how to find out hw much ram i have / which to buy?

Discussion in 'PC hardware help' started by cjdj, Aug 8, 2006.

  1. cjdj

    cjdj Regular member

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    hi there guys just a quick question i've had a mooch round my cmop onthe system information and such and couldn't seem to find how much ram i currently have =s but saying that i am pretty positive its only 512mb currently installed.

    So i was wondering firstly how do i find out how much i currently have (just to make sure) and secondly how do i know which type of ram i need as i've heard there are quite a few types.

    If i currently have 512mb what would you guys recommend to upgrade to? i have an AMD Sempron i think its 1.8 ghz. It has never give me any problems really until i decided to start plaing some of the more recent games on it such as need for speed most wanted etc. which causes it to be a tad "laggy" at the begining of some of the races while its starting but then its fine. I was just wondering if some ram will mke it so there is less strain or something on the cpu. Or am i better off saving up for a better cpu as well?

    cheers for any help guys

    chris
     
  2. BigDK

    BigDK Regular member

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  3. cjdj

    cjdj Regular member

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    Computer Manufacturer: ASRock
    Computer Model: K7VT4A+
    CPU Manufacturer: AuthenticAMD
    CPU Family: AMD Sempron(tm) 2600+
    CPU Speed: 1832 MHz
    Front-Side Bus Speed: 166 MHz

    -------------------------------------------------------------------

    Currently Installed Memory: 512 MB
    Maximum Memory Capacity: 2048MB
    Total Number Of Memory Slots: 2
    Available Memory Slots: 1




    These 184-pin DIMM modules are compatible with your system



    so dus that mean i need to go into whatever shop and ask for sum "184-pin DIMM ram?


    SO ... 2048 - 512 = 1536 mb

    so what do you guys recommend?

    chris
     
  4. hermes_vb

    hermes_vb Regular member

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    For what I can see, your top RAM is 2048 MB but with only 2 slots. This means that either you add a 512 DIMM to make it 1 GB RAM or you add a 1 GB DIMM to make it 1.5 GB RAM. And yes, it has to be a 184-pin DIMM.
     
  5. BigDK

    BigDK Regular member

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    Either of these will work in your system:
    Your system is using an FSB of 333MHz so a PC2700 module running at 166MHz x 2+1 = DDR333 is what is required, any faster and you are not going to utilize it.

    Crucial 1GB DDR PC2700 CAS 2.5 (CT12864Z335)
    http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.Asp?IMODULE=CT12864Z335

    Crucial 512MB DDR PC2700 CAS2.5 (CT6464Z335)
    http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.Asp?IMODULE=CT6464Z335

    You could go for PC3200 memory, this will work, it will just be running slower than it can.
    You may want to consider this as an option if you think that you may re-use the memory in another system in the future.
    It really depends on what you may spend on a future system and how long it might be before you do it.

     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2006
  6. cjdj

    cjdj Regular member

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    am i going to notice a difference between adding another 512 to mke its 1gb al together. I mean lyk is the difference between that and 1.5gb gona be noticeable with my current processor?

    I just want to put as much ram in as i will benefit from as i can for as little as possible but i dont want it cheap & nasty lol

    And what's the deal with only 2 slots ? most people have lyk 4 don't they =[

    chris
     
  7. hermes_vb

    hermes_vb Regular member

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    As a rule of thumb, you should get as much RAM as you can afford. Now, I have a Pentium M 1.6 GHz and I have 1 Gig of RAM. Although I'm no gamer, I do a lot of music and video editing. 1 Gig does it me.
     
  8. cjdj

    cjdj Regular member

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    ye im more into video editing and burning an converting etc but its just recently that i started with the whole games thing lol well it is the summer holidays beforei go to college so i thort ill jus have a massive chillout session lol so went and got myself a handful of games i never got round to playing while i bin at school and jus chillin playin them.

    I think i may go for the 1gb stick then i hav 1.5 gb of ram i'm sure that will do for whatever im gonna use the pc for lol but i hope to get a new processor for xmas, since it will be the 'rents that will be buying it i wont be able to go totally overbaor with one lol so what you guys think would be a reall fast one that wont set me back too much say max of £300?

    currently got an AMD Sempron 1.8ghz

    cheers for the help

    chris
     
  9. hermes_vb

    hermes_vb Regular member

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    Kind of hard for me to tell. I live in Puerto Rico and our currency is US dollar. I'm not sure how many dollars 300 pounds are. Stick to AMD. Their prices are going down fast. This is great since they already gave the consumer more than Intel for less.
     
  10. cjdj

    cjdj Regular member

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    ahh ryt ermm well basically just the fastest i can get lool, wot is th fastest these days? lyk 3 / 4 ghz is it nt?

    i dint knw bwt amd bein chepaer thn intel lol i just always thought intel was better i dunno why just kinda what i thought ahh well.

    So lets forget the money issue would you go for a 3 or 4ghz? or is ther faster thn them 2?

    cheers

    chris
     
  11. hermes_vb

    hermes_vb Regular member

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    I'm no expert in processors. You might want to start a new thread "Which AMD to Buy" or something like that. To my knowledge, the dual cores are the most powerful ones.
     
  12. hermes_vb

    hermes_vb Regular member

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    One thing I forgot to mention. Don't let the numbers fool you. AMD and Intels speed do no correlate. For example an AMD 2.0 it's like a pentium 2.8 or so. So if you go for a dual core, it will be like having two processors.
     
  13. sukhvail

    sukhvail Regular member

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    when is your b-day? if its a bit down the road, look for the conroes, because they are the best processors on the market, however, there is a huge shortage of them. if its coming up really soon tho, look at an amd athlon x2 4800. it is about 450 cdn, so it should be under 300 pounds.

    Edit: i read rong, its for xmas. then look for a conroe
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2006

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