Upgrading RAM. What's best?

GoofyGAT

"so should i not worry that the scan said they had nothing compatible?" - I thought you said they had 3 suggestions? From your previous post: "when i go the other way and search for my pc it then brings up 3 choices....."

To virtually guarantee compatibility it has to be PC2-4200/5300, 240-pin, 1Gb or lower single modules (2Gb is OK if it's a 2x1Gb kit), 1.8V, NON-ECC, unbuffered, unregistered & low density. I did a manual search for compatible DDR2 memory & came up with 11 possibilities - see screenshot. If you follow this link you can try it out for yourself.

"there are no other factors that should be considered are they?" - See above. As I mentioned before, if you get RAM from eBay, beware that some sell high-density (HD) modules - see this. None of the Crucial modules in the list above has any HD modules.

"i know that for example they can have different speeds. i know this probably wont be an issue but having windows vista isnt an issue is it? " - Stick to the speeds your motherboard will accept & you'll be fine - in this case PC2-4200/5300. No, there won't be any issue with Vista.

"a mate recomended another company called orca. i have never seen them be mentioned here before and wonder what people think of them?" - Orca seem OK (if a bit limited choice), but I would only use them if their memory was significantly better value. With Crucial offering free delviery at the moment I doubt Ocra can better their offerings.

eBuyer is another option, with £10 off if you use Google Checkout (GC) - order needs to be £30 or over excluding VAT & delivery (offer expires 5/11, that's tomorrow!). G

donnajunkie

GoofyGAT wrote: »

"so should i not worry that the scan said they had nothing compatible?" - I thought you said they had 3 suggestions? From your previous post: "when i go the other way and search for my pc it then brings up 3 choices....."

when i click on the three boxes on the right to get to my pc it then brings up the 3 choices but when i do the scan it says they dont have anything for my pc. this makes me wonder if mine is perhaps a newer version that has something stopping me from upgrading or something silly like that. i would expect the scan were it communicates with my pc to be more accurate.

donnajunkie

heres the page i get. i think this has already been answered so if i have pc2-5300 already which i think i have i can put pc2-42000 in the other slots and them being different wont matter? i think i want to go for the one they say is the best.

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/listparts.aspx?model=Presario%20SR5129UK

donnajunkie

i have just noticed further down there are some more including a 5300 2gb kit which you say is better than 4200 dont you?

GoofyGAT

when i do the scan it says they dont have anything for my pc.....i would expect the scan were it communicates with my pc to be more accurate- That's because the scan's not perfect/doesn't work sometimes (for whatever reason). (Btw, it's never worked on my PC of 2 years, but did on my previous PC though.) Don't worry about this as we've found compatible memory using the manual method.

so if i have pc2-5300 already which i think i have i can put pc2-42000 in the other slots and them being different wont matter? - It will work, but all the memory will work at the slower PC2-4200 speed.

i have just noticed further down there are some more including a 5300 2gb kit which you say is better than 4200 dont you? - The memory lower down is compatible too. Putting another 2Gb in your PC will bring it up to 3Gb which is overkill for the majority of users. What do you use your PC for? 512Mb may be more than enough of an upgrade & don't get more than 1Gb (512Mb x2) - this one would be just fine. G

muffinhead

Thanks for all your advice :beer: !

The 256mb ram in my computer is PC2100 but Crucial are recommending a 1gb PC3200 stick. By leaving in the 256mb PC2100, will it restrict the performance of the PC3200 stick?

BillScarab

Yes, system RAM will run at the speed of the slowest RAM.I think you'd be better throwing the 256 Mb and just putting in the 1 GB.

donnajunkie

GoofyGAT wrote: »

when i do the scan it says they dont have anything for my pc.....i would expect the scan were it communicates with my pc to be more accurate- That's because the scan's not perfect/doesn't work sometimes (for whatever reason). (Btw, it's never worked on my PC of 2 years, but did on my previous PC though.) Don't worry about this as we've found compatible memory using the manual method.

so if i have pc2-5300 already which i think i have i can put pc2-42000 in the other slots and them being different wont matter? - It will work, but all the memory will work at the slower PC2-4200 speed.

i have just noticed further down there are some more including a 5300 2gb kit which you say is better than 4200 dont you? - The memory lower down is compatible too. Putting another 2Gb in your PC will bring it up to 3Gb which is overkill for the majority of users. What do you use your PC for? 512Mb may be more than enough of an upgrade & don't get more than 1Gb (512Mb x2) - this one would be just fine. G

thanks!
well i want to play games, not necessarily the latest though. i have been told that windows vista is memory hungry and alot of games i look at say more memory is needed if useing vista. i am sure i have seen games that say 2.5gb is needed. as i currently only have 1gb while 2gb(altogether) may well be decent enough, 3gb would be better. i have fifa07 and tomb raider legend and they seem to work fine. i have demos for doom 3 and unreal tournament 3 and they work well but not anywhere near the top spec i think. they do still look good to me though.

BillScarab

I'd be surprised if any games require 2.5 GB. Bioshock has just been launched and that only requires 1Gb although 2Gb is recommended. I'd think 2Gb would be enough even with Vista.

donnajunkie

some games have started saying the minimum spec for xp and then the minimum spec for vista. i am forgetting here but i am pretty sure these games require at least half a gb more with vista than with xp. so it is safe to assume a minimum of 2gb is needed and therefore 3gb is probably more ldeal for anyone with vista.