Feeling brave....thinking of adding memory to Desktop - help Please!

catlou

Hi all

I have a 5yr old Compaq SR1609UK - Windows XP SP3 /AMD Sempron Processor 3000+ / 84MHz 448MB of RAM /160gb hard drive.

I was considering a new PC but with lots of assistance from the helpful folks on this forum I cleaned everything up in December and it is defo running faster.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2886348

But....now I am being greedy! and am wanting to add more ram to make it faster generally so to last me longer and I'm also hoping to do lots of sorting out and scan my old photos onto it and add lots of old cd on itunes etc.

I have googled it and had a look it doesn't sound too complicated......is it really just a case of buying the correct memory opening the tower casing and slotting it in, close the tower case and switch on and it's all done?? Sounds too easy!!

Now this is well out of my "comfort zone" lol! cliche! :rotfl:and I have lots of worries about killing my pc etc. So would be most grateful if someone could please give me some advice / guidance as I have never attempted anything like this before! :eek:

TIA

Sublime_2

It is that straightforward. Just make sure you have the right RAM, for your PC. The Crucial Memory advisor tool. Always a first good place to start.

Sublime_2

Make sure you are earthed, just in case of static damage. I usually use a wrist strap.

CoolHotCold

This is your system

This is your motherboard

And you have a 512MB of DDR PC3200 RAM

catlou

Thanks sublime!

So I have just ran the crucial tool but am confused (already!) by the results the only option it seems to give me are 1GB (total) £17.99 or 3.5/4.00GB (Total) £104/£139 which even I know is too much and would be pointless?

Would there not be an option of say 1.5 / 2GB?

CoolHotCold

There are four slots on the MoBo (as the link above states) and one of those slots is used by a 512MB stick already, so all you need to buy is a extra 1GB to make it up to 1.5GB

More Edits

If you want 2GB, then buy 2 of the 1GB sticks crucial is showing (2 x £17.99) and fit those which would take the system up to 2.5GB (you would leave the 512MB in there)

Mr_Thrifty

The truth is, extra RAM will make it a bit faster but don't expect a revolutionary boost in performance.

Your processor is slow. Extra RAM will help if your hard disk light goes on and off a lot when you open several programs at once, but otherwise you're not likely to see much difference. I think XP uses about 256MB RAM on its own, which leaves you with about the same for your applications. Unless you're into multi-tasking (running several programs at once), I doubt this will give you the boost you need.

Frankly, for the cost of the RAM I would be tempted to just buy a much faster PC second hand. You can get them for peanuts these days. You can probably get a far, far better PC than your current one for about £50 second hand. The RAM will probably cost around that much on its own, particularly if you get matched RAM and it uses old DDR1 RAM which is quite expensive.

John_Gray

Doing the memory add is straightforward. More important is the checking of the memory already in your machine, and whether you have a spare slot for an additional memory stick. Best to open up the case and have a look. There are many programs, such as Belarc Advisor and System Information for Windows (the old, free, version near the bottom of the page), which will tell you what memory you already have installed. The Crucial Memory Advisor Tool (suggested by Sublime) will also tell you what you can add and how much it costs.

CoolHotCold

Mr_Thrifty wrote: »

The truth is, extra RAM will make it a bit faster but don't expect a revolutionary boost in performance.

Your processor is slow. Extra RAM will help if your hard disk light goes on and off a lot when you open several programs at once, but otherwise you're not likely to see much difference. I think XP uses about 256MB RAM on its own, which leaves you with about the same for your applications. Unless you're into multi-tasking (running several programs at once), I doubt this will give you the boost you need.

Frankly, for the cost of the RAM I would be tempted to just buy a much faster PC second hand. You can get them for peanuts these days. You can probably get a far, far better PC than your current one for about £50 second hand. The RAM will probably cost around that much on its own, particularly if you get matched RAM and it uses old DDR1 RAM which is quite expensive.

Fact is a extra 1GB of ram will make a difference and the best viable way of improving a system. It's 17.99 and you won't find a better system for tripple that.

OK_Sauce

catlou wrote: »

So I have just ran the crucial tool but am confused (already!) by the results the only option it seems to give me are 1GB (total) £17.99 or 3.5/4.00GB (Total) £104/£139 which even I know is too much and would be pointless?

Would there not be an option of say 1.5 / 2GB?

Are you sure you scolled down the page enough. Crucial tend to put their 'recommended' choices at the top of the results page and the 'other' combinations further down the page.

Mr_Thrifty

CoolHotCold wrote: »

Fact is a extra 1GB of ram will make a difference and the best viable way of improving a system. It's 17.99 and you won't find a better system for tripple that.

It may well be wasted money. Before you upgrade your RAM, check the peak commit charge in task manager. Does it exceed your available physical RAM? If so, a RAM upgrade will be beneficial. If not, you're just wasting your money on extra capacity that won't really be used.

I just think this upgrade is likely to be a false economy. If you're spending £17.99, you may as well spend an extra £20, sell your current system for £20 and buy a much faster one for £60.