| geek_smh63 |
February 9, 2010, 3:02 pm |
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#1 |
| I have a AMD Sempron (tm) processor 3300+ 2. 01 GHz(whatever all that means lol) but only 512 mb ram, if I up the ram will it make my computer run faster |
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| geek_lostdude |
February 9, 2010, 3:03 pm |
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#2 |
yup, definitely but that also depends on whether your PC is clean from viruses.
Check here for what you need: www.crucial.com |
| geek_smh63 |
February 9, 2010, 3:24 pm |
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#3 |
| thank you, do I have a good processor? |
| geek_lostdude |
February 9, 2010, 3:29 pm |
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#4 |
Not really. Semprons are the low budget range of AMD processors. It is quite fast but lacks some of the features of the high end processors.
http://www.c627627.com/AMD/Athlon64/Athlon64. gif
Bigger is better. |
| geek_smh63 |
February 9, 2010, 3:33 pm |
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#5 |
| yes Im trying to decide whether to try to upgrade this one or just buy a new computer |
| geek_lostdude |
February 9, 2010, 3:35 pm |
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#6 |
| Download this http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz. php or this http://www.gtopala.com/siw-download.html, & tell us your motherboard make/model. Then we can tell you whether it is worth upgrading. |
| geek_gyrogearloose |
February 9, 2010, 3:47 pm |
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#7 |
| No, your computer will still run at exactly the same speed. But, the additional memory will mean that you can hold more programs and data in memory before it starts having to write pages of memory to the swap file on disk. This is 'unproductive' work, and if you can avoid it by installing more memory, then more of the clock cycles go towards the activity you want, rather than the 'paging' that you want to avoid. But regardless of the additional memory, your computer will still be running at exactly the same speed. |
| geek_smh63 |
February 9, 2010, 3:53 pm |
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#8 |
| now Im just confused lol |
| geek_lostdude |
February 9, 2010, 4:00 pm |
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#9 |
| Installing more RAM will make it "feel" faster to the uninitiated & that is more than enough to convince them that it is in fact running faster. Unless you're prepared to teach a 6 month course here on the inner workings of computers then by all means... |
| geek_dino7 |
February 9, 2010, 4:02 pm |
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#10 |
i can see why;)... ... . . yes it will make your 'system' run generally faster increasing from 512mb to 1gb of RAM:) |
| geek_smh63 |
February 9, 2010, 4:04 pm |
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#11 |
| oh ok , thanks for that I guess I will put more ram in, and see what happens , thank you for putting in in laymans terms, thanks for help |
| geek_holdenss |
February 9, 2010, 4:09 pm |
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#12 |
| Heres another Q's. Is updating Ram a very easy thing todo or would you leave it to the professionals? Id like to give it a go but not that computer saavy(getting better though! ) |
| geek_gyrogearloose |
February 9, 2010, 4:13 pm |
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#13 |
You're making an assumption here that the perceived slowness is caused by a shortage of RAM, and that more RAM will make it "feel" faster. Actually, there could be several reasons why the computer is perceived to be slow, and a shortage of RAM is only one of them. If you put on a fresh install of the operating system, then it should run as fast as the day it came from the shop, without all of the malware and virus and startup programs that might be slowing it down. It could be overheating, and running in a 'slow' mode in an attempt to cool down. It could be a driver problem, or a problem with Windows Updates, or a lack of diskspace.
Windows XP, by itself with nothing else open, should run just fine in 512MB of RAM, and installing more memory to cure a perceived slowness would be futile. On the other hand, Photoshop PS3 with several 12megapixel photo's in memory isliking to be using the pagefile a lot, and more memory would certainly help increase the number of productive CPU cycles rather than thrashing the pagefile. |
| geek_lostdude |
February 9, 2010, 4:33 pm |
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#14 |
| Why don't we just put that assumption to rest. OK, OP have you downloaded CPU-Z or SIW yet? . . Do tell your MB make/model. After that, Click Start > Run. Type in msconfig & press enter. Go to startup pane & count how many applications there are. |
| geek_lostdude |
February 9, 2010, 4:35 pm |
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#15 |
| search youtube for video tutorials on installing ram. |
| geek_smh63 |
February 9, 2010, 5:07 pm |
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#16 |
| I did the system check you suggested and it recommended an upgrade to 2 GB , which I will buy, I have done a reformate, so computer is not clogged up with any crap, I do like to use a photo program, but have not re installed it yet, so I do think ram will certainly help in this case |
| geek_ferita |
February 9, 2010, 5:11 pm |
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#17 |
If you can put a DVD into a dvd player then you have the amount of skill needed to install ram.
The main thing you need to do is to find out what ram your computer can take. To do this do the scan at www.crucial.com it will tell you what ram you need for your computer.
Once you have the ram you just slide it into the slot and clip the clips up and you are done. |
| geek_lostdude |
February 9, 2010, 5:18 pm |
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#18 |
| The only hard part is the research. RAM is specific. |
| geek_lostdude |
February 9, 2010, 5:25 pm |
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#19 |
I think you should stick with 1gb if it's cheaper. You won't get much of a benefit with 2gb unless you work with large files frequently & running Vista. The recommendation on crucial.com is the maximum your MB can handle.
