The Cellar - View Single Post

ZenGum · 03-12-2011, 11:23 PM

Okay, the 7 key was behaving itself for a while there, but went evil again a few days back. BigV, you were right, pulling the key cap off didn't help, but it did confirm that it didn't help, and made me feel a bit better.
So I googled the Dell manual, and have opened the machine (from the top, pretty easy) and disconnected the built-in keyboard. I'm typing this on a wireless keyboard.

I've ordered a new keyboard - $45 + 15 shipping, should be 3 days, compared to the shop down the road who wanted $160 and 2-3 weeks! I reckon I can put it in okay.

So far so good.

You may also remember me whining about slow performance. Well I've done some self-edumacation and have found out this poor old thing has only 512 MB of RAM. It can take up to 2 GB so I'm planning to do that.

This morning and afternoon have been a blur of numbers. I know the RAM has to be the right type, speed, etc etc. (for the techies: SO-DIMM DDR2 533MHz PC2-4200 200 pin Non-ECC, and my machine can take up to 2 x 1 GB chips.)

More shopping around has again found local stores with ridiculous prices, and an online store with much better prices.

So I am down to a final decision between three products. The main specs are the same but there are a few minor differences. I'd just like to list the three here and see if anyone has any thing to say, either good or bad experiences with these brands or such.

1. A-RAM $22.40. Says "latency 5-5-5-15" I have no idea.

2. Corsair $26.10. Doesn't mention latency.

3. Kingston $33.40. Latency timings CL4.

Links to these three are here.

Any opinions?

03-12-2011, 11:23 PM	#12
ZenGum Doctor Wtf Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Badelaide, Baustralia Posts: 12,861	Okay, the 7 key was behaving itself for a while there, but went evil again a few days back. BigV, you were right, pulling the key cap off didn't help, but it did confirm that it didn't help, and made me feel a bit better. So I googled the Dell manual, and have opened the machine (from the top, pretty easy) and disconnected the built-in keyboard. I'm typing this on a wireless keyboard. I've ordered a new keyboard - $45 + 15 shipping, should be 3 days, compared to the shop down the road who wanted $160 and 2-3 weeks! I reckon I can put it in okay. So far so good. You may also remember me whining about slow performance. Well I've done some self-edumacation and have found out this poor old thing has only 512 MB of RAM. It can take up to 2 GB so I'm planning to do that. This morning and afternoon have been a blur of numbers. I know the RAM has to be the right type, speed, etc etc. (for the techies: SO-DIMM DDR2 533MHz PC2-4200 200 pin Non-ECC, and my machine can take up to 2 x 1 GB chips.) More shopping around has again found local stores with ridiculous prices, and an online store with much better prices. So I am down to a final decision between three products. The main specs are the same but there are a few minor differences. I'd just like to list the three here and see if anyone has any thing to say, either good or bad experiences with these brands or such. 1. A-RAM $22.40. Says "latency 5-5-5-15" I have no idea. 2. Corsair $26.10. Doesn't mention latency. 3. Kingston $33.40. Latency timings CL4. Links to these three are here. Any opinions? __________________ Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008. Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl.