Why does my steam driven PC run so slow ??

macman

Difference between buying 256MB and 512MB new is around a fiver at most. And if you do have someone in to fit it, the fitting cost is the same.
Yes, buying secondhand will be cheaper but you need to know exactly what you're buying to get compatibility.
For peace of mind I would always go for new.
I've done loads of RAM upgrades on 4 years + old PC's and most people reckon £20 odd is a worthwhile investment to extend the life by a few years.

tnor_fo_tkcab

I've got rid of all items recommended in THJ log, run Ccleaner, defragged etc but don't want to mess with registry. The PC seems to run a little faster now but I reckon increasing the RAM is the next step.

I've run crucial but was a little disapointed at the result 'cos the same scan on my laptop indicated a spend of £20-£30 to take it from 512MB to 2GB but on this old PC it indicates the thick end of £50 to take it from 256MB to 768MB (almost £100 to get up to 1GB ?)

The scan info is below, is it more expensive 'cos of the age of the PC ?

Currently installed memory:
256MB
SDRAM, PC133
EMPTY
Each memory slot can hold SDRAM, PC133 with a maximum of 512MB per slot.*
*Not to exceed manufacturer supported memory.
Maximum Memory Capacity: 1024MB
Currently Installed Memory: 256MB
Available Memory Slots: 1
Number of Banks: 2
Dual Channel Support: No
CPU Manufacturer: GenuineIntel
CPU Family: Intel(R) Celeron(TM) CPU 1200MHz Model 11, Stepping 1
CPU Speed: 1202 MHz

Thanks,

Jac.

Red_Rose_Exile

As it's PC133 SD RAM, it will be expensive new because they do't make a lot of them nowadays.

You might want to get this one off fleabay, or you could go the whole hog to get the maximum 1gb and buy 2 for under £12

Sput2001

£18 for 512Mb from 7DayShop.

EDIT: Nah... get two from ebay as above. Less than £12 for 1Gb? No brainer.

tnor_fo_tkcab

hi,

Not too keen on e-bay & I've no paypal but I was just wondering .....

I've an old toshiba laptop (again maybe 5+ yrs old) in the loft, is the RAM likely to be similar and could it be used ? I've also got an old tower (not sure what brand) up there, maybe slightly older, could this have suitable RAM in it ?

(everything that dies in our house ends up in the loft ! Hope I don't go in my sleep otherwise it could get very smelly up there !!) :eek:

Sput2001

The chances of the laptop RAM fitting are virtually nil.

The old tower is a slightly higher possibility, but I'd guess there's probably not enough RAM in there to make a significant difference.

If you're really not into ebay then I'd grab a 512Mb stick from 7 Day Shop and bung that in next to the 256Mb you've got already. That should be plenty.

fwor

NickMidgley wrote: »

If you're really not into ebay then I'd grab a 512Mb stick from 7 Day Shop and bung that in next to the 256Mb you've got already. That should be plenty.

But be prepared for the fact that it may not work. Most new, cheap SDRAM modules these days are high density designs which simply won't work on older motherboards. There are some tutorials around which offer hints on which type you have and what you are getting such as the following:

http://reviews.ebay.com/Myth-Low-Density-vs-High-Density-memory-modules_W0QQugidZ10000000001236178

It's not very well written, but it does give some guidance on what chip layout you can expect to see for low vs. high density on a 256Mb module.

spud17

fwor is 100%correct, I'm in the same position.

Try HERE you will see two apparently similar 512mb products.

One is 64x4, i.e.high density, will only work in a limited number of PCs, as per ebay article.

The other is 32x8 i.e.low density, and should work in all machines.

Guess which is the more expensive? But still cheaper than crucial.