Wait a minute... what was I saying?
Written: Apr 27 '02 (Updated Oct 21 '04)
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| Full Review |
This should prove to be the most consumerly-helpful™ review about Crucial.com, if only for the fact that I promise not to use the word "crucial" in any capacity other than naming the company I'm reviewing (with this here sentence being the single exception).
As faithful readers know, when I bought my Dell Inspiron 8100™ last October, I decided that its memory configuration initially would be bare-bones: 128MB of PC133 SDRAM (the minimum requirement for running Windows XP). I knew that it would be cheaper to upgrade memory separately than beef it up through the initial purchase. Well, after penning that brief Dell laptop review and receiving helpful feedback from the imitable pogomom that some of my system complaints were memory-related, I decided it was high time to follow through and upgrade this sucker.
Being that Crucial.com is a division of Micron Technology, Inc., they sell Micron memory. I was pleased to discover this, because Micron has a stellar reputation for being at the forefront of the industry. So, I knew before I ordered the memory it that I'd be getting a superior product.
I saved myself $30 by upgrading through Crucial.com, and probably got myself a memory module that's of a higher quality than what Dell has to offer.
THE WEBSITE EXPERIENCE
Crucial.com's website is probably the most sleekly designed, intuitive, professional, information-filled website I've come across in my years as an internet shopper. I wasn't just impressed... I was floored. Elegant without being flashy, the site is broken up into four main sections: Store/Home, Help, Library and Company.
Store/Home
Finding/learning about the product
Store/Home, obviously, is the place where you locate and select your memory module purchase. Their product selection system, called the Crucial Memory Selector™, is extremely intuitive and easy to use (they offer a money-back guarantee that the Crucial Memory Selector™ will never steer you wrong by suggesting an incompatible module). During Step 1, I used the pull-down to select "Personal Computing." Step 2 prompted me to choose my manufacturer, Dell. Then I chose "Inspiron" at Step 3, where all of Dell's product lines are listed. At Step 4's model selection screen, I chose "Inspiron 8100 Series." And that's all I had to do to find what Crucial calls "100% Compatible Upgrades" — the complete list of in-stock memory modules that were compatible with my system. No searching was necessary; this pleasant process-of-elimination pathway swiftly got me to where I needed to go.
I was shown the exact type of memory module that's compatible with my system: the 144-pin SODIMM. The "picture" link adjacent to this info has both a photo and a detailed description of this module type. Back on the page where I found my choices, there were two entries: 128MB and 256MB. Notable was the absence of a 64MB upgrade (lack of selection may be the single shortcoming of the site — I explored other models and brands, and for some of them, no upgrades were in stock). Heck, I'm sure I could find a 64MB module elsewhere if I were looking for a piddly upgrade, but that's not why I was there. I was there to purchase an upgrade that would dramatically improve my system's performance; I eyed the 256MB selection, drool collecting in the corners of my mouth.
I saw that there were two prices listed: $100.99 Price (ea.), and $90.89 Web Price (ea.). You can phone in your order, but it's 10% cheaper to purchase through their website. I never even considered phoning it in.
Adjacent to the part number were three links under the Part Details heading, each of them taking me to a separate page that defined the term and showed me where on the Speed Line this particular aspect of my module laid. Clicking on SDRAM PC 133 (the speed and memory type), Non-parity (another facet of memory type), and CAS latency (clock cycle info) showed me that the type of memory I was about to purchase was indeed of the speedier variety. Since these aspects of my upgrade had to match what's currently in my system, this info confirmed that the original memory Dell installed was up there in quality (DDR and Rambus types are newer and faster, but SDRAM is far from obsolete).
Again, back to the choices page (these excursions to the more detailed pages were certainly not required, but they did help me learn about what I was getting). I clicked the Buy button which took me to the Shopping Cart Summary page. Here I found what most websites include on their shopping cart pages: the ability to update the quantity, a link to shop for more items, and the button that would take me to Secure Checkout. No more self-induced delays! On with the...
Checkout
First I filled out the Contact Info page, entering my name and email address. Next was the Shipping Information page. I entered my billing address (yes, I mean "billing"), and was happy to see both an additional address field, and a zip code field that allowed for zip+4 (sure, many website have these, but many don't). Instead of providing a second set of fields for Shipping Information with a checkbox that says "Ship to billing address," they streamlined the page by reversing the logic; shipping to the same address is the default, and the "I want to ship to a difference address" button allows you to change that.
