Ok .. so (Yes I know acer sucks it was free though) I got a Aspire 5600 laptop.

Sucks, as I said. Right now 512 ram and 1.73 ghz.
If I upgrade to 2gb ram will I notice a big difference? Or does the fact that I still have only 1.7 ghz make it less noticeable?

Everything is so slow. It's not a spyware/virus issue, it was like this with a fresh install of windows. Sometimes opening a window is instant, others it takes like 10 seconds.

Are you using Vista or 7? Your computer specs are similar to mine... my desktop. Memory won't speed it up much but switching to XP or Ubuntu will.

I recommend a multi-core system for Vista or 7, preferably at least quad-core. Vista/7 is rumored to perform horribly on single-core systems compared to XP and on my single-core computer that seems to be the case.

However if you play recent games 512mb really isn't enough, you should at least double it.

Not that you should expect to be able to play any recent games on laptops anyway.

If I had a laptop I would just put Linux (Ubuntu) on it for maximum speed.

I just put ubuntu on mine, it's pretty great. I'd upgrade the ram anyway though, it's stupid cheap.

I'm running 7 right now.
I tried ubuntu and it worked great, but I couldn't figure out how to install anything for the life of me.

Yea, the ram is only like 20 bucks or something. Can't hurt, I guess.

Oh, and I don't play games on this. It would just be for running aps and stuff.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227251 <--4gb kit for $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104025 <--2gb kit for $26

Go to the Applications menu and click add/remove

I would check the specs of that acer laptop cause it could be a 2gig memory limit

If I can get my other laptop running again I'll try this.
It just seemed really difficult. Like you download something, and it's like wtf no .exe .... I managed to install vlc player because I found a really helpful explanation using the package searcher thing or whatever.

How would I check the specs? edit quick google acper 5600 max ram says its 4 gig.

You can right-click Computer and click Properties to view specs + other info.

[Edit: Oh wait, I didn't read zan's post. For that info you should check your manufacturer's website and try to find a spec sheet for your model.]

Just FYI since laptop prices are so dirt-cheap right now it might be worth it to just buy a new laptop ... check Slickdeals -- there's constantly a new laptpp deal going on.

Yea, I know laptop prices are dirt cheap right now, but I can't afford to spend a couple hundred on something. I'm going to be paying two leases for the next two months and don't have a job lol.

actually, if i'm remembering correctly, that's a core duo, not a core 2 duo. so it's 32 bit and not going to support all 4gb. it will see 3.something of it though.

You could Sell it on eBay

Anyways, that link confirms that it's a Core Duo. That link also has 2GB of ram. I'd think you could go up to 3 (2+1), but personally, I think 2 is enough (I've had 2 on my year-old desktop and it's had no problems w/Vista yet).

Win7 on that? Why not just use Win2k or XP?

XP is just as slow as 7.

I run 7 on my laptop, dual core 1.8, with 1gb of ram and it runs just fine.

This computer just sucks though, my mom got it brand new years ago and it sucks from the get-go. For 20ish bucks I'm willing to possibly improve it.

Incidentally, Windows 7 is about as fast as Vista. Most benchmarks show it slightly slower or slightly faster, depending on the area. In day to day use you shouldn't be able to tell the difference. The majority of performance enhancements in Win 7 are entirely perceptual.

It's weird that your computer has trouble running Win 7. I have an old Toshiba w/ a weaker Core Duo than yours and 1GB of RAM and it's really snappy. Hrm.

I'd say definitely upgrade your RAM and see if it doesn't improve dramatically ... when I went from 512MB to 1GB all my problems went away haha.

From what I've heard, 7 is often faster than Vista...it runs great on my E2180, albeit with 4Gb RAM.

I should mention that I was having lots of problems in XP (mainly w/ Firefox + Skype eating up all my RAM) when I was at 512MB. I got another 512 stick and that fixed that, and then later when I installed 7 I had no problems (and still don't)

Also, I'm currently on my X61 tablet w/ Vista and my C2D is only clocked at 1.6Ghz (granted a C2D at 1.6Ghz is probably marginally faster than a Core Duo at 1.7), and I'm not having problems here either. It was a little choppy w/ 1GB RAM when I first got it but it's fine w/ 3GB now.

Plus, I actually throttle it to 533Mhz max when I'm on battery and I haven't really noticed a difference

Ok, I'm going to buy it.
Now is any ram going to work? Is it all the same size?
Do I need to find something that "fits" my laptop, or will that link Pommy gave work?

You need a 200-pin SODIMM. I think your computer takes PC2 4200.

You can try using Newegg's Memory Configurator tool. I didn't know which model you had so I just picked the first one under Aspire 5600 -- see here.

Also, I dunno if your existing 512MB is soldered in or not (my Toshiba one is inaccessible), so you might have to get a 2GB stick rather than a 2 x 1GB stick if you want to go to 2.5. Otherwise you'll be at 1.5. If your existing 512MB is removable then you can do 2 (2x1) or 3 (2+1).