EPTIf I have 2 sticks of 256MB RAM, can I just add a stick of 512MB RAM? Or must the RAM all be the same amount?
Computer RAM Question - Page 2
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soybomb
92 Posts
If I have 2 sticks of 256MB RAM, can I just add a stick of 512MB RAM? Or must the RAM all be the same amount? | ||
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Raithed
China7078 Posts
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Raithed
China7078 Posts
On March 02 2009 09:02 soybomb wrote: New question: If I have 2 sticks of 256MB RAM, can I just add a stick of 512MB RAM? Or must the RAM all be the same amount? this depends, how many slots do you have? some mobos have 2 slots allowing: 2 512, 2 256, 2 1gb, 2 2gb etc. it depends on the max ram of your computer. | ||
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soybomb
92 Posts
On March 02 2009 09:08 Raithed wrote: this depends, how many slots do you have? some mobos have 2 slots allowing: 2 512, 2 256, 2 1gb, 2 2gb etc. it depends on the max ram of your computer. My motherboard manual states: -Supports up to three DDR333 double-sided memory modules with a total capacity of 3GB -Supports up to two DDR400 double-sided memory modules with a total capacity of 2GB Edit: OK, so I read more in the manual and it states to equally distribute RAM across the 3 slots. So if I already have 2 sticks of 256, then I can add a 512 to the third slot. It just says the 512 stick should be 16-chip, while the 256's are 8-chip. Hm, I'll have to check that out. | ||
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feathers
United States236 Posts
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soybomb
92 Posts
On March 02 2009 10:42 feathers wrote: ram has nothing to do with your computers actually speed. Uh...what? | ||
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gusbear
333 Posts
getting more ram will allow you to have more stuff open. typically when you run out of physical ram it will start paging to disk and your pc will bog down. go to the task manager (cntrl-alt-del) and check the performance tab --> Physical Memory available should be more than 50,000 or so when you are at max usage. 512mb is pretty much the minimum to run XP on so I'd expect that you are actually running out of ram, as you suspected. if your pc was fine before but you are finding it bogging down recently, its probably cos you have lots of useless stuff running that you collected over time. So check the processes tab, and look at mem usage, you probably have lots of junk running that you don't need so close them. For more details try http://pcwizkid.blogspot.com/2008/07/windows-task-manager.html i googled that in 2 secs but theres probably better guides out there to help you understand what ram is for and if you need more | ||
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soybomb
92 Posts
On March 03 2009 03:47 gusbear wrote: what is the purpose of upgrading? you know you still won't be able to play any of the newer games until u upgrade your whole system right? getting more ram will allow you to have more stuff open. typically when you run out of physical ram it will start paging to disk and your pc will bog down. go to the task manager (cntrl-alt-del) and check the performance tab --> Physical Memory available should be more than 50,000 or so when you are at max usage. 512mb is pretty much the minimum to run XP on so I'd expect that you are actually running out of ram, as you suspected. if your pc was fine before but you are finding it bogging down recently, its probably cos you have lots of useless stuff running that you collected over time. So check the processes tab, and look at mem usage, you probably have lots of junk running that you don't need so close them. For more details try http://pcwizkid.blogspot.com/2008/07/windows-task-manager.html i googled that in 2 secs but theres probably better guides out there to help you understand what ram is for and if you need more My purpose with getting more RAM isn't to play newer games, it's so I have less lag while playing the games I play currently and to lessen lag in photoshop. I already run msconfig and disable everything. | ||
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Divinek
Canada4045 Posts
On March 02 2009 10:42 feathers wrote: ram has nothing to do with your computers actually speed. If you even know what ram stands for I'm sure you wouldn't be saying that. | ||
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gusbear
333 Posts
ur mobo only supports ddr333 when u have 3 sticks so that means if you buy ddr400 memory (the most common), it will be forced to run underclocked. This is fine if your current memory is ddr333, however if it is currently ddr400 and you make it ddr333 when you add another stick of ram, you will need to go in bios and change your ratios so that you don't force the cpu to run slower. I would recommend 2 sticks of 1 gig instead, its about $50 from newegg. Also, if your mobo supports dual channel, might as well take advantage of it. Theres tons of people getting rid of their old PCs too so you could prolly get used DDR ram for cheap. Also maybe your hard drive is slowing you down, they are really cheap now and much faster, and you can never have enough space. | ||
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feathers
United States236 Posts
On March 03 2009 08:03 Divinek wrote: If you even know what ram stands for I'm sure you wouldn't be saying that. random access memory, and long as you have enough ram so your cpu won't be taking data from your Page file. you won't seen any real performance increase. most computer users don't need any more then 2gs of ram. you will not see any performance increase in games if you just upgrade your memory. | ||
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