You still haven't told us what make/model motherboard you have? |
| geek_nzoomed |
February 9, 2010, 5:27 pm |
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#20 |
it will only make your pc faster, if your computer is running slow, due to bloatware etc running in the background and hogging up your RAM, so yes you can make it faster, but only up to the optimum speed your computer was designed to run at.
A good sign that you need more RAM is if your HDD light on the front of your PC is on alot of the time and you hear your HDD making lots of noise, this happens when your computer is removing data from the RAM, then putting it on the page file on your hard drive, this can end up in a endless cycle, which is called Thrashing. |
| geek_drcspy |
February 9, 2010, 5:43 pm |
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#21 |
regardless of this excellent bit of info the bottom line is
yes it will definitely SEEM faster as it'll open programs and etc much easier and quicker. |
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| geek_smh63 |
February 9, 2010, 5:46 pm |
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#22 |
make and model of motherboard
is Acer
model K8VM800MAE
does this help? |
| geek_smh63 |
February 9, 2010, 7:08 pm |
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#23 |
| bump |
| geek_smh63 |
February 10, 2010, 8:52 am |
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#24 |
| bump |
| geek_ferita |
February 10, 2010, 9:11 am |
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#25 |
More ram can always help things
Think of it as money. Having 100 dollars to go out to dinner is good but having 300 dollars is better ! ! |
| geek_smh63 |
February 10, 2010, 2:38 pm |
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#26 |
| I have updated the RAM , and what a difference it made , I can now do more than 1 thing at once and dont need to hang around waitinf for pages to load, thanks everyone who helped |
| geek_damon3 |
February 10, 2010, 3:03 pm |
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#27 |
| #7 installing additional ram prevents paging, paging stuff to disk is slow, so if you reduce the amount of paging, by extension the computer does certain tasks, or multiple tasks faster, you are associating the term "faster" way too specifically, there is no need to confuse people with technical bullshit. |
| geek_lostdude |
February 10, 2010, 5:27 pm |
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#28 |
| Well, there you go. Onboard video, nothing more to say, since you already stated that it IS running faster now with more RAM. |
| geek_smh63 |
February 11, 2010, 10:14 am |
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#29 |
what do you mean? |
| geek_blenheim-trader |
February 11, 2010, 10:22 am |
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#30 |
Most computers with onboard video use some of the system ram to run the video chip...
i. e if you have 512mb of system ram (64-128mb) or more maybe being used by your video card. |
| geek_smh63 |
February 11, 2010, 10:35 am |
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#31 |
| oh ok thanks for answering that |
| geek_hammerer |
February 11, 2010, 12:08 pm |
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#32 |
| While the computer as a whole will not change its speed. More memory can change the memory speed. For example, if the motherboard supports dual channel and there is only one module installed then installing a matching module in the second slot could almost double your memory speed when the motherboard detects that dual channel is now usable. Hence memory modules are often sold in pairs. |
| geek_gyrogearloose |
February 11, 2010, 12:38 pm |
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#33 |
| Sure, increasing the memory bandwidth improves performance. As well as dual channel, another example is the triple channel memory as used with the i7 processor. Making sure that your memory matches the bus speed is also worthwhile when cobbling together parts from odd sources, and even more critical if you start overclocking. Other ways to improve performance include faster disk drives... separate disk for the page file... 80 conductor IDE cable... *sits back and waits to get jumped on by damon3, that plain talking expert* |
| geek_holdenss |
February 11, 2010, 3:21 pm |
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#34 |
| Wow and so It Is! , Another Q's: a website states ddr 266mhz but theres some on trademe with 333mhz and 400 dose this matter? And is the Ram offered on trademe a good deal or is there a better place to go? cheers guys. |
| geek_drcspy |
February 11, 2010, 3:24 pm |
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#35 |
most ram will 'clock down' (slow down) to the speed of other installed slower ram
however ram is funny stuff and you will find that whle mostly the system will 'like' the ram , DONT bet on it. Some systems just wont 'play nice' and may refuse to run with whatever ram you've chosen
I updated a laptop the other day it was running ddr2 667Mhz ram , it took me three different types of ram before I got one that would work. All three had the same 'specificaiton'... ... . . but were different makes. |
| geek_hammerer |
February 11, 2010, 3:39 pm |
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#36 |
Look at www.pricespy.co.nz to get an idea of what it costs in the stores and online in New Zealand.
I find it cheap enough on TradeMe and sometimes you get a good bargain - I bought a small box full of old memory and gear for about $15 that might have sold 8 times that |
| geek_holdenss |
February 11, 2010, 4:00 pm |
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#37 |
| Cheers, Also do you have to use both card slots? i. e Is there a advantage/disto using a 1gb card over 2x 512mb cards? ? ? |
| geek_drcspy |
February 11, 2010, 4:04 pm |
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#38 |
| depending on the system if it'll run dual channel then you can install MATCHED PAIRS of ram sticks and it'll run faster. This is not a necessity. |
| geek_holdenss |
February 11, 2010, 4:12 pm |
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#39 |
| Cool im getting somewhere, crucial.com says its not dual channel, So it wont make any difference then if I go for the 1gb card over 2x512m? as Its alot cheaper. |
| geek_drcspy |
February 11, 2010, 4:13 pm |
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#40 |
| so long as your system can handle a 1gb card in a slot it'll be all good |
| geek_holdenss |
February 11, 2010, 4:17 pm |
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#41 |
| Yip, Thanks. |
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| Tags: ram |
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