RAM Upgrade Help

[nation]

Dear All

Any help finding my way through the maze of RAM upgrading would be much appreciated :)

I'm using a Sony Vaio VGN-A115Z laptop in standard form and want to upgrade RAM. The first link shows the current setup and the second link is Sony's upgraded RAM specs:

http://www.vaio-link.com/tutorials/memory/memory.asp?l=en&category=-1&serie=-1&m=1674

http://www.vaio-link.com/accessories/compat/compat.asp?l=en&m=1674&c=10

Rather than pay Sony's extortionate prices I want to look externally for RAM upgrades; Kingston, Kingmax, Buffalo, Transcend etc. When looking at the other brands what is the identifier I need to look for to determine if that RAM works on my machine? Is it the SO-DIMM - 333Mhz (DDR), PC2700 DDR SDRAM, DDR333 that appears on the links above? Anything else that I specifically need to look for to ensure compability with my machine?

For your info here's a list of RAM options available to me peppered with acronyms that mean little to me at this stage :):

http://www.jumbo-computer.com/pricelist/pricelist.asp (dropdown menu for RAM)

Also I understand PC2700 has something to do with speed?? Am I limited to PC2700 or can I go faster when choosing RAM? Finally, it says my machine can only be upgraded to 1GB of RAM (2 slots of 512 MB). What would happen if I went beyond 1GB? Is it simply that my processor won't be able to take advantage of the extra speed or are there other adverse effects like my computer exploding?

Thanks all :)

[Woolburr]

Go to Crucial.com and use their system...will tell you what ram you need. I have had great luck with them over the years.

[ArcticEOS]

If you ever need to know about a component in your computer or on your motherboard, CPU-z is a great tool to tell you what you have and what you need. Its free too! Here is the link http://www.cpuid.org/cpuz.php

[CyberDyneSystems]

You must use PC333 (2700) 200 pin SO Dimm,s

Sony is saying the max RAM is 1GB.. why I don't know... ???
If this is true than you'd be buying two 512 sticks.

Perhaps though it will work fine with a pair of 1GB..
But this is most likely a limitation of the MOBO bios.. so probably not worth trying.


Here's the stuff at Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=2010170381+1052907864+1309221120&Subcategory=381&description=&srchInDesc=&minPrice=&maxPrice=)

[SimonG]

... Sony is saying the max RAM is 1GB.. why I don't know... ???
If this is true than you'd be buying two 512 sticks.

Perhaps though it will work fine with a pair of 1GB..
But this is most likely a limitation of the MOBO bios.. so probably not worth trying. ...
The memory limit is due to limits within the chipset / memory controller. You may be able to put in larger sticks, but I wouldn't count on it (and even if you did, chances are the memory controller wouldn't address more than 1 GB worth anyways, if it worked at all). That said, there's no reason why you need to put in PC2700 memory, since memory is backwards compatable; you could drop in PC3200 sticks or better, and they would just run at the slower speed.

[rklepper]

Yes, and crucial is one of the only manufacturers that actually makes their own RAM. Great memory and easy upgrades.


Go to Crucial.com and use their system...will tell you what ram you need. I have had great luck with them over the years.

[nation]

Thanks for the advice. Clears up a lot.

I had a look at the Crucial site earlier and it was very helpful. But the thing that threw me was that they said my laptop is upgradeable to 2GB contradicting what Sony and a few other sites said. I just wasn't too sure whether putting in more than the maximum would cause problems or not.