Is memory upgrade for Inspiron 600m worth it?

Muad Dib · 05 Oct 2012

I received a Dell Inspiron 600m for free. Has 1.6 GHz CPU and 80GB HDD.

Installed Windows 7 x86 and have all the correct drivers. Everything is working fine.

It is slow but not too bad with hard page faults high and CPU usage hitting 100% depending on activity.

Currently has 768GB memory @266MHz (it actually uses 333MHz but has a one 512GB stick @266 that reduces the overall speed).

I can upgrade the RAM to 2GB @333MHz for $46. (It also needs a nes battery but that is a secondary consideration.)

Intended usage is web-surfing, email and Word. Can anyone who has this model comment on whether the $46 will be worth it in terms of performance boost? It seems to be a pretty solid, though older, machine. A bit more "snap" in web surfing would make it fine for the intended usage....

edwar · 05 Oct 2012

I'd say don't bother. What you should do is Install XP, or the original version of Windows that came on it using the License key on the COA sticker.

Win 7 take a lot of resources, much more then XP, and really isn't meant to be run on that model notebook.

XP will work just fine for your intended usage of that system.

ignatzatsonic · 05 Oct 2012

I can't comment on that specific machine or processor, but.....I'd expect Windows 7 to be sluggish on ANY machine with such a small amount of memory.

It runs pretty well on 2 GB---not a whole lot of difference moving from 2 to 4.

My PC uses 700 to 800 MB of RAM immediately after a fresh boot and typically uses 1.3 to 1.5 GB during the day when doing random tasks.

Phone Man · 05 Oct 2012

Since you are getting a high amount of page faults it is running short on memory. I would go for the memory upgrade and it should make a difference but how much I can't say.

Jim