I am looking to upgrade the ram on my computer. I currently have 1 gb of ram and I am looking to upgrade to atleast 2 gigs. My system information is on this site
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Help choosing the correct RAM 6
- Thread starter Danther
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- #2
Danther
Well it says DDR2 400 (PC2-3200) but to be honest this may or may not be acurate due to the nature of PC building parts specs can be changed at the vendors discression.
To be 100% just remove the side and read off the labels on the ram or contact the seller.
I am curious as to the reasons you would need 2gig of ram? as there are only a few professional apps where this would be needed.
If it's for gaming then the money should be spent on a better graphics card ie X800XT/6800GT etc
Martin
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Well it says DDR2 400 (PC2-3200) but to be honest this may or may not be acurate due to the nature of PC building parts specs can be changed at the vendors discression.
To be 100% just remove the side and read off the labels on the ram or contact the seller.
I am curious as to the reasons you would need 2gig of ram? as there are only a few professional apps where this would be needed.
If it's for gaming then the money should be spent on a better graphics card ie X800XT/6800GT etc
Martin
We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.
- Thread starter
- #3
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franklin97355
Technical User
That may be true but adding memory will probably NOT speed up your games at all. The video card is where all the rendering is being done in most games.
franklin97355
Technical User
Just thought of an analogy. If you want to race your car don't upgrade your engine just add a bigger gas tank.
Nice one franklin97355, thats exactly what you are doing by adding ram, just a bigger fuel tank so it has more reserve but the bigger tank won't make the car any faster.
I did suspect when I looked at the PC specs that your intention was to improve gaming with this extra ram, hopefully we have convinced you that beyond 1gig there is little or no effect on gaming performance.
The X700PRO is a middle ranking card by todays standards so upgrading to an ATI X800XL/XT/X850XT or Nvidia 6800/GT/ultra/7800GTX will improve things dramatically.
My favourates at the momemt (starting from the cheapest) are:
Nvidia's plain vanilla 6800, ATI's X800XL & Nvidia's 6800GT
All available at discounted prices.
The X800XL is 80/90% more powerful than your X700PRO
See:
Martin
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I did suspect when I looked at the PC specs that your intention was to improve gaming with this extra ram, hopefully we have convinced you that beyond 1gig there is little or no effect on gaming performance.
The X700PRO is a middle ranking card by todays standards so upgrading to an ATI X800XL/XT/X850XT or Nvidia 6800/GT/ultra/7800GTX will improve things dramatically.
My favourates at the momemt (starting from the cheapest) are:
Nvidia's plain vanilla 6800, ATI's X800XL & Nvidia's 6800GT
All available at discounted prices.
The X800XL is 80/90% more powerful than your X700PRO
See:
Martin
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- #8
Just a couple comments to add...
Newer games (mostly RTS types) are starting to recommend 1GB of RAM for best performance (Battlefield 2 and Everquest II). It wasn't too long ago when this was 256MB and then 512MB.
These games use main system RAM to store data on characters and objects, where in such games there can be thousands at a time requiring a lot of storage space. 1GB is the minimum now for any serious gaming rig, and 2GB is not overkill if you're thinking about tomorrow.
But the point the others made is true...focus on a high-end gaming card before you worry about the amount of RAM you have installed.
Just something to think about!![[thumbsup2]](/data/assets/smilies/thumbsup2.gif "[thumbsup2] [thumbsup2]")
~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884
Newer games (mostly RTS types) are starting to recommend 1GB of RAM for best performance (Battlefield 2 and Everquest II). It wasn't too long ago when this was 256MB and then 512MB.
These games use main system RAM to store data on characters and objects, where in such games there can be thousands at a time requiring a lot of storage space. 1GB is the minimum now for any serious gaming rig, and 2GB is not overkill if you're thinking about tomorrow.
But the point the others made is true...focus on a high-end gaming card before you worry about the amount of RAM you have installed.
Just something to think about!
~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884
Thanks Murugs for the tip on CPU-Z. That program is just what I was looking for because I was not sure on what was in my laptop. Now I know what kind of memory I need to upgrade my laptop.
Question. I have 2 slots on my laptop for memory. The 1 slot that is filled has 256 DDR PC2700. I need to upgrade bad because this computer loads very slow. Can I install in the other memory slot a 512 DDR PC2700 or even a 1 gig? Or should I take out the 256 and install 2 512 DDR PC2700? Can I go higher than PC2700?
