What RAM do i need?

[_Dave_]

Hi all, I running an old amd athlon xp1500+ as my office pc, it has 512mb of ram at the min but I want to add more to speed it up a little, I haven´t got a clue but am quite happy to open the pc case and plug some more in!

Can anybody point me in the right direction?

Cheers

[k50 del]

Depends on the motherboard, there are several types of RAM.

The first step is to take the side of the case off and check whether you have any spare RAM slots, or is your 512mb taking up all available space?

[canam-phil]

Run the Scan my System on www.crucial.com/ It will tell you what you have and what your options are.

[_Dave_]

Ok will have a look over lunchtime and let you know!

[_Dave_]

Ok, had a look and ran critical thingy, it says I have 2 mem slots free, intalled memory is DDR PC3200, and I've taken a pic!



Guess thats it in the middle of the photo, so is it ddr I need? something like this?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRAND-NEW-SAMSU

Will it make a difference? sorry but I'm a complete numpty when it comes to pc's

Cheers

[pdV6]

Didn't Crucial's memory checker then go on to give you the available options?

Probably get it brand-new and warranted from Crucial for about the same price as an eBay auction?

[BliarOut]

Look on Task Manager > Performance

If the Physical Memory (K) Total is less than the Commit Charge (K) Peak then you need more RAM.

[ThePassenger]

_Dave_ said:

Ok, had a look and ran critical thingy, it says I have 2 mem slots free, intalled memory is DDR PC3200, and I've taken a pic!

Then either 2x256Mb DDR3200 modules to bring you up to 1GB of 2x512MB modules to take you to 1.5Gb would be the best plan. If that's a picture of your mobo then the colour scheme is a tell tale that the board is capable of dual channel mode, with a XP!500 best to give it as much additional grunt as possible so adding 2 modules is the way forward.

[rameshuk]

In dual channel mode you need to have matched pairs of memory.

so 512x2 is the best option.

Unless I've missed something ?


R

[ThePassenger]

rameshuk said:

In dual channel mode you need to have matched pairs of memory.

so 512x2 is the best option.

Unless I've missed something ?


R

Nope, not missing anything. OP+piccie shows 4 slots, 2 filled. Buy 2 more, juggle the memory so it's in dual channel mode and that's it.

all that'd need is to move one of the current DIMMS over 1 socket (i.e. both Orange or both Purple, then drop in the other two).

[_Dave_]

ThePassenger said:

rameshuk said:

In dual channel mode you need to have matched pairs of memory.

so 512x2 is the best option.

Unless I've missed something ?


R

Nope, not missing anything. OP+piccie shows 4 slots, 2 filled. Buy 2 more, juggle the memory so it's in dual channel mode and that's it.

all that'd need is to move one of the current DIMMS over 1 socket (i.e. both Orange or both Purple, then drop in the other two).

Theres only one slot filled with one 512mb lot of memory, its just a shadow in the pic, so an extra 512mb put in the same colour slot as the original one is the way forwards then?

Oh critical didn't list anything for mine either, weird!

Cheers

[V8 Animal]

Dave,
I have some memory for sale on ebay at the moment you might be interested.
MUSHKIN PC MEMORY 2x 512 DDR PC3200 400 mhz 2-2-2-6
140085135438

V8 Animal

[Scraggles]

posting the motherboard details is always good, u could goto the makers site and see what it can take or look in the booklet that came with it.

buy some compressed air and clean the dust and fluff off the fan, psu and mobo etc, never seen so much...

running 2x 1 GB ddr 400 i think atm, got the 2x 512 mb stashed some place

[ThePassenger]

_Dave_ said:

ThePassenger said:

rameshuk said:

In dual channel mode you need to have matched pairs of memory.

so 512x2 is the best option.

Unless I've missed something ?


R

Nope, not missing anything. OP+piccie shows 4 slots, 2 filled. Buy 2 more, juggle the memory so it's in dual channel mode and that's it.

all that'd need is to move one of the current DIMMS over 1 socket (i.e. both Orange or both Purple, then drop in the other two).

Theres only one slot filled with one 512mb lot of memory, its just a shadow in the pic, so an extra 512mb put in the same colour slot as the original one is the way forwards then?

Oh critical didn't list anything for mine either, weird!

Cheers

1x 512mb module in the same coloured slot will enable dual channel mode and give you a bit of a performance hike... not much but a bit.
3x 512mb modules, thus filling the board will bring you up to 2GB RAM and give a pretty good hike in performance (less swapping to disk when large numbers of crap running).

However, the processor is stated as being an XP1500+? You might want to visit the board manufacturers website and see what the maximum supported CPU is, then hunt around fleabay for one. That's a pretty old processor, both in terms of speed and design so (assuming it can support it) dropping a 2800+ Barton core'd AMD in there along with the first memory upgrade will yield significant improvements to performance.

[Bodo]

Here's the CPU support list, I wonder why nobody linked to it.


The fastest CPU supported (with the latest BIOS upgrade) is an AthlonXP 3200+ (Barton)
Memory supported is

Manufacturer said:

1. Type: Dual Channel DDR400/333/266- 184pin
2. Max capacity: Up to 3GB by 4 DIMM slots

So with the CPU above, you could max out your system with 2x512MB and 2x1024MB PC3200 to make full use of the fastest CPU's front side bus speed 400MHz.

CPU is no longer available new, but DDR (1) memory will still be offered.

Seeing the system, you should however rethink how long you will keep that computer until you buy a new one. For a life span of less than two years, I'd get the cheapest CPU from the Barton range XP2500+ to XP3200+ with still at least 333FSB, and only throw in another 512MB. This is the best value for money upgrade, unless you like to have lots of applications running at the same time while needing not much computing power.

1GB RAM will suffice for Win XP running an email app, browser, Word, antivirus and an image manipulation software with one image in session, all at the same time.

[pdV6]

You know, you don't always need the latest, greatest CPU for general office use.
A cheap processor upgrade and another 512MB stick will probably make it seem like its flying compared to how it is now.

[rameshuk]

You might need to Flash(update) the BIOS on the motherboard to take advantage of the newer faster processors.

Get a mate to help if you have not done this before.

R