RAM Advice Pls
I want to upgrade my RAM Icrontic.
This is what I've got, 3 GB. A pair of each of the following.
What limitations do I need to look into? How do I know how much my machine can handle? Tell me what to buy so I can game like a smooth criminal.
Thank you in advance for any advice.
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http://downloadmoreram.com/
But on a serious note, motherboard brand/model?
I downloaded so much Ram and it didn't get any better!
It's a Dell Inspiron 530. I don't know how to tell you what mother board is in there. Here is the Dell Service Tag link if that helps.
That lead me to it telling me I need DDR2 SDRAM - DIMM 240-pin.
Looks like 8 or even 16 gigs is an option from Newegg at a pretty penny.
Trying to keep the budget less than $100 if possible.
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/Dell/inspiron-530#memoryResults
Is what Crucial thinks about your Dell given your info. I would go to http://www.crucial.com then click memory, then click Dell, then click "scan my Dell" and see which of 4 submodels it picks for the Inspiron 530 you have and what it recommends. It showed RAM at 13.99 for 2 GB and I would recommend 2 packs for all the same RAM. See also the SSD recommendations, as you might be able to get RAM and a small SSD for close to $100.00, and let the SSD be your boot and your cache drive for Windows. Which version of Windows do you have?
BTW, with 4 DIMMS you should have 4 GB, so looks like you have all you can put in, and a 32 bit version of Windows or a bad DIMM.
That's DDR2-667. DDR2-800 would also work just fine. But DDR2 is now manufactured in extremely limited quantities, and it is a commodity market, so prices will not be stellar.
The Samsung pair I have currently is only 512 per stick. The Kingston pair is a GB each. This accounts for the 3GB or am I missing something? I've ran MemTest overnight recently and found no problems.
In the same sense, I should be able to keep the 2GB pair and grab a 4GB pair to replace the 1GB pair and effectively double my RAM to 6GB. Sounds logical, but I find computer hardware not always as easy as I hope.
Does this NewEgg Search look like I am headed in the right direction? If so, I could even look at 2 x 4GB pairs for 8GB.
Thanks for all the info so far.
Edit: My Crucial Scan seems to match with Straight_Man's original link. I have an SSD that I will probably work into the build the next time I reinstall Windows.
Welp, 4GB it is for now.
NewEgg Link for 2x 1GB look right?
No, wrong speed. You have PC2-5300-- for best results match speed. And that is cheaper ($27.98 for 2x1GB) direct from Crucial, which will happily sell direct to computer owners. The other advantage of buying from Crucial direct is they will take it back if it does not work. Period.
Nah, it just has to be faster than 5300 - everything will just run at the slowest speed.
The advice about price is reasonable though
So it would be logical to buy two 2GB pairs at the faster speeds and that will upgrade the amount of RAM along with the speed it can run?
This is why I can't get into computer hardware, I have to ask questions like;
PC2-6400 is faster than PC2-5300 right?
Edit: I know the answer is yes, but I had to Google it which is illogical. Bigger numbers don't always mean better.
If there's one thing that always makes sense in computers, it's this:
Within a family or category of product, bigger numbers are always better. It gets hazy when you're comparing across generations. But if you're looking at DDR2, or GeForces, or Radeons, or a specific family of CPUs, the bigger number is indeed always better.
Yes you need 4 x 1GB sticks to achieve max 4GB of memory. Do NOT buy 2 x 2GB sticks. The board will only see 1/2.
Well, when I said to buy 2x1GB PC2-5300 I was thinking a minimum cost buy that would be certain to work in an Inspiron 530 from Dell, given PC2-5300 already in the computer. If Bobby wants to buy 2 pair of 1GB PC2-6400 he will get a speed increase, a small one, at the expense of spending twice as much money.
You make an excellent point Sir. I'll probably just go with one pair for now. If I feel a small upgrade is still needed afterwords, I can always order another pair.
Since Crucial has free shipping on pairs of what you need, fine.