Why more memory is better
Has your old computer lost its get up and go? Or perhaps you've just invested in a brand spankin' new PC and you're thinking life is good… until your son tries his role-playing game over the Net, or you want to open four applications at once. You find that the animation just isn't quick enough, and neither is your multitasking. "But I have a new computer," you say. "It should be lightning fast!" Just because you have the latest, doesn't mean it's the greatest — in terms of performance. Good news! Help is easy and relatively inexpensive: upgrade the memory.
A computer memory upgrade is often the best value for increasing overall computer performance. And adding computer memory or upgrading computer memory is also one of the easiest computer upgrades.
Add Or Upgrade Memory (RAM) To Improve Computer Performance
Adding Random Access Memory (RAM) is an easy and cost effective way to boost your computer's performance. A computer should have at least 512MB of RAM, although older computers may not support that much. Today's computer should have 1024MB of RAM, but 2048MB or more then enough to handle all your needs especially gamers.
The Right Memory For Your Computer Memory Upgrade
Not all computer memory is the same. Most computers in use today use DIMM memory modules, which includes SDRAM, DDR and DDR2 types of memory. Computers from the Windows 95 days often use SIMM memory modules. But even among compatible memory modules, there are a number of manufacturer's from which to choose. It's not only important to purchase RAM that's compatible with your computer, it's important to choose top quality RAM. Many computer problems are due to the use of sub-quality memory.
How do I know what kind of memory I need?
Go to this website: System Info for Windows
Download and run the program. This will give you the manufacturer and model number of your motherboard. Then you can go to the motherboards website and look up the specs for your motherboard to see what kind and how much memory your motherboard supports (you can also look on the above program. It will tell you too.).
Now you can go shopping. Always get memory from a name brand company (Crucial, Kingston, Corsair, etc.). Never buy no name generic ram. You never know what kind of quality you will end up with and if it will work properly. Most major manufacturers make it easy to find the memory that will work with your computer/motherboard and fit your needs (you may want high performance memory if you do gaming or video or graphic editing).
Once you have your memory selected, go to Pricewatch.com and put the model number of the memory you have selected in the search window and the results will be listed by price, cheapest to most expensive.
Installing your new memory:
DIMMs (SDRAM, DDR-SDRAM, DDR2)
Now, it's fortunate that SDRAM and DDR came out, or we'd all have to decipher all that bank stuff in order to upgrade memory. DIMMs are much simpler. Most older motherboards have the 168-pin slots for SDRAM. Most newer motherboards use 184-pin slots for DDR or 240-pin slots for DDR2. Each DIMM slot is a bank, so one can install these types of memory in any combination they want. It is best, if you have several open DIMM slots, to use the lowest number slots first. The slots are numbered, such as DIMM 0, DIMM 1, and DIMM 2. Choose the lesser, unused number. If this is the only module in the system, use DIMM 0.
Some motherboards that support DDR or DDR2 can utilize Dual-Channel DDR. Dual-Channel DDR allows two sticks of DDR RAM to work together to effectively double the available bandwidth. Performance gains usually range from 15%-20% over standard single channel setups. To enable it, you will need to make sure that both DIMMs are identical. Second, you will have to check with your motherboard manual to find into which slots the sticks need to be installed. Typically, bank 0 and 3, or bank 2 and 3 are used. If everything matches up and is installed correctly, a message should appear on the POST screen when you boot up your computer confirming that Dual-Channel is enabled.
Some older motherboards have both SIMM and DIMM slots. On these, each DIMM slot is a bank, just like normal. The SIMM slots right next to them are usually paired in a bank, just like the normal Pentium bank setup.
1. Turn off the computer, unplug it, and take off the case cover.
2. Locate the memory slots.
3. Remove the old memory (if applicable). This will entail pressing down on the little ejector clips on each end of the memory socket until the memory stick pops out of the socket. Then you just life it out.
4. Install the RAM: To do this, first locate the little notches on the pin-side of the module. These notches (usually two) will line up with keys on the memory socket itself, to ensure proper alignment. With the ejector clips in the open position, position the module over the slot and begin pressing the module down into the slot. You will need to press down pretty hard. As you press down, the module will sink into place and the ejector clips will close themselves to lock the module into place.
5. Repeat previous step for all remaining DIMMs you wish to install.
6. Test it. Before you put your case back on, power on your system and make sure it correctly recognizes the RAM. If everything went well, you should see the initial BIOS screen and a counter which represents a memory test. Take a note of the final number of KiloBytes (KB). Don't be surprised if the number is actually a few thousand KB higher than expected. For example, if you installed two 64 MegaByte (MB) SIMMs for a total of 128MB, the number on the screen should be 131,072. That's because one MB is 1024 KB, and 128MB * 1024 = 131,072KB. If everything looks ok, you're all set. Put the cover back on and enjoy your faster PC.
Optional: If you filled up only one bank with your new SIMMS, you can now try to install a pair of the old memory into the second bank and see if your computer likes it.
But what if the upgrade didn't work? The most common problems after a memory upgrade are either a number of beeps or an incorrect display of installed memory. This is your BIOS telling you that it rejected the memory, most likely due to an incompatible memory type installed. Consult with your motherboard documentation and the vendor you purchased the memory from to find out what type of memory is correct for your machine. Just to be safe, remove the memory modules again, make sure that you indentified the memory banks correctly and started with the first bank, and that you seated them correctly - then give it another try.
7. Close up the case when finished.
Also check out these 2 papers on memory:
Kingston Ultimate Memory Guide
On this computer, I'm using 2 CMX512-3200XL Corsair memory modules. This is ultra-performance ram with latency settings of 2-2-2-5.