Posted: 12/4/2009 5:26:59 AM EDT
| OK..so my PC is a fucking fossil but due to financial woes it has to last me for another 6+ months. At this point I'm ready to throw it out in the street. I've realized I can upgrade the memory from 512 MB to 2 GB for $65 or so ( I think). My question is what kind of performance boost can I expect from this? Will it be worth doing? |
| That's like going from a one way street to a 4 lane highway, yes do it. 65 isnt much but you need to be sure you're getting the type you need. If it's 05 and back its more than likely DDR. If its late 05 and above DDR2. If you arent sure just go to Crucial.com and have the site do a scan of your PC and it'll tell you exactly what type and how much. |
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512mb of RAM should be more than enough for basic internet and word processing use. You don't really need to upgrade, just do a clean reformat and reinstall Windows again, get rid of all the useless bloatware programs and your PC will run fast. exactly. if its an older computer in the first place with XP, 512 is plenty. 1gb might be nice, but 2 gigs is overkill |
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512mb of RAM should be more than enough for basic internet and word processing use. You don't really need to upgrade, just do a clean reformat and reinstall Windows again, get rid of all the useless bloatware programs and your PC will run fast. exactly. if its an older computer in the first place with XP, 512 is plenty. 1gb might be nice, but 2 gigs is overkill OS is XP...I figured if I was going to do it I would max it out. Without giving too many details...my internet usage would probably be considered beyond basic. Word processing on the other hand is very basic and I do a little work with photos. |
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Quoted: OK..so my PC is a fucking fossil but due to financial woes it has to last me for another 6+ months. At this point I'm ready to throw it out in the street. I've realized I can upgrade the memory from 512 MB to 2 GB for $65 or so ( I think). My question is what kind of performance boost can I expect from this? Will it be worth doing? You'd better make damn sure that it's compatible memory. Theres been SD, RAMBUS, DDR, DDR2, DDR3... (not including notebook memory, just desktops) and all of these types have been in use since the Pentium 4 generation of processors existed. Anything besides the newest types, DDR2 and DDR3, will be difficult to find and tend to cost more than it's worth. Further, your motherboard may have a limit as to how much RAM it can handle. I just want you to be aware of this... because if your PC is as much of a fossil as you state... chances are it's SDRAM or otherwise not what is currently on the market. Also it's not going to be compatible memory with/for any new system you purchase. I'd suggest browsing around TigerDirect. You can get a refurbished emachine or off-lease IBM PC for less than $200 Or a netbook, a refurb laptop, etc etc... and any of these would be better options than throwing away $65, IMO. |
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Quoted: 512mb of RAM should be more than enough for basic internet and word processing use. You don't really need to upgrade, just do a clean reformat and reinstall Windows again, get rid of all the useless bloatware programs and your PC will run fast. With XP it's not. Really... not adequate. 1Gb is the minimum for XP to run good. |
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512mb of RAM should be more than enough for basic internet and word processing use. You don't really need to upgrade, just do a clean reformat and reinstall Windows again, get rid of all the useless bloatware programs and your PC will run fast. i'm thinking OP may have many viruses/spyware slowing down his comp. unless if he's running a really slow comp like a 33mhz pre-pentium set up. 
