Hey All,

Sorry to ask the dumbest of dumb questions, but when it comes to computers I know just enough to be really dangerous.

thus I need some ARFCOM Experts to set me straight...

I have an older Fry's Great Quality (Fry's house brand of China cheapie) notebook that is operating XP under only 448K according to windows control panel.  (Base memory of 256K plus a second 256K SODIMM.  

The Processor is an AMD Semprom 3000 so between the old low power processor and the lack of RAM there is not a lot of "horsepower" happening.  The system BOGS down when MS security is updating to the point it feels frozen.

I have a spare 1 gig SODIMM that is PC5300 but the specs for the "Great Quality" notebook call for PC3200.  I read that it is OK to mix and match memory, and that the system will only go as fast as the slowest part of the system.

If I put the 5300 into the system, I'm not going to damage either the RAM or the Notebook am I?

The other Big Question is - Is it worth putting the 1 gig 5300 in the notebook (Should I expect to see any big performance difference?).  

I plan to keep the GQ as a spare / travel Notebook and to let my son use it (he is going on 9) as a learning computer.  It has served his big sisters for several years and still somehow is chuffing along.

Any and all advice is appreciated.  

You can however mix and match speeds within the same type of ram. For example you could use a PC2100 module with PC3200. The memory gets clocked down to the lowest speed.

Some of the older memory will cost half as much as a new desktop. Try to find the correct memory used cheap if you want to upgrade. Quick search shows some around $50 a gig.

RATS!  I was thinking I could get by with dropping the 1 gib new memory into the old notebook, but if they are not compatible, then I'm stuck.

Don't want to spend another $50 on a 1 gig RAM of 3200 (old style) when the whole notebook is worth maybe $150 (it runs but is OLD & Low  tech - 5 years old and basement bargin when I bought it.

DDR 2 must be much cheaper to make, because the Fry's here sells "new" SoDimms cheap compared to "old" memory.

Thanks!