What RAM and where from ?

[Howard]

Hi all

My dads desktop computer is very slow , i suspect it is due to the small amount of RAM it has.

Spec is as follows ...

Dell Dimension 4600
Pentium R 2.8 Ghz
256 mb RAM

Where is the best ( cheapest ) place to get some more RAM and any idea what sort i would need . Not sure how many slots it has , anyone have any idea ?

The computer is used for general business use , a bit of internet surfing now and then.

Any one got any they want to get rid of ?

Many thanks in advance

 

[jasonyw]

It not very old, back in 2000, Dell still supports it.

http://support.dell.com/support/dow...osl=en&SystemID=DIM_P4_4600&catid=-1&impid=-1

 

[wemorgan]

I've used : RAM Memory Upgrade: Dell, Mac, Apple, HP, Compaq. USB drives, flash cards, SSD at Crucial.com they have a useful PC scan tool which will tell you what memory you need to buy. Once you know that then you can search for the best deal on the web.

I'd look to buy 2*512 or 1*1024 MB of RAM. Should cost ~£30.

 

[Will]

I think it was either Kingston or Crucial (no doubt other apps out there) who had an online app that you could run that would check the current memory configuration and type (ie, number of free slots, memory type etc). You can then look out for some from somewhere like ebuyer or eBay etc.

Will

 

[Howard]

Thanks

 

[BTB 500]

I've used these guys twice ... quick and easy, even for an old Sony desktop PC I was given.

 

[BaldGuy]

H,

I have various bags of 1Mb and 512mb cards for desktop PC's if it helps..

G

 

[Howard]

Think it's sorted now , but thank you anyway .

This forum is just great , everyone is so helpful and someone always has what you need !!

:bannana:

 

[Horrgakx]

+1 to wemorgan, Crucial.com has a scanner that tells you what's compatible. Excellent.
256Mb RAM isn't enough to run Windows properly. Get 2Gb

 

[jaymanek]

my computer is very slow too... could buy a new one but the thought of transferring 4 years worth of stuff..

I have 1GB ram and a 2.8 Ghz processor... dell..

Should I add a bit more ram?

 

[moonloops]

my computer is very slow too... could buy a new one but the thought of transferring 4 years worth of stuff..

I have 1GB ram and a 2.8 Ghz processor... dell..

Should I add a bit more ram?

laplink have some software that migrates apps and data to a new pc - I've not tried it so you'll have to check it out.

I'd certainly up your existing PC to 2GB and also defrag etc

 

[BTB 500]

Memory is cheap nowadays so worth a punt ... I whacked my 5 year old Dell up from 1MB to 3MB and it has certainly helped, particularly things like switching from one user to another.

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

Note: IIRC Windows XP doesn't take advantage of any memory over 2Gb.

 

[crockers]

Yes I ran Crucial's system checker on my wife's laptop to get the max amount of ram it could take..

2MB....

 

[Horrgakx]

Note: IIRC Windows XP doesn't take advantage of any memory over 2Gb.

You can run it with 4Gb (and there's a reason for this which I'll go into >) but 32-bit XP will only report about 3.2Gb of this.

You ideally need matched pairs of RAM. Running with 2 pairs of good quality low latency 2Gb modules* is more efficient than running odd modules of (for example) 1x 1Gb and 1 x2Gb. So it's worth wasting the extra for the speed/price tradeoff. I ran 4Gb on 32-bit XP for a couple of years.

I bit the bullet (I REALLY didn't want to) and upgraded to Win7-64bit which I did to get the best performance out of my system. Some things are better but some aren't and it took me a while to get used to it but I wouldn't go back to XP now.


*Quality RAM really is worth the money, that and the CPU sitting on your motherboard make up the ceiling of your system performance. All you can do from there is slow it down.

 

[wemorgan]

my computer is very slow too... could buy a new one but the thought of transferring 4 years worth of stuff..

I have 1GB ram and a 2.8 Ghz processor... dell..

Should I add a bit more ram?

What sort of stuff is this Jay? Data or software. If it's software I'd just buy a USB hard drive to back the data on to, then if/when you buy a new PC you can siple transfer it over.

If using Word/Excel etc I doubt you'll transform your PC from being slow to fast by going to 2GB of RAM. More a gradual increase at best. Well that's from my experience at least.

If you have the time, try reinstalling the operating system, then copy the data back over. It'll be as fast as it was on day 1.

Or, 1/2 decent PCs only cost £300 these days.

 

[markjay]

You can run it with 4Gb (and there's a reason for this which I'll go into >) but 32-bit XP will only report about 3.2Gb of this....

Some PCs and laptops have basic graphic adaptors which use system RAM i.e. the adapters do not have have their own memory.

Having 4gb is especially useful under these circumstances even if your 32bit system only supports 3.2gb, because the extra memory will be used by the graphics adaptor without taking away any of the Windows RAM.

Higher-end PCs and gamer machines will always have dedicated memory for the graphics card in which case it will make no difference if you have 3.2gb or 4gb (again, on a 32bit system).

But either way it is probably much easier to have 4gb than 3.2gb if you would like to keep the memory modules paired.