How to make my laptop faster?

[joshstang]

Just got back from Best Buy..picked up a new Toshiba laptop..512mb ram..the guy sed that is JUST enough for Vista to work...its kind of slow to start with..is that normal? cost me 399..432 with tax..any suggestions on making the whole thing faster?

[line-em-up]

Try to add another Gig of memory.

Make sure it is running at full speed with the CPU. Right click "my computer" and look at the processor speed. It will show you the normal speed and the speed it is actually running at. A lot of laptops don't run full speed, even with a full load on the CPU. You can force it to run full speed by changing the type from "laptop" to "desktop" in the power/performance settings in the control panel.

[DatDude]

Go to ebay and look for some cheap memory. We got some for my brother in-law when he bought a cheap walmart acer. 2gb shipped for 50 bucks.

[joshstang]

I'll look into some more memory..not trying to "force" it to do anything..its doin pretty good for now..but i've only had it for about 3 hours..thanks tho guys.

[Blue5spd]

I would stay away from vista if possible. XP Pro will get the job done and not use as many resources.

[J Osh10]

1 gig min for vista 2 gig is ok I would go with 3 gb if your compy supports it

[SBBII]

[QUOTE=J Osh10]1 gig min for vista 2 gig is ok I would go with 3 gb if your compy supports it[/QUOTE]

Yeppers. Add RAM. New Windoze=forced hardware upgrade in disguise.

Vendors keep computer prices down by skimping on RAM. When XP was new, many machines came with 256MB, which is about equal to Vista on 512MB: It doesn't run, it crawls, even though M$ sez 512MB RAM is the minimum, and Toshiba would tell you your new laptop meets that requirement.

"David Short, an IBM consultant who works in the Global Services Division and has been beta testing Vista for two years, says users should consider 4GB of RAM if they really want optimum Vista performance. With Vista's minimum requirement of 512MB of RAM, Vista will deliver performance that's 'sub-XP,' he says. (Dell and others recommend 2GB.) One reason: SuperFetch, which fetches applications and data, and feeds them into RAM to make them accessible more quickly. More RAM means more caching."
- slashdot.org

Each new Windoze version equals at least a doubling of minimum RAM, and expecting decent performance with MicroSnot's stated minimum is like believing in the tooth fairy.

[ceyko]

RAM = Cheap Performance Upgrade

[J Osh10]

so in the end RAM wins go up at least 1 gig if not 2

[ceyko]

RAM is always a good upgrade. However, I read the OP and he mentions it is slow to start. RAM probably won't help that whole lot since the laptop likely has a 4200 RPM drive in it. Typically that is one huge disadvantage to buying a cheap/mid-range laptop. The HDDs are dog slow. 5400 RPM is better and 7200 RPM is standard desktop speed.

However, RAM will help nearly everything else..... if whatever you're doing is drive intensive it is painful on a 4200 RPM drive and frankly 7200 RPM drives are still slow.

Anyone know what's up with RAM drives? I heard they had 40GB versions out - just not consumer grade.

Take care,

[J Osh10]

I bet they cost a lot