I'm currently looking into getting a Dell Inspiron 1100. In fact, it's what I'm getting. I like the Dell company, I've heard many good things about the customer support hotlines, including from my girlfriends mother as of the last week, they talked with Dell, got everything organized, everyone was polite and instructive. I also like Dell because I get a 5% discount on the Inspiron notebook series due to my corporate affiliation with Dell. Now, I looked into getting the customized Dell that I want, upgrading to the Pentium 4 processor, getting a 1" monitor size upgrade, and increasing my RAM to 512 megs. However, I'd rather have 1 gig of RAM, because my laptop will not only serve as my personal computer, but my BYOND server host for my creations. I want to provide my players with an extremely good machine to go with my connection. Now, my question is this: how easily can I manually upgrade the ram in my laptop? I don't know if any of you have firsthand used a Inspiron series laptop, but I need to know 1) if the RAM is accessable to a hardware dummy like myself. 2) if I can buy a 1 gig ram kit (www.pricewatch.com) and install it myself. Does the laptop have 2 ram slots? Are they going to work with the kit I get? Here is the link to the laptop customization page (http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/ config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&kc=6V600&l=en&oc=1100SC&s=dhs). Could somebody verify that what I think is correct, in that "256MB Shared DDR,266Mhz,1 Dimms,PC2100 SDRAM [add $25 or $1/month1]" will be both user-accessable and have a maximum ram capacity of 1 gig+, and that on pricewatch.com, (http://www.pricewatch.com/1/79/5090-1.htm) the kits are compatible with the laptop. Also, which kit would you personally recommend?
Note, I'm not completely stupid. I know that ram is nearly universally compatible as long as it is around the correct size for this generation of computers. I just want to verify that the knowledge I hold is correct to make sure I get the right products. When I'm spending a bit over a grand, I like to know I'm getting exactly what I want.
~Polatrite~
ID:188784
 Jan 5 2004, 7:30 pm
|
|
altho i bet installing ram urself may void ur warranty... and if your buying a new computer thatd prolly be a bad idea, but doing so may not void ur warranty, see what other people respond, ive been wrong before:s
| |
If it does void your warrenty, but you still want to do it, use the computer for a few weeks before you do it. That way if any of those "really annoying if you don't have a warrenty" problems exist they should have surfaced (such as the guy who put it together put something in backwards).
| |
installing RAM usually should not void any warranty- otherwise why would computer stores sell them to you off-the-shelf?
| |
I've found all the laptops I've worked with (not many, but a few) have had clauses in the warrenty mentioning if you have hardware installed/removed by anyone but "qualified technicians" your warrenty is voided.
I can't remember exactly what it said, but it was basically "only people we can trust not to screw it up are allowed to work on it". | |
digitalmouse wrote:
installing RAM usually should not void any warranty- otherwise why would computer stores sell them to you off-the-shelf? because alot of people self-build computers, and in that case just the individual components would be covered under their own warranties, also, theres a whole lot of computers whose warranties expired that are in need of a ram upgrade, like mine for instance:D *cmon Jan 15 paycheck!!* | |
On a Side Note, A DeskTop is best used for Servers, solely for the fact that They come with fans and can be pluged Into the wall, have build in Power supplies, and Are better designed to stay on long periods of time.
Laptops can compete hardware wise, Such as RAM, and Processor speed, but when it comes to Running something like a server a good stable tower cpu with proper cooling systems would be better. They are also easier to upgrade in the future. [EDIT] If your interested in desktops maybe, http://www.ibuypower.com Customize your own, see if you like any of the configurations. | |
I looked up the notebook for you. Looks like the Dell Insperon 1100 has 2 memory banks, and you can get up to 512 in each bank, so it would be reletively easy to upgrade, assuming its not packed in there because of it being a laptop.
EDIT: Looked at the link to the ram you wanted to get, if you go with the standard ammount when you purchase the computer, and that site has the correct ram you need, then you would probably save more money using the kit. If the 512 from dell costs less than 70 dollars(which I doubt it does) your better off buying the single chip from crucial that I pointed out.