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512mb of RAM should be more than enough for basic internet and word processing use. You don't really need to upgrade, just do a clean reformat and reinstall Windows again, get rid of all the useless bloatware programs and your PC will run fast. With XP it's not. Really... not adequate. 1Gb is the minimum for XP to run good. Agree... If I come across a computer with XP and 512 mb of ram the first thing I tell them is upgrade your RAM to at least 1 GB. XP uses most of that 512 just booting up leaving hardly any room to do much of anyhting else. |
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512mb of RAM should be more than enough for basic internet and word processing use. You don't really need to upgrade, just do a clean reformat and reinstall Windows again, get rid of all the useless bloatware programs and your PC will run fast. i'm thinking OP may have many viruses/spyware slowing down his comp. unless if he's running a really slow comp like a 33mhz pre-pentium set up. This is probably true...not sure what processor I'm running but it is certainly not pre-pentium. |
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Someone mail him a ubuntu CD. I would if I had a spare. I don't even have a blank CDR right now. This. Go to osdisc.com and pick up a UBUNTU cd for about five bucks. The most windows like of Linux os's, you'll have no trouble learning to use it. Less of a system hog than windows. If you get a live cd, you can try it first before actually doing an install. Otherwise upgrade to 1g, making sure you get compatible memory, reformat and reinstall XP. |
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Quoted: Considering you could buy a whole new tower with much better specs than your current machine likely has for $250-300, do you really want to spend $65+ buying more RAM? This. Potentially even less if you buy something refurbished. That said, bumping the memory to a gig or two will almost certainly result in a performance boost. On Edit: I want to murder all of you linux missionaries. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Considering you could buy a whole new tower with much better specs than your current machine likely has for $250-300, do you really want to spend $65+ buying more RAM? This. Potentially even less if you buy something refurbished. That said, bumping the memory to a gig or two will almost certainly result in a performance boost. On Edit: I want to murder all of you linux missionaries. C'mon, I wasn't saying anything like "Slackware 3.0.5 HAXXOR edition." Ubuntu is so easy my technophobe wife prefers it to Windows. If he gets a CD, he can run it live to see what he thinks about it. If he likes it, he's set until a hardware failure. OP: go to ubuntu.com. They walk you through downloading Ubuntu and burning it to a CD. I'd still buy more RAM. |
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Do some hard drive housekeeping, uninstall the junk or simply start over w/a fresh OS (windows is only good for 2 or 3 years and should be done anyway). Chances are you'll end up throwing away the new ram with the box in 6 mos.
If you can't do any of that, perhaps it's time to consider Linux. Little to no reason anyone can't do that now-a-days and your machine will run 3X faster than it ever did. If you like dicking w/it, get Ubuntu, if you don't, use Mepis, it just works. |
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OK..so my PC is a fucking fossil but due to financial woes it has to last me for another 6+ months. At this point I'm ready to throw it out in the street. I've realized I can upgrade the memory from 512 MB to 2 GB for $65 or so ( I think). My question is what kind of performance boost can I expect from this? Will it be worth doing? Definitely worth it. I was skeptical the first time I upgraded ram.. but now I max out my ram on all my computers. |
| what kind of ram do you need. chances are one of us might have some lying around that we could "donate" to get you along. pm me and i will see what i have lying around. if you aren't sure then turn off the power to your computer, unplug it, open the case, and remove a stick and take a picture of it and any stickers that might be on it. from there some of us should be able to help you get the right stuff. but if you are savvy enough to do it reload windows. it will run alot faster. |
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Not worth it. You can get a complete (without monitor) Intel Atom based computer for $200 to hold you till you can afford more power, you can build one for less.
No speed demon but more than enough for internet surfing, e-mail, word processing, and lightweight games. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103228 |
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512mb of RAM should be more than enough for basic internet and word processing use. You don't really need to upgrade, just do a clean reformat and reinstall Windows again, get rid of all the useless bloatware programs and your PC will run fast. exactly. if its an older computer in the first place with XP, 512 is plenty. 1gb might be nice, but 2 gigs is overkill OS is XP...I figured if I was going to do it I would max it out. Without giving too many details...my internet usage would probably be considered beyond basic. Word processing on the other hand is very basic and I do a little work with photos. Some good advice here. $65 just isn't worth putting into a fossil when you can get a way better new computer for $300 now. As mentioned, re-install of XP or install Ubuntu can breathe some new life to it for the meantime. Ubuntu is very easy to install and pretty darn easy to use too. You gotta have a CD burner, it's easy to download and burn. 32bit version for a fossil. Ubuntu.com IMGBurn.com |
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512mb of RAM should be more than enough for basic internet and word processing use. You don't really need to upgrade, just do a clean reformat and reinstall Windows again, get rid of all the useless bloatware programs and your PC will run fast. +1 this will help more than new memory. Or in the ARFCOM tradition...get both. New memory and clean start with new OS. |
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What type of memory do you need? I am sure ONE of us probably has some DDR1 laying around... assuming you need DDR1 and you didn't vote for Obama. DDR SDRAM PC3200 & No I didn't I have two sticks of Corsair Value Select VS512MB400 here that I was gonna give away (total of 1 GB RAM). I just built a new PC for myself and am giving away my old PC to a buddy's mom (who is retired and on disability). Assuming your mobo takes 184 pin DIMMs, this should work. If you PM me your mailing address I will ship it to you. |