Here is what I have:
Intel i855GM/GME Chipset
Intel Celeron 2.8Ghz
Thanks for all input,
JoshYates
Question. I have 2 slots on my laptop for memory. The 1 slot that is filled has 256 DDR PC2700. I need to upgrade bad because this computer loads very slow. Can I install in the other memory slot a 512 DDR PC2700 or even a 1 gig? Or should I take out the 256 and install 2 512 DDR PC2700? Can I go higher than PC2700?
Here is what I have:
Intel i855GM/GME Chipset
Intel Celeron 2.8Ghz
Thanks for all input,
JoshYates
According to this, it supports 1GB per slot (where it says "up to 2GB"):
I would maybe just throw another 512MB in. Also, you may want to search your system for spyware/adware, in addition to running a registry cleaner (like Registry Mechanic) to help speed up your system.
~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884
I would maybe just throw another 512MB in. Also, you may want to search your system for spyware/adware, in addition to running a registry cleaner (like Registry Mechanic) to help speed up your system.
~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884
Thanks cdogg for the registry cleaner recommendation. I used it and my computer is a whole lot faster now. Although, I still might buy me a stick of 512MB.
- Thread starter
- #12
I have looked at the page you gave me for the benchmarks on graphics cards. I liked the way the x800 xt performed, but when shopping for it I came acrossed two different x800 xt's. here is the cheaper one. Here is the more expensive
I know that the VisionTek card has a faster core clock and memory data rate, but will that really make it worth the extra $130?
Thanks for the input so far
I know that the VisionTek card has a faster core clock and memory data rate, but will that really make it worth the extra $130?
Thanks for the input so far
From my previous post yesterday, my question was only half answered. Can I go higher than PC2700 or should I just buy another stick of PC2700? I'm still unsure about this atribute on RAM.
Thanks,
JoshYates
Thanks,
JoshYates
You could go higher, but it wouldn't do you any good. If you bought 400MHz (PC3200) for example, it would only run at the max speed your system supports which is 333MHz (PC2700).
~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884
~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884
Any advice on where to get the best deal on RAM? I've been looking but don't really know what a good deal is on a stick for my laptop. I want 512DDR PC2700.
Buy "generic" or "house" at your own risk (make sure the vendor has a good return policy!). I recommend looking for Samsung, OCZ, Kingston, Micron (a.k.a Crucial), or Corsair. Should easily be able to find some for less than $50.
~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884
Danther
The X800XT is a fine card
I notice on one of those links the product is no longer available
Yes the only differance is some manufactures choose to take the same components and slightly overclock them as default
Basically giving there product a very slight 3-4% performance edge which then justifies a greater profit margin (definately not worth the extra $130)
As the products are exactly the same in most cases, you, the customer is being taken for a ride with the higher price.
If you want to run the stock X800XT at higher clock speeds you can do that yourself for free (just don't go mad and burn out your lovely new card though)
You will notice significant gaming performance increase over the X700PRO
Martin
We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.
The X800XT is a fine card
I notice on one of those links the product is no longer available
Yes the only differance is some manufactures choose to take the same components and slightly overclock them as default
Basically giving there product a very slight 3-4% performance edge which then justifies a greater profit margin (definately not worth the extra $130)
As the products are exactly the same in most cases, you, the customer is being taken for a ride with the higher price.
If you want to run the stock X800XT at higher clock speeds you can do that yourself for free (just don't go mad and burn out your lovely new card though)
You will notice significant gaming performance increase over the X700PRO
Martin
We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.
- Thread starter
- #18
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1
- #19
Are you running Windows 2000 or XP? If so, open up the Windows Task Manager and look at how much memory is being used. How big is the PF usage? Is it more than you have physical memory? If so, you are paging (swapping) and paying a performance penalty. If your PF usage never goes higher than physical RAM capacity, then more memory won't help.
I haven't looked at the details for your mobo, but many will work faster with 2 identical sticks of memory than with 1, by doing parallel memory access. Some mobos will ONLY work if you install memory in matched pairs. Since yours works with only one stick installed, it obviously isn't running a matched pair. Perhaps you'd get better performance with 2, but check the manual to see if that's true.
Also, use Windows Task Manager to see if you are CPU bound, and if so, what processes are consuming the CPU. Perhaps there's a pig process that you don't even realize is sucking down resources.
I haven't looked at the details for your mobo, but many will work faster with 2 identical sticks of memory than with 1, by doing parallel memory access. Some mobos will ONLY work if you install memory in matched pairs. Since yours works with only one stick installed, it obviously isn't running a matched pair. Perhaps you'd get better performance with 2, but check the manual to see if that's true.
Also, use Windows Task Manager to see if you are CPU bound, and if so, what processes are consuming the CPU. Perhaps there's a pig process that you don't even realize is sucking down resources.
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