Improving performance on netbook

[dgreen]

I have a Samsung Netbook which to be quite honest I wish I hadn't bought.
If I'd have known how slow and frustrating it was going to be to use it, I would have reconsidered.
Having said that it does have it's advantages in that it is very portable.
But I am wondering if there is any way it's speed and performance can be upgraded so that it feels more like something from 21st century rather than the 1980's.

It's spec is :

Intel Atom CPU N450 @ 1.66GHz 
RAM 1GB
OS Windows 7 Starter 32 Bit

 

[Geek-9pm]

IMHO, it is not a candidate for speed improvement.
The only possibility is to up the ram to 2 GB.
Try this site. See if they have a recommendation for memory upgrade.
http://www.crucial.com/store/ssd.aspx

Hope that is of some help.

[dgreen]

Thanks for the advice.
Realistically, how much faster do you think it will be.
Am I likely to be satisfied with the improvement? (I know you won't be able to answer that but would you be happy)

[Geek-9pm]

With Windows 7, going from 1GB to 2GB is a large move.
I could have said 4GB, but the improvement is not as great in proportion to the cost.
One some programs you may find a 30 % or better performance when move up  to 2GB  Mostly with processing images. Or watching videos. Or action games.

For doing  things like e-mail, i more RAM does not really help. The lag in Internet stuff is mostly the connection speed. Or network load.

[dgreen]

It sounds like it may be worthwhile upgrading.
If I did bump it up to 4gb what sort of % increase could I be likely to experience?

[patio]

10%...maybe 15%

[JJ 3000]

I upgraded the RAM in my netbook with similar specs. I took it from one to two gigs of RAM, two being the most it can support. The added memory made it run 100% better. The difference was like day and night.

When buying RAM, make sure you're getting the kind that your computer can use. Not all memory modules are the same. If you go to crucial.com and run their memory advisor tool, it can tell you exactly what you have and what kind/how much your netbook will support. You don't have to buy from them, but they do have quality memory.

[JJ 3000]

I also want to mention that I disabled visual effects on my netbook to free up some of the available ram. It makes it look kind of like windows 98 but it will give you a slight gain in performance.

You may also want to unistall some of the programs that came with your computer or disable some of your startup programs. Startup programs and programs that run in the background can slow you down.

Have a look here:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows7/optimize-windows-7-for-better-performance

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

You may also want to unistall some of the programs that came with your computer or disable some of your startup programs. Startup programs and programs that run in the background can slow you down.

I highly recommend this, especially for a new computer:
http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,62253.msg395335.html#msg395335

[dgreen]

Thanks JJ & Carbon. I appreciate your help.
I'm about to go through the tips you suggested so I'll get back to you on completion (it may take a while  )
I ran the crucial scan but it was unable to come up with a complete match:
The following is a list of what our scan was able to detect:
System Manufacturer: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
System Model: N145P/N250P/N260P
Motherboard Manufacturer: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Motherboard Model: N145P/N250P/N260P

So I called Crucial. We have managed to assertain that the Model I actually have (despite what the system properties told me) is N145 PLus.
So apologies for giving the wrong info at the start but now I know it only has one slot and can only be upgraded to 2GB (according to the Crucial advisor) Would you agree.
If so, is it worth me upgrading?

[soybean]

I had an HP netbook (Windows 7 Starter) that came with 1GB of RAM.  I upgraded it to 2GB, the max, and I felt the upgrade was worthwhile. 

[dgreen]

Thanks soy, I think I'm going to take the plunge. The question now is, is it DDR2 or DDR3.
Is it true that I can only upgrade to a maximum of 2GB ?

[soybean]

I think I'd go with DDR3.  It seems like the best choice if you read articles such as http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2400801,00.asp. 

I found this on crucial.com: http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=N145%20Plus%20(DDR3)&Cat=RAM

[dgreen]

That's brilliant, thanks..
I'll be buying a 2gb ram.

[dgreen]

Just found out that the Netbook only takes DDR2 which is twice the price as DDR3
I'm a bit reluctant to risk buying it if it's not going to show a marked improvement.
Do you think the DDR2 2GB ram will improve the performance significantly enough to warrant buying a it?