Still on the Shipping Info page, I went to the next section: Shipping (surprise surprise!). The default choice was music to my... uh, eyes: "FedEx 2nd Day $.00". This wasn't a surprise, because Crucial makes their free shipping offer (for items shipped "within the contiguous U.S.") known right on their home page. Though this is a limited-time offer, I've learned through other epinionators that they enact free shipping offers from time to time. Free shipping is wonderful, but free 2-day shipping is bliss! (When they offer this through UPS, it's UPS 2nd Day Air, not the slower UPS Ground.) There were six other FedEx shipping options, and one each for UPS, DHL International, and APO/FPO, but as you my have guessed, I stuck with the free shipping.
The final section on the Shipping Info page is Payment Method, where I chose "Credit/Debit Card" (as opposed to "Wire Transfer or Alternate Method"). Below this was a field for me to enter a Coupon Code. I didn't have one.
The next page was for Payment Information. Here, I found the standard fields for entering credit card info. Below those fields, you can choose from three Crucial Newsletter Subscriptions: the monthly email newsletter, the weekly memory pricing alert email, and the one for exclusive offers and info (this, I assume, is where one can procure those coupon codes). I was pleased to see that, unlike more pushy companies that have these boxes pre-checked (where you'd have to uncheck them if you didn't want them), Crucial's newsletter checkboxes were blank.
At the bottom of the Payment Info page is the Shopping Cart Summary section which shows a full description of the item(s), cart total, estimated sales tax, shipping charges, and the estimated total due. Actually, this summary appears at the bottom of all of the checkout pages, but it's not until reaching this page that the estimated sales tax is factored into the total (because one enters their billing state on the previous page). More often than not, you'll have to pay sales tax when using Crucial, because according to their FAQ, this is required when purchasing from any state in which "Micron has a business presence" (there are 30).
The Confirm Order page, of course, is the final page of the checkout process, where one has a chance to double-check everything before hitting the Confirm Order button. The next page showed that my order went through and gave me an order number, along with a link to view my order status.
Order Status/Tracking
Here's another area where Crucial.com really shines. There are headings for Item Description, Status, Date Shipped and Waybill Number. Before my order shipped, the status was "In Progress." Built into this page is a mini FAQ that explains:
"96% of our orders ship within 48 hours; if your part is in stock and we process your order before noon Mountain Time on a weekday, your order will probably ship the same day."
Well, it did. How do I know? Not only do they provide the FedEx waybill number, they provide a "Track Shipment" link... and not only is this a link to FedEx's website, it's a specific link that included my waybill number. Wow! I've seen other websites provide links to their shippers' homepages, but I've never seen one do this. Maybe I need to get out more, but this knocked my socks off.
I placed my order Thursday morning, and FedEx picked it up in Boise on Thursday afternoon. Kick ass!
Help
Phat FAQ
Crucial.com's Frequently Asked Questions section is incredible. You can choose the main categories from the first pull-down (e.g., Ordering, Tech Support, Customer Service), then choose sub-categories in the second pull-down (e.g., after choosing "Ordering" at main: Selecting Your Memory, Privacy and Security, Shipping, All Sub-Categories). At this point, hitting the Search button without entering any keywords will allow you to browse all topics that relate to your chosen main and sub-categories. Or, you can enter a keyword to refine your search (whether or not you used the pull-downs). For the purpose of finding out just how many topics are in their FAQ, I left the keyword field blank, then chose "All Categories" and "All Sub-Categories". That yielded 322 topics. Wow. Browsing some of them, I found logical questions and comprehensive answers.
Online expert
Crucial.com offers you the ability to chat with an expert online. I didn't need to use this feature during my ordering experience, but I tested it out for the purposes of this review. Choosing this option, a small pop-up window came up. All I had to do was enter my first name and email address, then I logged right in. It took about five seconds before I was connected with Silvia:
Sky: Hello Silvia! I don't have many questions for you, but I'm writing a review about Crucial.com, so I wanted to test this sucker out.
Silvia: Okay, I'll try to help.
Sky: Are you a robot or a real live person?
Silvia: REAL LIVE PERSON!
Sky: Cool. Is the hardcopy installation guide that will be included in my package as comprehensive as your online guide? I ask because I have no printer, so I can't print out the online guide.
Silvia: No, I don't think it's quite as comprehensive, but it should definitely be adequate for memory installation novices.
Sky: Cool. Well, I don't really have any more questions here, so I'll stop wasting your time. Have a good day!
Silvia: No problem. You too!
Sky: By the way... what are you wearing?
