So i'm not sure if this should be in newbie or hardware, but here goes.

I have a Dell Inspiron 5100 with a P4 2.66Ghz processor, and 256 RAM. Right now I don't really do a ton of computing, but (as soon as i can figure out how to install them) I'll be playing a couple of different games (Ghost Recon, Diablo 2, etc) and I know when i was running windows, ghost recon, gta 3, and even command and conquer red alert 2 all lagged a bit while playing.

I'm hoping that its just not something wrong with my computer in particular that it is having trouble running any / all of these games.. I know a friend of mine had an older desktop p3 with 256 ram and he ran red alert 2 just as smoothly as i did.

So, what I'm wondering is: having only two slots to work with, would it make more sense to upgrade one slot with a 512 stick, or upgrade both with 256's? Any input on this would be good, up to and including what company you would recommend.

Thanks!

This is not really a Linux question and officially belongs in General, but it is less likely to be seen and won't get an answer. So, whatever.
Maybe the video card is the bottleneck, not your cpu or memory. Could also be too many programs in the background using up memory.

It soes not really matter. Whats the maximum you can put in?

I'm not sure of a maximum, other than only having two slots to work with. Is there a way that I can find out? I would assume that two 512's would be my maximum, but...?

I Don't think it is related to having to programs running in the background because I was very particular about what was running whenever my computer was up -- thats a good part of my reason for switching to Linux.

My lspci listing for my video card is:
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon Mobility M7 LW [Radeon Mobility 7500]

Which is (from what i understand), well known for not working with linux, but I have not had any problems with it -- and my problem started when i was working with windows anyways.

If you're at 256 and want to go to 512 RAM, then here's how I'd suggest looking at it: if you buy another 256 now, you'll be using both slots. If you later want to go bigger than 512, then you'll probably end up replacing both sticks with a pair of 512 sticks for a total of 1G of RAM. Total cost = one 256 stick now, plus two 512 sticks in the future, and after you upgrade you end up having both 256 sticks leftover. Alternatively, if you buy one 512 stick now and install it, you'll have 768 RAM, which is sweeter than 512. If you later want to go to 1G, you only need to buy one more 512 stick. Total cost = one 512 stick now, plus one 512 stick in the future, and after the upgrade you end up having only one 256 stick leftover. The third choice would be to either install a single 256 or 512 stick, and not add any more RAM in the future, which, to be honest, is what I did myself with my laptop. Just my 2 cent opinion here, but I'd say that having 512 RAM in a laptop seems like the right amount (for me, less was too pokey, more would be overkill, at least for my needs); but if you wanted to give your machine a bit of a boost, pick up the 512 and go to 768 RAM.

As for possible lagginess when playing games, you may benefit by making sure you have the latest ATI drivers installed. Note: installing ATI drivers under Linux often can be a very difficult and time consuming process. Proceed cautiously if you decide you want to attempt it. Personally, I'd favor the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" viewpoint. Good luck with it either way -- J.W.