Ok, so here is my problem:

I am an active video gamer but I play on a lap top due to college. (If it helps I play WoW.) The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 1150 and about 2-4 years old (I forget). I was wondering if there is a way to increase my Frams per second in game possibly and out of game. In game I have everything set to the lowest settings and yet I still have only 3fps when raiding with 24 other people.

Is there a way to possibly add some hardware to my laptop if nothing else is possible?

well, first we sort of need to know what's in it. have you ever added anything to it previously?

how much memory came stock with it? i know if i went to a site it would probably tell me, but sometimes when you buy you can specify how much you want. so it'd be easier if you could tell me directly.

but after we get that out of the way, the answer is fairly plain and expected.

add more memory. more than likely, you have a RAM slot open. and that means you can stick a 1 gigabyte stick in there. and that helps improve frames drastically, and will make everything out of game smoother too.

aside from that, with a laptop, i'm afraid your options are rather limited. once you've upgraded the RAM as much as possible, there's really only a few software programs you can add that might help, or you could fiddle with a few of your hard drive settings.

i assume you don't know much about tweaking your system?

You would be correct in assuming how to tweak computers. I'm actually taking my first computer class next semester and hoping one day to build one.

Anyways.. I have 512 MG of RAM.

ok, well your dell will support a maximum of 2 gigs of RAM. i would highly suggest buying 2 gigs worth, and replacing whatever is in the RAM slots.

HOWEVER. the type of RAM in your computer isn't very cheap. i found a 1gigabyte stick on newegg.com if you'd like to buy 2 two of them. 80 bucks each...ouch..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134175

and it doesn't get any cheaper. at least Kingston is a very good brand name and i've bought memory from them before. so at least it's quality.

if you'd like to do some of your own shopping, here's the exact type to look for:

200-Pin DDR SO-DIMM DDR 266 (PC 2100)

200-pin means there are literally 200 little gold teeth that connect once you stick it into the slot.

DDR is simply the type. there's DDR, DDR2, DDR3...it's not very very important to know what they mean. just know which type you have.

and 266 is the speed they operate at. 266 megahertz. that's not awful fast seeing as more modern RAM operates at 667 megahertz. but hey. it's what you've got.

i would highly recommend getting a full 2 gigabytes. but how much you get is your prerogative. if you want to conserve your cash being a college student, get 1 stick. 1.5 gigs is certainly not bad at all. i have a friend that runs WoW on her vista gateway laptop with 1.5 gigs and it performs pretty well with a lot of pretty things turned on.

as for tweaking the computer....have you ever heard of something called a page file?

a page file is actually a section of your hard drive that is used a little bit like RAM. it devotes that section to the operating system and other applications, and lets them throw information on it and retrieve it.

the larger the page file, the better. but it takes away from your overall hard drive space. i have two 40 gig hard drives. and i let my system use 2 and a half gigs from each as a page file.

this will help add maybe a frame or two. it's not much. but 5 is better than 3.

just to clarify...the system refers to the page file as "virtual memory". if you occasionally get a "the system has run out of virtual memory" complaint, that's what it means. your page file is too small.

NOW, on to tweaking it. this is a little bit complex, but i have an exact procedure so it should be straight forward.

Start> Control Panel> System> Advanced Tab> Under the Performance section, click Settings> Advanced Tab

You should now see at the bottom, a section called Virtual Memory. Click change.

Ok. this will sound crazy, but set the options to "No paging file." and then click Set.

Now, restart your computer.

Navigate back to the same place, and then set a "Custom Size" and type in 2560 for both the initial and the maximum size. That's 2 and a half gigs in megabytes. Then click set and you're done.

What this does is, it erases any page file you had before. Then when you set a new one, it creates a brand new unfragmented page file right at the start of the hard drive. and that will never fracture again.

and now that you have a larger page file, your system will have an easier time with gaming.

one more thing....do a virus scan. a lot of lag might be due to A) server lag B) your connection or C) viruses.

so make sure you're clear.

I doubt its viruses only because i run a virus scan and run spybot everyweekend. but i'll check on how update is it. As for the RAM, I looked into getting one and how to put it in, doesn't seen too hard. I will try the page file thing soon.

Thank you very much =]

when you put the RAM in there, go to shatrath. that will be the defining moment. or go on one of your raids. if you get incredibly good framerates, you're in good shape.

if you are desperate for more framerates, then i can only suggest getting an external hard drive and installing WoW on there instead. if it has its own gigantic hard drive, it will possibly run faster.

outside of that, you'll have done pretty much all you can.

happy raiding

p.s.

as a side note, i've lately become very experienced with building computers. i'm doing a build of my own. if you want, i can help you build one. :3