ME laptop with 64mb Ram worth update?

kvscorpio · 11-06-2006, 06:17 PM

Hello- My Girlfriend recently was given a Campaq Armada 3500 laptop. It has 64mb Ram, 6gig HD, and appears to be only upgradeable with a 128mb Ram stick. It is running microsoft ME, office xp, and is a taddd slowwww.

It is going to be used to take notes on when she's not in her office, basic excel, basic email, and synching to a handheld with Outlook.

I was wondering if the $30 ram upgrade would make any noticeable effect (32+32=64mb to 128+32=160mb) or if anyone had any ideas? Like, use the laptop for a target and try to find something on ebay for under $100?

Problem may be it does HAVE to be RELIABLE. So not sure if ME is gonna be a reliable OS, or might it just fail without notice someday soon? I told her to use it till it croaks, as the battery still seems to work good.

Basically the Question is then, is this computer worth keeping; and if so, is it worth upgrading the ram.

Thanks in advance,

**Doby** · 11-06-2006, 08:52 PM

A ram upgrade would make a differance that she would notice but the problem here is, is it worth it because she would also only have a 6 gig hardrive and to upgrade both would not be worth it.

If it had a 20 gig maybe I would consider spending the $30 bucks but I dunno with only 6 gig

Chevy · 11-06-2006, 08:55 PM

$30 for a stick of 128mb is worth it, IMHO. It should do fine in this limited role.

However, if you could do without the PDA sync ... A simple linux distro like Ubuntu with Open Office would be more stable and quicker. Plus, Open Office can read/save as all MS formates (.doc, .xls, etc.)

kvscorpio · 11-07-2006, 01:23 PM

Thanks for the input you two.

Doby - the 6 gig hd shouldn't make too much of a difference for her as she is only going to be doing basic Outlook email, scheduling, internet cruising, and some small document/excel files. Unless of course Outlook gets bigger than 3 gig it should be ok.

Chevy - Might have to try that if I can talk her into PDA synching with just the home pc. I usually use Open Office (since it's so cost effective-LOL) but this laptop came w/ office xp already on it. Maybe I'll have to get into linux too---hmmmm.....

anyways, thanks again you two!!

BTW - I'm going to buy her the RAM for X-mas present!!

11-06-2006, 06:17 PM	#1 (permalink)
kvscorpio Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Where the sasquatch roams Posts: 37 OS: win xp pro sp2 My System	ME laptop with 64mb Ram worth update? Hello- My Girlfriend recently was given a Campaq Armada 3500 laptop. It has 64mb Ram, 6gig HD, and appears to be only upgradeable with a 128mb Ram stick. It is running microsoft ME, office xp, and is a taddd slowwww. It is going to be used to take notes on when she's not in her office, basic excel, basic email, and synching to a handheld with Outlook. I was wondering if the $30 ram upgrade would make any noticeable effect (32+32=64mb to 128+32=160mb) or if anyone had any ideas? Like, use the laptop for a target and try to find something on ebay for under $100? Problem may be it does HAVE to be RELIABLE. So not sure if ME is gonna be a reliable OS, or might it just fail without notice someday soon? I told her to use it till it croaks, as the battery still seems to work good. Basically the Question is then, is this computer worth keeping; and if so, is it worth upgrading the ram. Thanks in advance,

11-06-2006, 08:52 PM	#2 (permalink)
Doby Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Central PA (USA) Posts: 8,091 OS: XP sp2/ Vista My System	A ram upgrade would make a differance that she would notice but the problem here is, is it worth it because she would also only have a 6 gig hardrive and to upgrade both would not be worth it. If it had a 20 gig maybe I would consider spending the $30 bucks but I dunno with only 6 gig __________________ Would you like to help TSF fight cancer and other diseases??? JOIN TEAM TSF

11-06-2006, 08:55 PM	#3 (permalink)
Chevy Retired Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Notlob Posts: 5,452 OS: Vista Ultimate My System	$30 for a stick of 128mb is worth it, IMHO. It should do fine in this limited role. However, if you could do without the PDA sync ... A simple linux distro like Ubuntu with Open Office would be more stable and quicker. Plus, Open Office can read/save as all MS formates (.doc, .xls, etc.)

11-07-2006, 01:23 PM	#4 (permalink)
kvscorpio Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Where the sasquatch roams Posts: 37 OS: win xp pro sp2 My System	Thanks for the input you two. Doby - the 6 gig hd shouldn't make too much of a difference for her as she is only going to be doing basic Outlook email, scheduling, internet cruising, and some small document/excel files. Unless of course Outlook gets bigger than 3 gig it should be ok. Chevy - Might have to try that if I can talk her into PDA synching with just the home pc. I usually use Open Office (since it's so cost effective-LOL) but this laptop came w/ office xp already on it. Maybe I'll have to get into linux too---hmmmm..... anyways, thanks again you two!! BTW - I'm going to buy her the RAM for X-mas present!!