How to Buy RAM for Your Laptop

With newer versions of applications continuously becoming available, you may want to enhance the efficiency of your laptop. Programs such as Photoshop and Flash, generally used for graphics and multimedia, require greater RAM. To improve the performance of your laptop, buying and installing a new RAM chip represents the best option. Here's how you can buy the chip you need.

Things You'll Need

• Internet access
• Laptop

Instructions

Choosing the Right RAM

1. Check the configuration of your laptop. Switch on your laptop, click on "My Computer" and go to "Properties." Your RAM configuration will be displayed in the general properties at the bottom of the screen.

2. Determine the function of your laptop. List the programs and applications that you want to access on your laptop now and in the future.

3. Consider the RAM type and size already in your laptop and the higher dimension you want for the new applications. Depending on your use, you may find you want to buy 128 MB RAM. You can go up to 512 MB RAM if you use multimedia often.

4. Check the number of slots provided in your laptop for RAM. Consider options for pairing up. This allows you to use your old RAM along with you new RAM.

5. Remember that every laptop has a specific upper limit to the amount of RAM it can support. Make sure that you do not choose RAM beyond this limit.

6. Ensure that your laptop supports the brand of RAM you choose. Dell and Apple laptops support only company-specific RAMs.

Purchasing RAM

1. Plan you budget to buy RAM for your laptop.

2. Do an Internet search using Google or Yahoo to select a suitable RAM and find its price.

3. Compare the prices of different brands offering similar RAM types and sizes. Check out online buyers' guides such as Epinions, Nextag and MySimon (see links below). These sites offer a comparison of various RAM chips and list numerous vendors along with their listed prices.

4. Ask for bargain offers or discounts if available. Many authorized online dealers offer RAM at reasonable rates.

5. Browse online auction Web sites such as eBay, uBid.com and Overstock.com (see links below). You may find great deals on these sites.

6. Buy RAM from big-name retailers such as Circuit City, CompUSA or Best Buy (see links below). You can also visit any of these stores and learn more about your options.

7. Talk to the store's technical expert or customer service representative and buy the RAM chip that best suits your computer.

8. Decide the payment option if you are buying online. You can pay either by credit card or through PayPal (see link, below). Verify authenticity of the Web site before purchasing. Look for the "lock" symbol in the status bar and if you roll your mouse pointer over it, it should state, "128 bit encryption."

Tips & Warnings

• Consider reputable brands even if they are a little expensive; they generally are more reliable and long lived.

• Check the warranty period and the manufacturing date. The warranty usually starts from the manufacturing date rather than the sale date.

• Do not choose a RAM configuration that is so high you can't utilize it to its maximum. Configuration that is one step higher than your current configuration is adequate.