tom_simes
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Registered: 12th Jan 05
Location: Undy, Newport Drives: Skoda Octavia vRS estate
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Which of these is best for my laptop? I know they are both the correct fitment, but which is the better of the two, and why?
http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=6538E168A5CA7304
http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=19E1DA81A5CA7304
The only differences I can see is that one is PC2-4200 and CL=4and the other is PC2-5300 and CL=5.
What difference does this mean?
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James_DT
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Registered: 9th Apr 04
Location: Cambridgeshire
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CL — CAS (column address strobe) latency, which is the number of clock cycles it takes before data starts to flow after a command is received. Lower CL is faster. Modules with different CL can be mixed on a system, but the system will only run at the highest (slowest) CL.
PC2-5300 is faster aslong as the laptop supports running at those speeds. I'd go for PC2-5300 with a CL of 5 over PC2-4200 with a CL of 4 as the higher CL won't be noticeable but the faster RAM would be.
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tom_simes
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Registered: 12th Jan 05
Location: Undy, Newport Drives: Skoda Octavia vRS estate
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How do I find out if the laptop can run at those speeds though? Its a Dell Inspiron 6000.
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James_DT
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Location: Cambridgeshire
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http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Inspiron+6000
The 3 options at the top are all 4200, so I'd say that was your best bet. The 5300 is backwards compatible, so would happily run at 4200 speeds if your laptop only supports 4200.
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tom_simes
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Registered: 12th Jan 05
Location: Undy, Newport Drives: Skoda Octavia vRS estate
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So would you say it would be best to go for the 4200 and CL=4 then?
Thanks for your help James
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James_DT
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Registered: 9th Apr 04
Location: Cambridgeshire
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As that seems to be the best bet for the computer, then yes.
No worries 
[Edited on 26-10-2007 by James_DT]
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