A friend has asked me:
"I need more RAM for my laptop. Everything is slow to open or "happen"
when I click on icons and buttons. I've got 32 MB but I could go up to
160 MB, and why shouldn't I? Will my Internet speed improve if I add
RAM but not connection speed? When I'm offline, will more RAM make my
windows pop up and programs open faster? And what is the best way to
purchase a RAM module? Should I buy online from Toshiba because it's a
Toshiba laptop? Or can I go to any decent computer store and buy
another cheaper (but just as good) brand? Or should I look online at
some computer accessories warehouse for the best prices?"

The details on her laptop can be seen here:
http://www.rcblue.com/Questions/BelarcAdvisorCurrentProfile.htm

She says she mainly does word processing, email, and web browsing.

Please help me help get her some good, solid, answers.

Hello donkan:

32 MB of RAM is the bare minimum for computing nowadays. Windows 98,
which is what your friend has, could do with more - 64 MB or more is
good. Although the tasks that she does on her laptop - word
processing, e-mail, web browsing - are not demanding, having more RAM
will certainly give more "legroom" for applications to run. It will
also prevent the operating system from paging to disk as much (i.e.
writing data that should be stored in RAM to the hard disk, which is a
lot slower). Thus, more RAM is defintely better. It will make
applications and the OS run faster. Since RAM is cheap, there's no
reason not to upgrade RAM.

Adding RAM will make launching programs, scrolling in internet
browsers, and generally working within applications faster. It will
not make file downloads faster, however, because (as your friend
already knows) that is limited by the internet connection speed.

From looking at Toshiba's Tech Support Database (
http://www.csd.toshiba.com ), your friend's laptop, a Satellite
2515CDS, uses EDO DRAM. EDO RAM is harder to find and more expensive
than SDRAM, but your friend can probably still find many online
retailers that sell it. Looking at the details of her laptop as well,
I can see that she has one empty RAM slot. Thus, it will be best to
purchase a single large module to put in (i.e. 64 MB).

Generally, purchasing RAM from the company (Toshiba) is very
expensive. I strongly recommend purchasing from third-party retailers.
Crucial ( http://www.crucial.com/ ) has a reputation for high quality
RAM. From their website, a module that works with the 2515CDS costs
US$35.99 for 64 MB. Crucial does not have a 128 MB option for the
laptop. Checking SimpleTech ( http://www.simpletech.com/ ), they also
only have a 64 MB module for the Toshiba laptop costing US$51.16. I
personally have a SimpleTech module in my computer and it works well.

Checking with another website, Shikatronics (
http://www.shikatronics.com/ ) also tops out at 64 MB. Thus, it
appears that no modules larger than 64 MB are available. This is
probably because EDO RAM is no longer mass manufactured and supplies
are limited. It is unfortunate that your friend will not be able to
use the full 160 MB, but adding an extra 64 MB to make a total of 96
MB will certainly be enough.

My recommendation would be to purchase the RAM from either Crucial or
SimpleTech. It's the fastest way, and since the company has chosen the
RAM for you via their Memory Selector, chances of incompatibilities
are minimized. Do note that third-party retailers also carry Crucial
and SimpleTech memory - your friend can purchase from them too.

Installing memory in a laptop is usually tedious. It is a good idea to
pay a computer retailer to install the RAM for you.

I hope this helps!


Additional links

Crucial's Memory Selector allows you to view and purchase RAM
directly.

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?Mfr%2BProductline=Toshiba%2BSatellite&mfr=Toshiba&cat=RAM&model=Satellite+2515CDS&submit=Go

Shikatronics has a similar web feature.

http://eb.shikatronics.com/catalog2/english/dbsearch.cfm?work=model&manufacturename=Toshiba&modelname=Satellite&ID=000029348&x=8&y=14

SimpleTech is also a good company to purchase RAM from.

http://www.simpletech.com/

Thanks for a very helpful answer. My friend has ordered and received a
64MB module from Crucial. She says "5 stars". So do I.