Want to buy computer memory for your laptop? Well, it’s not that difficult to do, and you don’t have to be a “geek” to do it. You don’t really have to know all that much about how computers even work. You just need to watch out for a few things before you buy computer memory so that you get the right kind of memory, and so that it enhances your computer.

One thing you want to think about is do you really need more memory. Not everyone does. Are you running software that takes up a lot of memory on your computer, or are you just using it for email and typing a few things on Microsoft Word? Whether or not you buy computer memory depends a lot on these answers.

Most laptops come with enough memory to handle your everyday tasks. If you want to play Call of Duty on your laptop, or use it for business teleconferencing, then the amount of memory it has might be a problem, and you might really want to consider buying more computer memory.

One big issue is that our use of computers is changing so rapidly that if you buy a laptop today what you’re going to be doing with it in four months is really going to be pushing the envelope. How many folks used their laptops for teleconferencing, or for making their own videos a year or two ago? Now this sort of high memory use is common place. Oftentimes you don’t have to buy a whole new laptop, all you need to do is to buy more computer memory and upgrade the laptop you already have.

Here’s why.

There are basically two memories in your computer, the hard disk and the RAM. When you say “buy computer memory” what you really mean is buy more RAM. RAM is where your computer actually puts things (programs, files, etc) that it’s currently working on. The bigger the RAM, the faster and smoother the machine is to use.

Have problems with your computer locking up when you’re doing certain tasks? You might need to buy more computer memory.

As far as what computer memory to buy, let’s look at a few aspects of this you need to keep in mind.

There are basically three types of computer memory. Most laptops today have some form of ddr laptop memory. DDR means double data rate. There’s also DDR 2 and DDR 3, which are even faster. You want to buy memory that faster to access than your computer.

The other thing you need to watch out for is pin type. Memory modules are called “sticks”. These sticks have pins that fit into slots on your computer. You have to match the number of pins exactly with the size of the slot. Otherwise it won’t work.

Where do you get this information? You can get it from your laptop’s owner’s manual. Or if you’ve lost that, you can call your manufacturer and ask them. Just tell them you want to buy computer memory for their machine and they’ll tell you what to look out for.

DDR memory upgrades are a great way to increase your laptops power and speed. DDR laptop memory is now the state of the art. And if you’re interested in upgrading, this is usually the way folks go–buy more memory. But is this the thing to do? And do you really need to upgrade your laptop? Let’s take a look at this question, so you can see if ddr memory upgrades are something you need, or just a waste of money.

Why would you consider ddr memory upgrades in the first place?

You can tell if your notebook or laptop needs more memory by the following symptoms. It’s either sluggish, or it tends to lock up when there are a lot of windows open. If you’re computer is sluggish, then this could easily be relieved by ddr memory upgrades, such as adding a new 1GB memory card. The reason is this. Your computer basically has two memories, the RAM and the hard drive. The RAM is where it puts data and programs it’s using currently. If the RAM is too small, then your computer will be spending a lot of its resources moving bits and pieces of files to and from the hard drive.

Ditto for a computer that doesn’t perform well when there are a lot of windows open. This is usually caused by the same problem, lack of enough memory. And has the same solution ddr memory upgrades.

So, how much memory do you need anyway? Well, it used to be that you only needed about 128Mb of RAM just for basic functions, say 256 Mb for something like word processing. If you’re on the internet for any period of time, you’re probably looking at at least 512 Mb of RAM. Notice I said used to be–as in two years ago. Now, I don’t care who you are you’re probably doing a lot of teleconferencing, audio and video streaming, and other high data jobs with your computer. Personally, for this 1Gb, which is what most notebooks and laptops currently come with is not enough. I like 2 Gb. That seems to make my computer and all its applications run smoothly.

So, frankly I don’t care what you use your computer for, ddr memory upgrades are definitely something you need to be thinking about. To that end, you can learn a lot reading around this blog. You can also check out my Laptop Memory Store to find the best deals in memories.

Notebook ddr memory is one of the best upgrades you can do to improve the performance of your notebook or laptop. I don’t know about you, but I always seem to be pushing the envelop with what my laptop can do. I used to get frustrated and just go out and buy another laptop and give my old one to one of my kids. I spent a ton of money this way–that is until I learned that a notebook ddr memory upgrade was a whole lot less expensive than a new laptop.

A notebook ddr memory upgrade will work wonders toward increasing the power and performance of your notebook or laptop. The reason is this: a lot of what dictates the speed of any computer is the size of the RAM. RAM means “random access memory,” and this is where your computer puts the “stuff” it’s currently working on or with. If your RAM is too small it means your computer is spending a lot of its time moving chucks of files to and from the hard disk. A notebook ddr memory will solve this problem, by giving the computer basically a bigger space to work on.

More specifically, here are a few great things a notebook ddr memory upgrade can do for your notebook or laptop.

1. It will significantly improve your computer’s performance–as stated above. You’ll see this not only in speed, but also in the number of programs your computer can run simultaneously.
2. If you replace or add memory that’s faster (ddr–we’ll explain this in a moment), you’ll increase the speed of your computer, too.
3. Some new hardware you might be thinking of adding is going to take up a lot of memory and processing power. Adding new memory is a great way to prevent this problem.
4. Like games? It’s great fun to play your favorite new version of a game on your laptop. The problem is a lot of laptops don’t have the memory to handle today’s games. With a notebook ddr memory upgrade, you’ll take care of this problem.
5. Are you into audio & video? Your computer has to be able to move a lot of data around efficiently and quickly for this to work well. Yet another reason for the ddr memory upgrade for your notebook or laptop.
6. Finally, your increased memory will make surfing the Internet even better!

