Erich_870

I was toying with the idea of making the wife's old Dell Inspiron 2500 into a dedicated rig GPS set up. It has a Pentium III 700MHz processor.

I have to do it on the cheap or not at all. I was hoping to max out the ram, practically wipe the hard drive of other programs/files and go with Google Earths $20 upgrade to GPS capability using a USB GPS Mouse.

My main question is if PC133 SDRAM will boot on this old laptop in place of PC100? It has two sockets with a max memory of 512MB. Currently it has 96MB.

Newegg has a 256MB stick of Kingston ValueRAM for $30.99. I would get two sticks to max it out. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820172003

I've found some other sites that have a feature that will guide you to the correct ram "guaranteed" and they cost 2-3 times as much for PC100

In reading the reviews on Newegg it looks like purchasing ram is still an act in superstition/luck. You need to make a sacrifice to the RAM God praying it will boot.

Any experts out there to tell it to me straight?

Thanks,

Erich

Localmotion

There is no real value in running PC133. If it is cheaper, then yes, run it. If it is not, stick with the 100. You will not gain anymore speed than the 100.

It looks like PC133 is cheaper so I would get that.

Nic

I think I have read PC-133 will substitute for PC-100 and vice versa. But, don't quote me on that. I've never tried it.

You might want to go to www.crucial.com and use their selector guide for your motherboard. It should show you the compatible RAMs.

Localmotion

you are correct

Pricewatch.com is a good site to use when finding memory.

nick-m

PC133 should in theory run just the same as PC100 would, except at a slower speed. However, this isn't always the case, especially with laptop computers. For instance, I have an old IBM 600X which is the best built laptop I've ever seen, but damn, it is picky with RAM and you need to find a certain brand with a certain density for it to run properly, or at all.

Dell laptops, 'specially the older models, are also known for being not-so-accepting of modern upgrades.

Your specs, for instance;

I don't know how much luck you'll have. Perhaps none, is what I'm inclined to think. I believe your best bet would be to find a local store with a liberal return policy, and see if they carry notebook 133, and see if it runs. Might or might not.

EDIT:

Here's a thread I found, that somewhat confirms that the 2500 laptop WILL work with PC133 this there

Again, still, there's a risk that it won't, so I still consider return policy a MUST.

Erich_870

Great info guys!

You've pretty much confirmed what I've been finding in research and asking around.

[RANT]I wish purchasing ram was like purchasing bolts. You need a 1/2" nut for a 1/2" bolt. None of this, "well, it might not work on this computer, but it could work for another of the exact same model..." [/RANT OFF]

I'll probably go with two sticks of 256 PC133 from Newegg (there are no computer dealers in town that stock ram, they order off Newegg too )

Erich

tulsa_97SR5

I feel your pain, unfortunately it seems to be getting even worse. They are constantly releasing faster ram. It seemed like years that pc100/133 was the standard. I have 5 pc's sitting here, and only the two oldest can interchange their ram.

Erich_870

I found this in the review section, so I'm pretty confident on the purchase.

Now I just have to convince the boss

Erich

89macrunner

PC133\100 are interchangable.


The only problems you will run into is like with any other ram. some motherboards dont like certain kinds of memory chips, or chip configurations.
chances are if you get a good set of 133 it should work fine.

I have never had any issues with Corsair, Samsung, Kingston, or PNY memory