Upgrading RAM on old PC, waste of money or not?

[Inspired]

So my parents are using this old PC I was using back when I was in middle school.

What I know about the PC is that:
-It's a Compaq Presario
-Intel Celoron(R) CPU 2.80GHz
-504 MB of RAM

They've been complaining about how my laptop is faster than that PC, and I was thinking maybe I should throw out some money and buy them 2GB Ram. So my question is...

1) With such an old PC, would the 2GB RAM even help speed it up that much(I checked Crucial and did the scan they said this PC can upgrade to 2GB RAM)?

2) If I do install RAM on this old PC will it overheat any of the other components(I know nothing about computers so excuse my ignorance)?

3) Should I just buy them another PC? I mean all they do is use this PC to chat and exchange emails with friends and families from far away.(No gaming except mom plays neopets)

Thanks for checking out this thread, any comments or feedbacks are appreciated. Thanks again!

 

[rhsgolfer33]

I'd probably try the ram first. It can't be terribly expensive for that machine. Its worth trying before purchasing a whole new PC (though if you have the money this is probably the ideal solution). I'd try to get it from a store in the area that will you allow you to return it, that way you can pop it in, see how much it improves the PCs speed, and either keep it or return it depending on the results. You might also try some general cleanup measures, like removing any accumulate adware/spyware, defraging the disk, etc.