More memory (or better CPU?)

I've got an HP Pavilion dv5z-1000 Notebook. It has 2 gigabytes of memory/RAM/whatev, and it runs alright. Faster than my previous laptop, anyway. Well, I want it to go even faster than "alright". I've heard RAM is the solution. But I know little about RAM. I can probably install a new RAM chip in the computer, but I don't know how to go about buying it.

What do I need to know about buying RAM? Other than varying chip size, is there anything else that varies about them? If so, how do I figure out what kind of chip will work with my notebook? How better would the performance be if I bought another gig? Are there any drawbacks to putting in more RAM? If so, what else should I add to my computer to prevent those drawbacks? Last but not least, where should I buy from? I know newegg is a good site.

Any help is appreciated.

EDIT: Looked some stuff up. Is it a better CPU that I'm looking for? I want things to run a bit faster.

generally laptop ram ranges from being easily replaceable to a fixed amount.

after a little googling your ram should be 2 DDR2 1 gig sticks, you won't be able to buy just an extra gig. to get an improvement you'd need to buy 2, 2 gig sticks. no you can't, generally, just buy one 2 gig and use one of the 1gigs in the other slot.

as for ease of replacement, hp should have some documentation on how to do various things inside it on their website go and check it out.

I have a HP Pavilion notebook. On mine (and any other model I'm aware of) one of the "sticks" of ram is soldered directly to the main board. the second one actually is an SODIMM stick and is changable / replacable.

2GB is enough anyway. And you can't change your notebook's processor (not easily, anyway). It's simpler to just replace the notebook, or just put up with it.

i think the ones in the dv5z-1000 are sodimm, it's probably the processor that is lacking anyway but if he wants to change the ram anyway it's up to him.

Animefan's topics are really stupid...

Animefan's topics are really stupid...

My god you're such a dick how'd you even get to be a mod?  I think maybe instead of being an asshole when it's not necessary, you could go and look up some rules of politeness and etiquette and bring them with you to the forum next time.  Seriously you're a site staff member, grow up.

Animefan's topics are really stupid...

I'm reporting this post and that post and every post ever made because

Animefan's topics are really stupid...

What?

I'm not a fan of Animefan, but he had a legitimate question. You're retarded.

Animefan's topics are really stupid...

My god you're such a dick how'd you even get to be a mod?  I think maybe instead of being an asshole when it's not necessary, you could go and look up some rules of politeness and etiquette and bring them with you to the forum next time.  Seriously you're a site staff member, grow up.

Animefan comes here everytime his computer so much bleeps at him. He fixes the problem himself a lot of the time and then moans about anime,peeing or the FBI. One of the rules of this section of the site is to use google first he clearly hasn't.

Im only rude to Animefan

It's clear he did look it up, because he said he did.

There's nothing wrong with asking questions, because a lot of people would rather get answers tailored to their specific situation, not someone else's.

It's honestly getting old seeing Animefan jumped on. He hasn't done anything ridiculous in a long time, so shut up. This isn't even the place to bitch about him.

It's clear he did look it up, because he said he did.

There's nothing wrong with asking questions, because a lot of people would rather get answers tailored to their specific situation, not someone else's.

It's honestly getting old seeing Animefan jumped on. He hasn't done anything ridiculous in a long time, so shut up. This isn't even the place to bitch about him.

True, alright Sorry animefan.

I love how ahref totally took my post seriously.

Icork has a good point though, AF hasn't been a dick, there's no reason to mock him right now.  That's how we roll man, we don't do shit until we have reason to.

It's honestly getting old seeing Animefan jumped on.

You guys still gang up on me, though.

You say stupid things a lot more than animefan lol

Spoiler for:

Spoiler for:

kit

Spoiler for:

kat

Spoiler for:

kan

Spoiler for:

I just realized that you get kan by replacing one letter in Kit twice.

Spoiler for:

kit

Spoiler for:

kat

Spoiler for:

kan

Spoiler for:

I just realized that you get kan by replacing one letter in Kit twice.

I just realized that's fucking retarded.

Spoiler for:

I just realized that you get kan by replacing one letter in Kit twice.

I can also get my name to spell NAMKCOR by replacing only 3 letters, moving 3 different letters around once, and subtracting two letters and 3 numbers.

Spoiler for:

I just realized that you get kan by replacing one letter in Kit twice.

I can also get my name to spell NAMKCOR by replacing only 3 letters, moving 3 different letters around once, and subtracting two letters and 3 numbers.

I just realized that's fucking retarded.

Wow. Looks like next time somebody's being mean to me I should just keep my mouth shut and wait for it to fix itself.
Thanks for the advice people. I have one more question and then I'll call this thread "resolved":

Is there a way to tell how much of my RAM/memory/shtuff is actually working? The "system" icon says I should have 2.00 GB total, but does that reflect how much the system can actually use?

I would assume that counter shows much RAM is actually being used. P: You can always search up online your computer model and see how much it's able to take.

Wow. Looks like next time somebody's being mean to me I should just keep my mouth shut and wait for it to fix itself.
Thanks for the advice people. I have one more question and then I'll call this thread "resolved":

Is there a way to tell how much of my RAM/memory/shtuff is actually working? The "system" icon says I should have 2.00 GB total, but does that reflect how much the system can actually use?

You need to look up your processor, and whether or not your operating system is 32 or 64 bit. 

Basically, check your CPU model, if it supports 64bit architecture and you don't mind reformatting to install a 64-bit version of your OS (provided it's not WinXP, 64bit WinXP is a load of garbage with less support than Vista ever had) then your RAM limit is 128 GB, theoretically, given a time when hardware can manage that much ram.  Otherwise, 4GB max.

Fuck what everyone else said.

www.crucial.com

Put in the brand and model. It will tell you everything you need to know.