RAM Advice

JMurph

OK bit the bullet and ditched Norton, it was a big beast. Did your other bits I hadn't quite followed and now my commit charge is:

Total: 188152
Limit:2523780
Peak:363192

Sounds a lot better but not quite down to 128MB. I've only just done this, so I'll have a play and see if it's any better at coping with running a few programs at once, iplayer and things that weren't working so well.

Thanks for all the ongoing support!

closed

actual commit depends on hardware, drivers, what is running, which varies slightly from machine to machine, 128 is a very slimmed down machine, which requires a bit more than a hijackthis log to achieve. 180MB is reasonable, and the machine should be booting and running noticeable faster? If iplayer is still stuttering in SD mode, could be graphics card or browser or net connection related. Which browser are you using.

post another log.

JMurph

I tried watching some streamed tv on iplayer, which worked better than it ever has done. Bootup and closedown is hugely faster. I usually use IE but also have firefox installed which I quite like too for layout, and seems to deal with plug ins easier than IE.

I can't imagine iplayer was even born when my graphics card was plugged into my pc.

I will use it some more to see if I'm happy enough with performance and, if not, I guess the further options are more RAM and new graphics card. Is graphics card as easily replaced as RAM?

I'll post another log tonight.

Thanks as ever closed.

macman

Changing a graphics card is very similar to intalling RAM-it just plugs into the slot.

closed

plugins can cause problems, and obviously use ram. Some versions of firefox hog ram, latest version is supposed to be better. Keep an eye on the commit when using both browsers, IE tends to be more efficient in terms of ram.

Backup time? http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

GunJack

if your graphics need a quick boost, go into the bios and up the ram allocated to the graphics, just don't over-do it. 32meg shared should be enough for iplayer to be smoother

JMurph

Well, iplayer is still pretty jumpy and clunky looking on both browsers, so maybe its time for a new graphics card?

Gunjack thanks for that, but my RAM isn't great to start with, plus I don't know my way round BIOS!

As an aside, been wondering about a cheapie tablet for iplayer watching etc, general surfing duties, and came across this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007W2LBP2/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_g147_i3?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=098V6TB0EJP9YN8Y46MN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294

(posted in other tablet-related thread), maybe it's money better spent keep my desktop for word processing, email writing, excel use etc, and keep the web surfing on this shiny new toy? Any thoughts?

zee_2

i have a inspiron 530 ,replaced old ram with 2 x 1gb ram units from ebuyer and cleaned out junk files 2years ago speed is ok now ,could have put in 2x2gb ram , but have no need for all that memory, even befor cleaning out the speed was a big difference with the new units ,and only took 5 minutes to fit.

JMurph

Is basically all RAM compatible, or what do I need to look for?

closed

www.crucial.com/uk


but if your commit charge is less than half of installed ram, don't expect miracles from a ram upgrade.