Member Avatar for lewashby

I have an older Toshiba Satellite laptop with Linux Mint OS installed. It pretty old and it's starting to show as it's getting slower. It's got a bigger screen and it's even got the num pad on the right of the keyboard in addetion to the numbers at the top. I thought about getting a new one but this has been a good computer and it's built very sturdy, I worked at Best Buy for about 6 months and I didn't see many built this sturdy. So I thought I might just put a few new parts in it to start with, maybe start with a processor and RAM and then maybe later an SSD and a new battery. Anyway here's the specs after running inxi, can someone please tell me what I need to be looking for concerning hardware, I'd like to get what's compatible with this computer and Linux but I'd like to up the specs a little with both the CPU and the RAM. Thanks.

developer@mint-laptop ~ $ inxi
CPU~Dual core AMD Turion X2 Mobile RM-72 (-MCP-) clocked at Min:1050.000Mhz Max:2100.000Mhz Kernel~3.16.0-4-amd64 x86_64 Up~25 min Mem~1108.3/2764.4MB HDD~250.1GB(4.8% used) Procs~167 Client~Shell inxi~2.1.28
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Short, practical plan: confirm the exact Toshiba model and the memory type/limits, then upgrade in this order — SSD first for the biggest snappiness improvement, RAM next if you run lots of apps or browser tabs, and only consider CPU changes if the service manual explicitly shows a removable socketed CPU (that is uncommon). 's SSD suggestion is the highest-impact step; adding RAM helps once disk I/O is no longer the bottleneck.

To discover model and memory details from Linux, run these as root (or install dmidecode/lshw via your package manager) and read the output for "product" and memory info:

sudo dmidecode -s system-product-name
sudo dmidecode -t memory
sudo lshw -C memory

What to buy: identify the SO‑DIMM form factor and the DDR generation (DDR2, DDR3, etc.), the number of slots, and the maximum supported per slot from the service manual or the dmidecode output. Prefer matched modules (same size and speed) to retain dual‑channel operation when two slots are present. Use reputable brands (Crucial, Kingston, Samsung) and a vendor compatibility tool if you want an easy match.

Installation and testing tips: disconnect AC and battery, ground yourself, seat modules until the clips click, then confirm BIOS sees the full memory. Run memtest86 (bootable) or the memtester utility for a quick check. For storage, verify the physical interface (2.5" SATA vs mSATA/M.2) before buying an SSD, clone or clean-install the OS, and enable TRIM (sudo fstrim -v / or the distro's fstrim timer). These steps maximize compatibility and the chance that the upgrades will make the laptop feel significantly faster.

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Member Avatar for rproffitt

Just a tip. Always add the model number so folk don't have to sleuth out what model this was.

Laptop CPUs are rarely changeable and sourcing is a pain too. Forget all that and pop in the SSD now. The speed gain I'm seeing is phenomenal.

Example. Dell E1505 2006 Inspiron with 2GB RAM 120GB SSD boots W10 in 33 second from cold to a Google web result. That's one old laptop yet it's very usable. With the old HDD it took 5+ minutes to do that.

Member Avatar for lewashby

Noted. What about the RAM, if I wanted to go ahead and put some new ram in it? What do I need to look for?

Member Avatar for rproffitt

I can sort of answer that. That 2006 Dell E1505 was a return from my son from his college days. It only had 1GB RAM but a bad HDD.

The 120GB SSD was all of 30 bucks on a door buster sale so that went in. The boot time was about 45 seconds with just 1GB RAM on W10. Since it was looking good at this point I found a 2GB memory upgrade kit for 15 bucks on Amazon. That helped boot time fall to under 30 seconds. So yes, more RAM is a good thing. I quote the 33 seconds because it shows just how much time you can save with SSD.

The 33 second is from a cold boot (not sleep) and launching Firefox, typing test into the google search box, press enter and getting a result.

Let's hope your laptop is better than this 2006 E1505.

I'm unclear on your "what to look for" question. I get memory from crucial.com and sometimes from Amazon. I only look to see if they mention my model or if I'm chancing it, I look to DDR type, voltage, and the 20 other items that DDR specs can have. I don't like doing that work so often it's Crucial or Amazon items that mention the target machine.

Edited by rproffitt
Member Avatar for lewashby

I havent putchased a lot of hardware for a laptop and I just want to make sure that I get RAM that is compatible with this computer. I figured if I pasted the resutls of inxi it would tell knowledgable observer what kind to get. So will it suffice to just go to amazon or crucial and enter laptop ddr RAM?

Member Avatar for rproffitt

Sorry lew but inxi would have me sleuthing the machine's make and model then I could check on compatible RAM.

Is this a test to see if I can guess the laptop model? I'm good but given you have that info, seems I could use that time to do something else.

Maybe I got that wrong but I have run into folk that write "I told you enough for you to figure it out. You're not allowed to ask questions." You can imagine my response. Mostly I let them eat static.

Member Avatar for lewashby

Thanks for your help.

commented: Good to read. Really though, get the SSD in there. You'll know why in no time. +11
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