TC1100 memory upgrade

[Merlin95]

Hey all
In my efforts to upgrade my old TC1100 (read recent thread on SSD), I am now looking at the memory. When I bought the tablet from a refurbisher, it had a 256MB internal memory which was brought to 768MB by adding a 512MB external chip. I can purchase and swap this chip by a 1GB new one, which would give 1GB 256MB? Is this technically feasible (memory chips pair matching) ? Will I see a big difference in the tablet's "snapiness"?
Thanks

[Steve B]

Ram is by far the cheapest and easiest way to improve performance. I don't know if your tc1100 can take 2 gb of ram, but it you can, I'd use it. Either way, you should notice real world improvement.

[excalibur1814]

If I recall the limits were 2Gb ram and a 120Gb ide 2.5" hard drive

[Merlin95]

Thanks. So I will buy one. However, will any memory chip be accepted by the system? I remember sometimes, you can't mix memory chips of different sizes, and need to ensure pair matching. The internal RAM is 256MB so, no issue adding a 1GB external chip?

[Selofain]

You'll need DDR 333mhz SODIMMS. Pair matching shouldn't be a problem; I'm running two different brands of RAM in my TC1100. Also, if you're feeling adventurous, the TC1100 is fairly easy to disassemble if you want to upgrade the internal RAM as well. 2GB of ram is far better for performance.

[Steve B]

I'm not sure how the tc110 works, but on my le1600, which comes with 512 onboard of ram, when you install a 2 gb chip it just disables and doesn't really recognize the onboard ram. Still worth it though, as a minimum of 2 gb of ram is essential, IMO, to really run much these days.

No "matching" is required, but you have to make sure it's an older type of ram or it won't work at all-- the ddr 333 mhz that selofain speaks of. It's about 20$ on ebay for a matching 2x 1 gb set, 50$ for a single 2gb chip. I don't know how many slots you have available. On my le1600, I have only one free slot, thus the 1 x 2gb of ram needed.

[dceggert]

The TC1100 has one slot accessible and one buried on the other side of the motherboard. The 256 MB is likely installed on the other side of the board. To upgrade the device to 2 GB you need to put 1 GB in the accessible slot and 1 GB in the other after diasassembly. I never bothered with the other slot but mine came with 512 MB of RAM so I ended up with 1.5 GB total. For me it was worth it not to totally disassemble the device but you may feel different. If I remember correctly there were several issues with the CPU's causing faults after the reassembly and I never wanted that hassle. There are many sites that have the procedure if they are still around (see link below).

As for the 120 GB HDD limitation; the limitation is on any one partition. If you buy a 7200 RPM 160 GB drive like I did (bigger ones are probably cheap enough now) or a 250+ GB SSD you just need to partition it so that none of the partitions are over 120 GB. You could partition a 250 GB SSD into 3 drives, for instance, with 120 GB as your OS drive and the other two of any size you want as long as they are under 120 GB ea.

Now I really hate to do this but I will anyway...cruise on over to TabletPCBuzz.com and hit the forum there. There are a group of die-hard TC1100 users there that continue to keep the machine going. Most users here at this site have moved on long ago. You may find clearer and fresher information there.

[Steve B]

RE: one versus two slots. I'm not sure how much ram the tc1100 can take in a single slot. I suppose that's the question. On my le1600, there is only one available slot. The other is on the back, and is hidden and soldered in, like the tc1100. However, I can put a single 2 gb chip in my le1600 and get the full usage of the 2 gb-- just with the caveat that it disables the onboard ram, which is fine by me. If that's the case as well for the tc1100, then you won't need to open it up to alter the onboard ram, and would just need to get a single 2 gb chip. What you need is for a tc1100 owner to just say if they've got a single 2 gb chip in their's or not. If so, then there's nothing complicated about it in the least.

Re: tabletpcbuzz-- it's got a wealth of info on older computers, but the forum there is really really really dead. It's more like a depository of older info. There's been one post there in weeks by anyone, just to demonstrate.

[e-schreiber]

Before buying the TC-1100, find out how much its RAM would cost you. RAM for current systems is dirty cheap, but RAM for older ones can be quite expensive sometimes. Once you add up the cost of all you planned upgrade, you might find yourself in a situation in which your "old-and-still-slow" TC-1100 has cost as much as a brand-new one. Perhaps you should start with a different used tablet.....One that isn't as old as the TC-1100.

Do the math before you open the wallet.

[Steve B]

He already has the tc1100 though, and as it maxes out at only 2 gb ram, you can currently get it on eBay for about 30-50$.