photo credit: lucam
Since Service Pack 3 for Windows XP (security update) was released late last year, many of my XP clients started experiencing slower performance. This upgrade put an additional strain on systems with less than 512mb of RAM. Upgrading the RAM will make a big difference in speeding up the system again.
RAM is the temporary memory that the computer uses to give us the feeling of programs opening and running with some pep. It’s like giving your computer a larger desk to work from so it can spread out and find things more efficiently. RAM also allows us to open multiple computer programs at the same time with less impact on the speed of the computer.
256 megabytes used to be a lot of RAM. Today, I’m recommending users have at least 512 megabytes for Windows XP machines and consider a full gigabyte. If buying a new PC with Vista 2 gigabytes (2048 megabytes) is absolutely the minimum and 3 GB or more is even better.
Instead of spending a $500 and up for a new computer, adding extra RAM can breath new life into any computer. The upgrade is easy and economical. Even on newer computers, adding RAM can give the system a nice boost in performance.
To find out how much RAM you currently have, RIGHT click on the My Computer icon and click Properties. If you are curious about upgrading, I like to use the Memory Advisor Tool found at Crucial.com. Click the “Scan My System” icon to get a report telling you exactly what kind of RAM you have, and what type of RAM you need to get. There are many different types of RAM, and it is imperative you get the right type. You don’t have to buy the RAM from them, but they do have good prices and good service.
Watch my video below that takes you through the whole process of finding out what kind and how much RAM you need and how to install it yourself!
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Tags: install, Mac, new computer, upgrade, Windows
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Ever since I spent $40/meg for 4megs ($160!!) to upgrade my original Packard-Bell computer from its original 4megs to a whopping 8megs (back around 1995 or so) I’ve been VERY sensitive to RAM pricing…
I want to upgrade to 2gigs the 1gig that came with my Acer Aspire laptop… the lowest price I’ve seen so far for 2 1-gig modules is $109.00 at Frys. Most places are still boasting $169.99 as a “sale” price for 2-gigs of laptop memory.
My price point to meet is $99.00 or less to go to 2-gigs. I hope memory prices will soften soon for the folks who will need to upgrade their laptops for Vista… I think the demand will increase enough to get the 1-gig modules down to $50.00 or less, allowing a less-than-$100 price point to go to 2-gigs in a laptop.
Otherwise, I’ll just get by with 1-gig. So far, things run fine with the memory I have, but I’d like to have more RAM mainly because up to 256megs of the video RAM is shared with the main RAM, and I want more than 744megs available for the rest of the computer.
I updated my acer aspire laptop from 1GB (2×512 sims) to 2 GB (2×1GB 333 PC2700 SODIMM). Obviously, that’s not the premium/fastest ram out there. But I got (incl) shipping from Circuit City (on-line sale) for $109 total and I have noticed a positive difference with Win XP. Good luck.
I have a Dell Dimension model 8100 1.3 GHZ computer. I recently changed ISP’s from Verizon DSL to Cablevision but notice no increase in speed. The technician said I didn’t have enough memory. I have 640MB of Ram in the computer 2 256’s and 2 64’s I was thinking of adding another 2 512’s and removing the 2 64’s. Would this work and would it give my computer a significant jump in speed? Thanks.