Memory card?

Question

I have a Dell laptop (510 inspiron) . I want to increase the RAM memory by adding an external card to the card slot on the side of my laptop, not on the mother board. Is there a way? What is the name of such a memory card? What should I be looking for?

Answer 1

You can only do this with Vista.

Windows ReadyBoost (Vista only)
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/readyboost.mspx
Windows Vista introduces Windows ReadyBoost, a new concept in adding memory to a system. You can use non-volatile flash memory, such as that on a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive, to improve performance without having to add additional memory "under the hood."

USB Flash Drives
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=379
http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?in_dim_search=1&N=2013240522&SubCategory=522&Description=usb+flash+drives

Answer 2

That is not really possible.. the way that you stated it. Now with a new operating system... i.e. if you got Windows Vista, it is capable of drawing more system memory from flash drives. But considering the laptop that you have... chances are that you are running Windows Xp and Xp does not have this feature.

Answer 3

you're referring to Vista's ability to access flash memory through USB. If you're running vista you just plug a flash mem device in and when the autoplay pops up you select "speed up my system"

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/readyboost.mspx

In reality.....those devices typically wear out pretty quickly so I wouldn't be surprised if it died on you somewhere down the road.

In any case, it's still running through the USB bus so it's not nearly as optimized as true system ram. Nothing beats an extra stick on the board.

cheers!

Answer 4

Don't know. I guess you've got to ask a computer expert.