Inspiron 1300... Question; buying to browse web; check e-mail - 256 or 512mb?!?
 

Which do you think I really need? I will not really be designing much... mainly just checking email, browsing web, some instant messaging.

don't be cheap do the small upgrade to 512.

which is necessary
based on my needs?

What OS are you planning on running?

If you're going to try to design anything at all, you'll definitely need 512MB minimum.

If it's just for checking email and surfing everyday sites, 256MB could work.

xp home........

XP Home minimum system requirements for ram is 128MB but higher is recommended. You should be fine with 256MB for now but make sure you get a single stick of 256MB so you can add another stick in there later if you feel like performance is bogged down.

Wait, what's the price difference? Can't be much between 256 and 512MB?

My 256mb laptop runs smoothly on Windows XP Pro for surfing the web and checking email.

256 should be fine...

i just bought a new laptop with 256, and wow fuck that. go with 512, youll thank me later.

512 the extra cost to put it in is to low to not do it:)