Okay, you’re convinced you need a notebook ddr memory upgrade…so why “ddr”?

Here’s why.

“DDR” means double data rate. Simply put, the insides of your computer are all sychronized with a clock. You know how you read about how a certain computer is so many MHz? That’s mega-Hertz and it means so many millions of cycles per second. That’s the speed of the internal clock for the computer. The faster the clock, the faster the computer.

Memories are read by computers per each cycle of the computer’s clock. What’s so cool about DDR, or double data rate, is it reads the memory not once per cycle, but twice. This effectively makes these memories twice as fast as single data rate memories.

So, want more power? Better performance? More multi-tasking? Looks like a notebook ddr memory upgrade is in order.

Click here for more information about the best prices on ddr laptop memory.

Fact Sheet

Crucial 2GB 667 Mhz CT25664AC667 DDR2 200-Pin SODIMM Laptop Memory

Storage: 2 GB

Technology: DDR SODIMM

Form: 200-pin. Does not fit in a standard SDRAM SODIMM socket.

Speed: 667MHz

Testimonials:

From Amazon: “About a half-hour ago this memory card arrived in the mail. I opened up and removed the small plastic cover on the bottom of my computer, released the clips holding the original supplied 1 GB memory card in place (when you release the clips, the card pops up for easy removal), replaced the original card with this one, replaced the cover, inserted the battery, and turned on the computer. This new memory card was instantly recognized. ”

From Amazon: “if putting in 2GB module in eee pc 1000 you need to restart computer after installing the RAM and keep pressing F2. then press F10 to accept the settings in the BIOS. now your eee pc will recognize the 2 GB module
yeah,.. plug and play… right ”

From Amazon: “I bought this RAM due to the recommendation from Amazon to go along with my Samsung NC-10 netbook. This is not compatible RAM for your netbook. I have been having system crashes from the minute I installed the RAM. If you look at Crucial’s website you will see it states that the compatible RAM for that netbook is DDR2 PC2-6400 * CL=6 * Unbuffered * NON-ECC * DDR2-800 * 1.8V * 256Meg x 64 which is not the same as this. I think the actual product is fine just not working with my NC-10.”

From Amazon: “I purchased the ASUS EEE PC and bought this 2G memory along with it. I tried the PC without the bigger memory and it was fast but this larger memory made this great little PC even better.”

Check here for more information about the Crucial 2GB 667 Mhz CT25664AC667 DDR2 200-Pin SODIMM Laptop Memory

Fact Sheet

Centon 2GB1066D3LT 2GB PC3-8500 1066MT/S DDR3 SODIMM Memory Module

Storage: 2GB

Technology: DDR

Form: 200 pin

Speed: 667 MHz

The Centon 2GB DDR SODIMM Memory Module is for Mac’s.

Testimonials: This is a fairly new memory module, so no customer testimonials, yet. These will be added as we find them.

Click here for more information about the Centon 2GB1066D3LT 2GB PC3-8500 1066MT/S DDR3 SODIMM Memory Module.

Fact Sheet

Kingston KVR667D2S5/1G 1GB SO DIMM 200-Pin DDR II ValueRAM Memory

Storage: 1 GB

Technology: DDR2

Form: 200-pin

Speed: 667 MHz

Testimonials:

From Amazon: “This product is cheap and working great on my Dell desktop computer. If a person is thinking about upgrading his/her computer, consider buying this item and save some money.”

From Amazon: “50% less money than other “branded” options,
…this is Kingston…don’t see any performance
issues…;ValueRAM…so…for personal use I am
fine”

From Amazon: “I just installed this memory in a Dell Inspiron 531. I know it’s helpful to know if it goes into the exact computer you have. It did give it a noticeable boost in speed. ”

From Play.com: “Ordered this particular ram after reading the other reviews. It arrived really quickly (thanks Play) and I had it installed in next to no time.”

Click here for more information about the Kingston KVR667D2S5/1G 1GB SO DIMM 200-Pin DDR II ValueRAM Memory .

Fact Sheet

PNY OPTIMA 1GB DDR 333 MHz PC2700 Notebook / Laptop SODIMM Memory Module MN1024SD1-333

Storage: 1 GB

Technology: DDR SDRAM

Form: SO-DIMM 200 pin

Speed: 333 MHz

DDR means “double data rate”. These memories transfer data on both the rising and falling edges of the clock cycle. Which means they’re twice as fast as ordinary memories. This particular model is compatible with both desktops and laptops.

Testimonials:

From Amazon: “Looked at a number of companies’ memory chips and decided to take chance on PNY. I have used their products in the past and been completely satisfied.”

From Amazon: “These particular modules didn’t work in my 15″ Powerbook G4 1.25ghz. With them installed, things seemed fine for a while, and then applications would start freezing, and then the whole system would freeze.”

From Amazon: “I desperately needed an upgrade. After doing a ton of online research, I settled on a 1gb stick of PNY PC2700 RAM and found that Amazon offered the best price over anyone else.”

Click here for more information about the PNY OPTIMA 1GB DDR 333 MHz PC2700 Notebook / Laptop SODIMM Memory Module MN1024SD1-333.