz Northwood Celeron/512MB machine for a few months and, even on a clean install of XP with no antivirus, it was really hard not to get into the swapfile. It was basically limited to 1 tab when browsing. Most websites have bloated to 2x the size they were back then, and you have less than half the RAM of that system available for programs. If you can get that DDR for cheap ($10-15), it would breathe new life into the system.
I wouldn't spend any more than that. That system is worth $50 no matter how much RAM you put in it, and you can get a dual-core system for around $100.

 

[spaceman]

even with 2gb its going to be a dog
sure it might zip with a window open but
sure as hell not alot more
its sadism using that machine today

 

[Drsignguy]

even with 2gb its going to be a dog
sure it might zip with a window open but
sure as hell not alot more
its sadism using that machine today

Though I have to agree with you about an aged Laptop, You have to remember what he said about his dad. He only does lightweight stuff and hasn't given him any troubles so, for now anyway, Ram will suffice until his next laptop. Because that is what it will have to take.

 

[VirtualLarry]

If it's cheap, then why not throw it in. It would give the PC (laptop?) a new lease on life, and perhaps he would be able to browse web sites that he is not currently able to, because of lack of RAM. I'm a firm believer in maxing out PCs whenever possible in the RAM dept. (well, money permitting), it makes them usable longer (unless the mobo is shot), and then I tend to give away my older single-core machines to people that could use them.

2GB is enough to run Win 7 64-bit without too much issue, as long as you limit your multi-tasking a bit.

 

[Emil Svensson]

Re: sadism I used to think that way too, but I've had to reassess my position on it because, difficult though it was for me to accept, there are people who have very different demands compared to me, and also don't really mind if things aren't super snappy.

Re: SATA As mentioned, I don't think the motherboard supports it, and I'm not about to spend the money for a controller. I'll get the RAM for $20 and the more I spend on this computer beyond that, the more sense it would make to just put it towards a new one. I have a clear upper limit on how much I want to invest in this system.

Re: spending more and getting a new computer The memory will run me $20, so I'd have to spend quite a bit more than that to get a used dual core 2 GB system.

By the time the extra RAM is eaten up by increasingly memory-hungry programs, I think he'll be OK with buying a new computer. I'm thinking a used middle-of the road year-old (so maybe manufactured in 2014) system. That way I'll get better performance than a low-end 2015 system, for less money.

Thanks a lot for all the advice!

 

[Brekyrself]

Memory will make a nice improvement however like an old car they sometimes just become a money pit...Don''t waste time/money with any upgrades beyond the memory and hope the HD, power supply, etc... still continue to function.

 

[Emil Svensson]

Agreed. My dad knows all about cutting your losses when it comes to old cars. Nothing worse than replacing your fan belt just to have the suspension poop out on you a month later. Neither one of us feels that upgrades outside of RAM would be worth the money or hassle.

(So far it's been anything but a money pit though. He hasn't spent a penny on it since he bought it in 2005. A friend of his gave him a brand new LCD display a year ago on account of him not being able to get it to work with his computer.)

 

[GotNoRice]

My Athlon XP 2500 rig bought in January 2004 had SATA, so his 2005 for sure has SATA ports.

I guess you missed the post a few above yours that has a PDF of the actual motherboard... No SATA

And the components in this computer appear to be more ~2003 vintage than 2005.

 

[spaceman]

if ur dads time and urs are worthless go ahead
but srsly this is verging on troll almost, i dont even beleive it
the machine is shit and should be binned
anything else is ridiculous
one guy rec'd buying an ssd for this? ru kidding me?
the machine was shit 7 yrs ago
its just stupid to use now
sorry
best thing u could add is a hammer or dump a can of soda on it
ur just being dense and ur dads being cheap

 

[Krazy4Real]

if ur dads time and urs are worthless go ahead
but srsly this is verging on troll almost, i dont even beleive it
the machine is shit and should be binned
anything else is ridiculous
one guy rec'd buying an ssd for this? ru kidding me?
the machine was shit 7 yrs ago
its just stupid to use now
sorry
best thing u could add is a hammer or dump a can of soda on it
ur just being dense and ur dads being cheap

Lol! That's a little harsh. OP get a can of compressed air too I'm case your dad hasn't cleaned it out lately.

 

[tweakboy]

Yes do that and also slap on a SSD and youll be flying high.

 

[spaceman]

yeah it was but i get it
i had that dad til i brow beat him enough to buy a new machine after 9+yrs
this was after upgrading ram 3x along the way -reimaging,hearing him bitch but at the same time say "does whut i need it too" yeah well so do my feet i still drive however
have a backup junk in basement similar config it is agonizing
i aint got a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out but id kick that machine out the window

 

[nOOky]

I'd do the ram upgrade for cheap.