NAVIGATION | Home > Upgrade Tutorial > RAM
RAM Upgrade Guide:
Guide to Choose RAM: Computer System Memory
Want to get faster computer performance? You should upgrade your computer RAM, i.e. computer system memory. Upgrade RAM means adding amount of system memory available. If you have 256 MB of system memory, you should upgrade to 512 MB or 1024 MB or more. This is because a lack of system memory will result to slower system, slower execution of application, and slower of running application itself.
Definition of RAM
RAM stands for Random Access Memory, all memory accessible at any instant (randomly) by a microprocessor. It’s a memory that store dynamic data, so the computer can access the data faster than if it stored in hard drive.
RAM often called volatile memory which means that RAM will loses all its contents if the power is cut off. This is different than non volatile memory such as hard drive that can keep the data although there is no power source. For example: you use word processing application to type an article and forget to save your file to your hard drive while suddenly the power is cut off. When you turn on the power back, you will lose the article that you already wrote. That's because before your article is stored to your hard drive, it stored on your RAM. And since RAM is volatile memory, you will lose all the data unless you save it to your hard drive.
Choosing a computer RAM is not difficult. You just need to read the following guide:
Memory Slot or RAM Slot Available on the Motherboard
It is important to see the memory slot on your motherboard. How much memory slot does it have? Commonly, there are 2 slots available for RAM in your motherboard. However, there is a motherboard that have up to 4 memory slot.
Amount of Memory in Each Memory Slot
How much RAM your PC can handle? If you have 2 slot of memory in your motherboard and you fill all slots with RAM, and each RAM has 512 MB, it means that you have 1 GB RAM in your system. It is difficult to make an upgrade because there is no empty slot. If you want to upgrade your system memory, you must replace your 512 MB RAM in your system with 1 GB RAM in each slot to gain 2 GB of system RAM. But remember, you cannot exceed the amount of RAM that your system can handle. Please see your motherboard documentation to make sure how much memory that your motherboard can handle, and do not exceed that amount.
Type of RAM
Your motherboard will not support all types of RAM. If your motherboard supports two kinds of RAM, for example DDR and DDR2 SDRAM, you should choose to use DDR2 SDRAM in your system since it is the most used nowadays. If your motherboard doesn't support DDR2 and only support DDR, choose as high amount as possible. Or you better upgrade your motherboard. There is a new type of RAM now and it's called DDR3 SDRAM. It is the latest invention in RAM technology. Only the latest motherboard supports this kind of RAM. However, choose at least DDR2 SDRAM for your system, since motherboard manufacturer slowly leaving DDR SDRAM by now.
Things to Notice
- Upgrade your memory in the amount that supported by your motherboard.
- Upgrade your memory in the amount that supported by your operating system.
- Upgrade as much memory as possible to boost your system performance.
- Don't allow your system to suffer lack of memory, because it will cause Windows to use hard disk as a virtual memory. This will result to the increased disk activity and also affect system performance to make it become slower than before. Upgrade your RAM when you see this happened.
Basic Computer Parts Guide
- Previous Article: Processor Upgrade Guide
- Next Article: Sound Card Upgrade Guide
Link to This Page:
You can link to this page by placing this html code to your web page:
The link will look like this:
Guide to Choose RAM: Computer System Memory
NAVIGATION | Home > Upgrade Tutorial > RAM