Silvia was nice.
I was given the option of having the chat transcript emailed to me. Cool! The only criticism here is that there was a bit of a delay before each of Silvia's responses.
Step-by-step installation guides
As you have guessed, the online installation guide is super-phat. The guides aren't specific to any brand or model (hell, I didn't expect it to be that specialized), but there are separate guides for DIMM (desktops, servers), SIMM (older desktops, servers), SODIMM (notebooks), and CompactFlash™ (digital cameras, PDAs, portable digital music players). Reading the one for notebooks, I found it to be nicely detailed, with many clear photographs to help me along (there are even links under each photo for you to view an alternate angle!).
Helpdesk
This section is laid out somewhat like an FAQ, but it focuses on any questions you may have about using the website itself. This, too, is highly detailed, and includes screenshots from the site.
Library
There are tons of articles on this side of the website. Some are duplicates of what you'll find on the Help side of the site (sections like "How Do I Order?" and "How Do I Install My Memory"). Other sections contain very interesting advice or background articles. In the "Should I Upgrade?" section, one can read articles that outline the benifits of upgrading memory — one even explains why upgrading your RAM helps extend the life of your laptop battery. In the "Learn More About RAM" section, one can read a detailed account of Micron's memory manufacturing process and technique, advice for those upgrading to Windows XP from older operating systems, discussions of rising and falling RAM prices, and much, much more. One could spend hours in Library. The articles I've read were well written, enlightening, and handsomely presented (this compliment can be paid to everything throughout Crucial.com's website).
Company
The content just doesn't end. Here you'll find an article that covers the company's history, a compilation of customer testimonials (do you think my review will fit in there?), a self-serving Top Ten on why you should buy from Crucial, contact information, and yes... much, much more.
PRODUCT IN HAND, PRODUCT IN MACHINE
Don't worry, the second "half" of this review won't be nearly as long. You should be able to read through it faster, because up until now, I've been writing it with 128MB of RAM. Now I'm off to FedEx to pick up my new memory module (I had FedEx hold it at their station so that I could pick it up today instead of waiting for Monday's delivery — this means that only 27 hours will have passed between ordering and installation!). When I return, I'll be writing with 384MB of RAM under the hood, so we should all zip right along.
Installation
The module was packaged in a small cardboard box, which securely protected it during shipping. The only other item in the box was the single-page multi-language installation guide, which was certainly adequate, but did not have the amount of pictures that the website's installation guide had. This more general hardcopy guide covers installations for SIMM, DIMM and SODIMM modules.
I shut down the system, closed the lid, and unplugged the A/C and Cable lines. The Dell Solutions Guide advised me to unplug everything (for me, this was everything), but Crucial's guide advised me to keep the A/C plugged in in order to ground the case. I went with Dell on this one, because my laptop's shell is plastic, not metal; Crucial's advice seemed to pertain more to desktop systems (which are more likely to have metal housings). Either way, the idea of working with the exposed guts of a plugged-in computer was a bit scary. My last personal safety measure was to disconnect the laptop's battery. Piece o' cake.
Then I flipped over the laptop, located the memory bay with the guidance of Dell's manual, unscrewed the single screw, pried open the plastic door, and found the memory compartment staring back at me, with the empty slot whispering, "Fill me up, baby."
"Okay!" I looked for the unpainted metal panel that Crucial's guide foretold might be inside, but I didn't see it. They advise you to touch that metal panel in order to dissipate any electrostatic discharge your body may be harboring, because these static shocks can be very damaging to memory modules and other computer components. But like I said, I didn't see any metal panel, so I touched one of the metal connectors on the rear panel of the machine to expel any electrons (after having planted my feet firmly so they wouldn't move across the carpet to gather additional static electricity). Then I unwrapped the module from its ESD-protective bag.
I let it fall into my hand without touching the pins that adorned the long contact side. Gripping it by the edges, I lined up the notch on this side with the protrusion in the memory slot. Inserting the module at a 45º angle, the pins intertwined nicely with those in the slot. Pushing the module all the way in, I then pushed downward so it was flat against the slot's platform, and it snapped satisfyingly into place. And that's was it!
I closed the door, screwed it shut, put the battery back in, flipped the machine over, plugged it in, opened the screen, and hit the Power button. Upon starting up, Windows told me, "The memory on your computer has changed."
"You bet your sweet ass it has!"
Wwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
Upgraded Startup/Shutdown/Standby times
The Windows XP loading screen used to come up in 11 seconds. It still does. I used to see the Welcome screen at :37. Now I see it at :32.. :43 used to be the count before the Windows desktop appeared. Now it's :36. The desktop used to be ready for use at about 1:30 or 1:40. Now it's ready at 1:11! (When Mr. Floppy poots, I know I'm ready to go; now he poots 20-30 seconds earlier!)
During Shutdown, Hal 9000 used to say "Goodbye" at :10 or :15, and then the screen went black at anywhere between :16 and :52 (usually about :20). Not anymore. Now Hal says "Goodbye" at :5, and the power cuts at :14!
Standby Mode used to kick in between 3 and 12 seconds after closing the lid. Now it enters Standby after 3 to 5 seconds. During awakening from hibernation, usually 12 to 15 seconds (though sometimes 20 to 30 seconds) would pass before seeing the "To Begin, Click Your Username" screen. Now I only have to wait 7 to 10 seconds.
The upgrade's effect on other operations
All programs now open and close more quickly. Operations performed within applications run faster. Browsing directories in Windows Explorer is now speedier as well; sometimes, especially with large folders, it used to take a few moments after clicking on the directory to be able to view its contents; those delays have been greatly reduced. Multi-tasking is dramatically swifter and more reliable; switching back and forth between applications is a breeze now, whereas before the upgrade, Windows would lag when changing its focus.
THE COMPETITION
What competition? As far as I knew, Crucial.com was the only web service in existence that dealt exclusively with providing memory upgrade solutions and selling them directly through their website. I'd never even heard of any alternatives, so for the purposes of this review, I used the Epinions Web Services category and Yahoo! to find a list of providers of computer hardware on the web. There were very few viable options.
Provantage.com
I checked out Provantage.com. Laughable. I clicked on "Hardware," then "Memory," then "Notebook/Laptop Memory," and was presented with the first of 20 pages of listed items. This was ugly, but even worse was the fact that they had Apple memory thrown into this huge list, even though they had a separate link on the previous page called "Notebook/Laptop Memory (Macs)." I would never be able to find what I wanted in this fashion, so I checked out their search tool. Typing "Dell + notebook + memory + PC133" yielded three supposedly compatible memory upgrades (128MB, 256MB and 512MB), all manufactured by EDGE Memory. The 256MB module listed for $136.82. Now, the only reason I could refine this search so well was by using the term "PC133" in conjunction with the others. And where did I learn that this was the type of memory I needed? Crucial.com. I sure as hell didn't find that term on my own computer under My Computer, nor was it listed in Dell's Solutions Guide (it was listed in the Dell catalogue, but I had long forgotten about that). I suppose I could've called Dell for this info, but I didn't even know that question existed, let alone its answer. Testing another angle, I typed "memory + 'Inspiron 8100'" into their search field, clicked on the "256MB Modules" link, and found a different result (Kingston Memory, $131.74), along with results for other Dell computers that weren't even my model. Why weren't those EDGE Memory items here? Why didn't the Kingston item show up during that other search? Laughable.
Others
PcMall.com's site layout was a bit better than Provantage.com's, but that's not saying much at all. I found what may be a compatible 256MB module, again from EDGE Memory, but this one listed for $175.99. Next was Gigaram.com — their search tool mimicked Crucial.com's, but after using their "Configurator" to find one model that might work, I discovered that they don't even sell through their website. Next was 4AllMemory.com — oooh, there is another web service out there dedicated to memory upgrades. This was the most promising alternative so far. Their search tool worked similarly to Crucial.com's, so that was good. But my only 256MB option was their 256MB "kit," which was actually two 128MB modules, which was exactly what I didn't need. Also, they didn't show me who the manufacturer was until after I hit the Buy button. Guess who it was? Dell.
Realization
Remember when I said that Crucial.com's single shortcoming might be their lack of selection? Well, this may turn out to be true for others with different systems, but for me, they were the only one out there who had what I needed at a reasonable price. Sure, Provantage might have had what I needed, but their inflated prices defeated the whole purpose of upgrading my memory separately.
CONCLUSIONS
I am thrilled about having given my system newfound life through this memory upgrade. The results are just what I expected and hoped for, and these improvements are just as dramatic as Crucial promised they would be. Their competition is a joke. And their website? Well, browsing through, learning from, purchasing through, and dealing with Crucial.com was flat-out the best web-shopping experience I've ever enjoyed, or could even imagine.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Member: Sky
Location: Burbank, CA
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 56 members
About Me: "We smoke as we shoot the bird."
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