# RAM for more speed



## redline

Do you have any stores in your area that sell computers?
They should sell ram and it should be around $50 or more.


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## shyampc

Thank you for the response - but, do you know/recommend any reputed websites that sell branded spares at reasonable prices?


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## KUIPORNG

sounds like your computer is pretty old.... why not get a good used one from Ebay... I spent approx 200 and somthing for a complete fast XP system for my in laws last Nov and it is still going...


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## johnny331

256mb is pretty much inadequate for xp (no officially though). 512 would be better. 

Hands down, newegg.com is the biggest/best supplier of computer parts. I've bought dozens of things there, never had a problem. 

When you say SDRAM you probably have 168-pin, pc100 or pc133 speed. (they're interchangeable)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146302
that's $28.99 for 256MB more, a good brand too

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146304
$60.00 for 512mb

The shipping is always cheap, and you can just add it to your existing ram, so you'll be at 512/768mb respectively.

To be extra sure, why don't you post the model of your computer, I can double check if that's what you'll need...


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## shyampc

My PC is P4 1.7 Ghz with 256 MB of RAM and Asus motherboard. I need SDRAM. Now all computers use DDRRAM. I think that the amount you quoted is reasonable for 256 MB, but more price charged on 512 MB.


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## Guest

go to www.crucial.com and you can use their memory selector to find what you need by brand. If it's custom built, download a program called CPU-Z from here: http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php 
It'll give you all the info you need on your RAM to find compatible product. Post the info here if you like and we'll find the right stuff for you. Most likely you'll need DDR400. You can get Corsair's value ram at Newegg for a fair price.


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## Guest

Here is an example of good cheap RAM that will "probably" work in your system. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145026


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## shyampc

Thank you all for your support and help. I will try those. I am also planning to buy a new PC. Hope this will solve the speed problems. Also, spares are priced higher for older Pc's compared to new ones'.


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## Guest

Yes with RAM is evidently cost more for older modules because they are made in small runs instead of bulk. Still your rig doesn't sound old enough to get into the really expensive RAM yet.


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## shyampc

Yes, SDRAM is still readily available, but I think that comparitively it is expensive than DDR RAM. As time goes, it will bev more costly to afford it with an old machine.


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## lhoney2

My parents have an AMD Thunderbird 1.2 Ghz machine w/ PC-100 or 133 SDRAM. Can't remember which. When they got it, it had 128MB. My dad put a gig in it about 2 years ago, and it runs XP like a champ. It's their second computer, and is mostly used for web browsing and office apps. 

Depending on what you use the computer for (i.e. no gaming), I'd go ahead and put a gig in the machine. It will fly compared to what it's doing now.

I just priced the RAM at newegg, and it looks like it will run you about $100 for a gig. That's pretty steep. I just bought 2 gigs of DDR-2 800 MHz RAM for a new build for myself for about that.

Open up the case and locate the model number of the motherboard. It'll be printed on the board somewhere. Then goto the manufacturer's website, or google it and find out the capacity of your RAM slots.


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## shyampc

Thank you for your help and suggestions. I will either increase my RAM or else buy a new PC. I think any of these will solve the problem with speed.


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## Cement Man

shyampc said:


> Thank you for your help and suggestions. I will either increase my RAM or else buy a new PC. I think any of these will solve the problem with speed.


Like said Newegg is a great website for most all of your computer needs.
Best way to assure what ram will 'play nice' with your motherboard is to go to your motherboard site or when in doub't go to Crucials web site and put in your comp. info to see what ram will be good for your rig.
XP does require more ram than any version of Windows 98.
BTW: You can mix pc100 with pc133 but your rig will run at the 'lowest' speed of the lowest ram you have in it.


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## shyampc

Thank you for the response and advice. I am planning to buy a new PC or to upgrade RAM to 512 MB/1GB. Hope this will be sufficient for required speed.


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## Klint

shyampc said:


> I am using Windows XP, and find my PC very slow in all operations since after started using this. Formerly, I was using Windows 98 SE, and there was no any problems. I think that this is due to lesser RAM (only 256 MB). Can anyone help me to know the cost of 512 MB SDRAM? Can anyone recommend some reputed websites that sell these sort of PC components for reasonable price?


Hey Another thing you might want to try is the following

Right Click My Computer
Click Properties 
Click the Advanced Tab 
Click the Settings button under the "Performance section"
Click Adjust for Best performance
finally click Ok, ok, and that may help alittle. Run Disk clean up aswell which can be found in Accessory's System Tools

Thanks,
Klint Turney (CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, Microsoft Certified Professonal, Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer)


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## shyampc

Thank you, I 've just tried this. Hope this will help me to gain some speed.


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## fierysun

Klint said:


> Hey Another thing you might want to try is the following
> 
> Right Click My Computer
> Click Properties
> Click the Advanced Tab
> Click the Settings button under the "Performance section"
> Click Adjust for Best performance
> finally click Ok, ok, and that may help alittle. Run Disk clean up aswell which can be found in Accessory's System Tools
> 
> Thanks,
> Klint Turney (CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, Microsoft Certified Professonal, Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer)


Good call Klint. First thing I do is Defrag the hard drive and clean up the registry, Registry Mechanic does an decent job of this if your not familiar with editing the registry. I would recommend a gig of RAM. I've bought from newegg.com and tigerdirect.com and have been happy with both.


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## Joba Fett

Capacity and speed are 2 different but somewhat related areas.

XP needs a bare min of 512GB of RAM (physical memory) to run "normal" software. This speed you r3fer to is the PROCESSOR SPEED....rated in GHz.
Get atleast a 2.5GHz P4 Processor.

Better yet, go to a reputible shop in your area. Tell them what you are going to use the PC for, they build you a very nice one....that will WORK...


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## feloneouscat

Just some basics - these apply whether it is Linux, MacOS or Windows:

The more RAM the better. The reason is that the more applications you have running, the more the system uses the swap area on the hard drive. Whenever you have to use the swap area, you take a hit in speed (hard drives are much, much slower than RAM).

512 isn't really good for XP. Yes, it will run, but it won't run very well. Microsoft is very, very bad about giving the MINIMUM to run the OS, but not the minimum to run the OS AND applications. Some call it marketing. I call it rubbish.

Also, many note (but do not explain) why defragmenting your hard drive helps: it is because it moves your swap space into the same area. This limits the amount of movement the hard drive head has to make which basically means the swap operates faster.

Next to more RAM is a better hard drive. Yes, there IS a difference between hard drives. A drive running at 5400 RPM is going to do worse than 7200 RPM. If your drive is over 5 years old (and you would not believe how many people's drives ARE that old), it is time to get a new model. This can dramatically change how the system runs.

I could go into other details, but I have a real job I need to get back to...

Cheers!


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## NothingsLevel

If your computer is old enough to have come with Win98SE, just buy a new one. It'll be easier & you'll ultimately be much happier. You can get a decent laptop for home use nowadays for under $1000.

The real trick, though, is finding a vendor that will sell you a system with Windows XP on it. I think Dell still does.


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## Guest

Yep if you go through Dell's small business sight you can still configure them with XP Pro.


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