 increase RAM, what should my RAM be? |
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 Feb 28 2005, 04:19 PM
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#1
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Member  Group: Members Posts: 39 Joined: 26-February 05 Member No.: 13,082  |
right now i have 256 mb of RAM and AMD ATHLON 2800+ 64 bit processor. i some how feel that the system is running very slow especially when i use corel draw, adobe photoshop and acrobat reader. i am planning to take another 512 MB of RAM. do you thinl this would help me? r should i change my processor? i brought the system only a month ago. plzz help me out. |
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Feb 28 2005, 04:28 PM
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 helping hand Group: Members Posts: 1,700 Joined: 14-April 04 From: Texas Member No.: 150 |
Adding more RAM will increase performance.
What is your make and model number? -------------------- We are all curious like a cat. We wonder, we ask, we learn.
Please post back when a suggestion works, so that others may learn. |
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Mar 1 2005, 07:48 PM
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#3
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 New Member Group: Members Posts: 5 Joined: 1-March 05 Member No.: 13,297 |
[whisper]I'm lazy...this is from another forum where I posted this to someone's similar query[/whisper]
....... There's several factors to consider. If the motherboard has "Dual Channelling" capabilities then it's best to make sure that if 2 Memory Sticks are being used then they are the same size, and preferably the same brand. eg. "Brand X" x 256 MB sticks. etc. Same goes for 4 slots being used. Generally more RAM will make the system a bit faster but is mainly only to be able to run more applications without memory being used up and thus causing disk swapping (Page File) which slows things down a bit. The OS is important as well. If you're using Win98 then more memory helps a lot but Win98 reserves a lot of memory and wastes it. Win2k and XP manage memory pretty well. I use all 3 of the above and Win2k is the best. I run a P4 3 GHz with 1 GB DDR RAM "Dual Channeled". I have about 20 applications opened at all times, plus bleeploads of processes running, and my free memory rarely drops below 500 MB. ........ [/END LAZINESS] I think maybe the key to your problem is in the 3 programs you refer to. Most Adobe products load up all their Plugins on start up as do most Graphics Editors such as PhotoShop and Corel Draw. Also those types of programs can hold a large amount of data in the Clipboard, either in RAM or if not enough RAM is available, then in Virtual RAM / Pagefile etc. and that can slow a system down some. So yeah, more RAM would definitely be a benefit to your Computing habits seeing as how you seem to do Graphics work. ....... -------------------- Floating aimlessly in CyberSpace
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Mar 2 2005, 06:08 AM
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#4
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New Member Group: Members Posts: 5 Joined: 1-March 05 Member No.: 13,271 |
Go ahead, it is no doubt to do that , more momery can bring you better performence.
as WinDozer say , be careful with your original memery brand. it is better to use same brand memery and same frequency. for example DDR400 with DDR400 DDR333 with DDR333, and Dual Channelling can also increase the pc performence. -------------------- I hope I can answer your questions as many as I can, and also I will be appreciated if you can answer my questions.
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Mar 25 2005, 01:07 AM
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#5
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Member Group: Members Posts: 39 Joined: 26-February 05 Member No.: 13,082 |
yeah, thanx a lot to all of U. i had actually increased my RAM by 512 MB. this i did after reading the first reply. 2day i found there were 2 more replies and found new terms in them.
can i knw wats dual channeling is it something related 2 number of slots on the machine?? i have 2 of them, 1 has 512MB(DDR333 recently bought), the other has 128MB(DDR333). which do you think is better? (512 alone r 512+128). i am asking this bcoz everybody says 512+512 is good r 256+256 is good but noone says if 512+128 is false? hope u will read this post even after a long time. thanks again for those above |
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 Mar 25 2005, 03:38 AM
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Forum Regular Group: Members Posts: 345 Joined: 18-March 05 From: Jacksonville, Florida Member No.: 14,772 |
Dear Nawin,
Having a 512MB and a 128MB in your two slots may slow down your computer. Do you know your mother board specs in regards to memory? If you don't then don't worry. It is always best to match RAM Memory, 512 +512, 256+256, 128+128 and so on. Think of it as a mirror. When you look into a mirror you see yourself. A true reflection(512+512). Memory works the same. When memory is used it processes the action. If two memory modules are installed, then it processes the action faster by bouncing itself off each other. Now look at the mirror again and imagine seeing a form less than yourself (512+128). Not knowing what you are seeing, you question it. Same as a computer. If your computer does not recognize the information, it slows down to examine it. My recommendation is to buy a second 512MB to match your first or just keep one 512MB in. Sorry to be so plain. There is so much more involved and I thought this might be more understandable. Good luck, Junkdk -------------------- Your Hardware Guide.
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Mar 26 2005, 02:15 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 39 Joined: 26-February 05 Member No.: 13,082 |
thanx 4 ur help. may b i will buy another 512MB ram.
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Mar 26 2005, 04:53 PM
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 Voted most likely Group: Members Posts: 3,677 Joined: 19-September 04 From: Collingwood, Ontario, Canada Member No.: 2,883 |
I am going to assume you are using XP. If so have a look at How to set performance options in Windows XP. It talks about page files and allocating memory to programs. It may help in your situation.
-------------------- **** We use our powers for good, not evil **** When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail. Abraham Maslo |
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Mar 27 2005, 04:30 PM
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#9
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Member Group: Members Posts: 56 Joined: 9-July 04 From: Detroit Member No.: 1,321 |
After intsalling new memory down load and run memtest from www.memtest86.com. It will tell you if every thing is OK (it's a free program)
This post has been edited by Richard1283: Mar 27 2005, 04:31 PM |
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