Right now i have a dell XPS M140 laptop. It is currently running PC2-3200 1 GB RAM and i just bought Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200).
This is an upgrade i have been wanting to do for a while. I am not exactly sure what all this will help? Any thoughts would be great. Will this help my gaming performance? If not what else could i do to improve them? Thanks!

Scleros

The service manual and owner's manual for this laptop model indicate it supports two memory modules of maximum 1 GB capacity each for a maximum total memory of 2 GB which is double your current amount. If you typically have more than a few applications open, this memory increase should result in a reduction of swap file usage and consequently slow hard drive access. More data will be retained in memory, but you may see no apparent performance gain or noticeable performance gain depending on how you use the laptop.

It may be an improvement if your current games are memory bound, however a video performance upgrade is usually the single thing that impacts games the most other than a processor upgrade. You could also wring out a few bits more of performance with game load times, etc. at the expense of battery life with a faster hard drive if your current drive is not a high rpm model.

The specifications in the owner's manual also indicate this laptop came with either a Pentium or Celeron processor. If you have a Celeron, switching to a Pentium would yield noticeable improvement. Celerons are a waste of perfectly good silicon, in my opinion.

Fixer12

so was buying this ram a waste? Yes right now i have a centrino. right after i bought it the duo processors came out. Can i switch out the Celeron to a pentium? or is that something i am better off just buying a whole new computer for? Thanks for your help!

Scleros

It certainly won't hurt anything, but I think the cost/benefit ratio is questionable. Again it depends on how heavily you use the laptop and how long you plan to keep it before replacing it.

Centrino and Celeron are two different things. According to the service manual I linked to, yes the processor can be switched, however it would be best to confirm that the processor is removable prior to purchasing another one. Sometimes the production folks don't communicate the latest thing they're doing with the documentation folks. Also confirm which processor you have in Windows' system properties or with a software identification utility like CPUz.

Depends on the cost if you can find a processor cheap, but I'm leaning toward a whole new laptop being the better route for overall improved performance. You can probably find a used dual core laptop with more RAM and better video for the same investment you'd make in your current laptop to end up with less performance.

Personal opinion: I don't think laptops make great gaming machines as upgrading is usually an all or nothing prospect. Desktops on the other hand can be upgraded piecemeal. I normally do video cards every two years, motherboard and processor every three to four years, and then sound cards and drives as needed as formats change. Laptop keyboards and touchpads also do not make for good controls to be a twitch gamer.

Fixer12

awesome. well thank you very much for your help and knowledge! It was a great help!!!

Scleros

You're welcome. What games are you into?

Fixer12

I was strongly into WOW for quite sometime. I also enjoy spore... which i have to turn down the graphics as much as possible in order for it to run without lag. Unfortunately my family and myself have been moving around alot so getting a desktop is difficult but something i am thinking of doing, and just keeping my laptop as carry along. I also have been waiting for the new Star Wars Old Republic to be released. I am just hoping by that time i will have a new computer to support all the requirements. I am also thinking of going to school into some computer field. How about you?

Scleros

Nope, never liked school. I was into Ultima Online and never got into WoW. Been playing the Halos, recently finished Witcher, Lost Planet, and Bioshock. Waiting on Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, and Two Worlds 2. Might have to scrounge the bargain bin at Amazon to tide me over in the meantime. Good luck with your scholastic endeavors.

Fixer12

Yea. Starcraft 2 will be great. i am waiting on that as well