June, 2008
Upgrading your memory - An inexpensive way to speed up your computer |
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Most people buying lower cost computers usually want something they will only use for surfing the web, downloading digital photos and sending the occasional email. As such, a lower cost machine is appealing. The problem is that many find that their computer is frustratingly slow or even suffers from error messages caused when too many programs compete for the same scarse system resources. The unhappy computer owners find themselves wishing they had spent that extra $100 at the time of purchase. Fortunately, upgrading the memory in your computer is one of the most cost effective ways to boost performance. Breathe a sigh of relief and read on to see if you will benefit from a RAM upgrade. Check your memoryThe first step required to work out whether or not a memory upgrade is worthwhile, is to do a bit of investigation. Once your computer has booted up, right click on the My Computer icon, click on Properties and look for the number indicated in the picture (note: this screen is different in windows XP and Vista). This tells you how much RAM you have in your computer.
If you have Windows XP, gizmo recommends that you have a minimum of 512MB of RAM and suggests that if you use more than one program at a time, you may want to consider upgrading to 1GB or above. If you have Windows Vista a minimum of 2GB is recommended, however you may wish to consider upgrade to more if you play games or use resource intensive applications. Can you upgrade or not?Most computers have the physical space to install 2 “sticks” of RAM. Desktops can sometimes fit up-to 4. In most laptops, both of these sticks are usually present meaning that in order to upgrade the amount of memory you have, you will need to discard one, or both, of your sticks in favour of a higher capacity replacement. Unfortunately the only way to tell what size memory chip you have is to open up your computer and physically inspect each stick – something we’d definitely recommend you get a gizmotech to do for you. In most cases, both chips will have the same amount of memory, but if one is larger, you would discard the smaller one and replace it with a nice big new chip. Something to remember about memoryIt is important to know that memory chips come in different types and capacities.
If you have a newer laptop, you will probably have “DDR2” memory which comes in sizes including:
Note: DDR RAM cannot be combined with DDR2 RAM as the chips will not physically fit. The goal of your memory upgrade is to get the most RAM possible using the sticks you already have and the sticks you can afford to buy. It is always a good idea to have your memory replaced by a professional as memory has a few more technical specifications that can influence compatibility. Making the upgradeIf your research uncovers that you could indeed benefit from a memory upgrade and you would like to make it happen, give gizmo a call on 1300 275 449 and book an Optimise Me service. An Optimise Me service includes a computer tune up as well as memory installation. A gizmotech will come to your place, work out what sort of RAM is required, sell and install it for you. |
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One of the most common shortcuts computer manufacturers take so that they can shave $100 off the purchase price of a new budget laptop or desktop computer is to put a small amount of memory (RAM) into the machine. While these computers seem like a bargain buy at the time, many of them do not have enough memory to run smoothly. In this article we look at how you can tell if your computer would benefit from a RAM upgrade. 
