The "Freeola Customer Forum" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
My PC has been running sluggishly as of late, and I think it is time to get some more RAM. I have 256MB DDR RAM at the moment, and I opened up my tower today and saw there is another slot free. So, does that mean that I can get another 256MB of DDR RAM and add it, providing me with a total of 512MB of RAM? The thing is though the memory module I have at the moment is different from the ones shown here:
http://uk.special.reserve.co.uk/ q_GG6161_ddr_dimm__256_mb_r.html
As in the fact that it has a gap in the middle where there is no black rectangle. (I don't know the technical term). Does this mean it is compatible or not? I am going to check out the Dell website and see if there is anything there, as I can't find my motherboard manual. Any help aprreciated, and if you need any more info I'll give it to you.
Cheers.
http://uk.special.reserve.co.uk/ q_GG6161_ddr_dimm__256_mb_r.html
As in the fact that it has a gap in the middle where there is no black rectangle. (I don't know the technical term). Does this mean it is compatible or not? I am going to check out the Dell website and see if there is anything there, as I can't find my motherboard manual. Any help aprreciated, and if you need any more info I'll give it to you.
Cheers.
Page:
béSSánt ©opy®ight™ wrote:
> So could I get a 512Mb stick at 400mhz and add it to my 256Mb stick
> at 266Mhz, or would I need to get another stick (256 or 512) at
> 266Mhz?
> I have a Dell Dimension 4500 and Windows XP Home Edition.
you should be able to add a 512mb stick at any speed just i think the faster the better and add it.
but if you have a manual check information about the motherboard slots and if it says 2 banks that means (if you have the copper bit on both sides of the RAM) that you could have no more, but if you have gold plate on only one side you can forget about all the stuff about banks,
if you have 3 banks on motherboard you can have 1 single sided stick, 4 banks also means forget about the whole banks stuff
i only learnt about the banks a few moths ago so don't know everything for all computers.
and one more thing to check is how much speed the RAM slots can take,
this will usually be measured by something like:
pc3200 (400mhz)
then there's all the others but if you see that one your fine and really you can't ask for much more.
but if you haven't got a manual then well makes life tricky, but
if your dell dimension 4500, (which i am not aware of the details)
if it is only a few years old then everything should be ok,
but if again you can't tell or it is a few years old then,
if you know the original cpu (processor) speed, then if over 2000mhz it should be ok,
i would suggest really getting another 256mb stick just at a high speed (if can take above)
i think for an average user 512mb is a reasonable amount,
Just thought of something....
your hard drive might be the thing slowing comp down
if you have a big hard drive say 80gb at 7200rpm should be ok but getting a 10gb hard drive at high speed and putting all regulary used things helps speed up (this is more difficult than upgrading RAM though)
hope this helps anyway
where you planning to fit it yourself or get SR to do it because if SR did it they would stop you getting the wrong RAM but myself i think building PC's is fun.
> So could I get a 512Mb stick at 400mhz and add it to my 256Mb stick
> at 266Mhz, or would I need to get another stick (256 or 512) at
> 266Mhz?
> I have a Dell Dimension 4500 and Windows XP Home Edition.
you should be able to add a 512mb stick at any speed just i think the faster the better and add it.
but if you have a manual check information about the motherboard slots and if it says 2 banks that means (if you have the copper bit on both sides of the RAM) that you could have no more, but if you have gold plate on only one side you can forget about all the stuff about banks,
if you have 3 banks on motherboard you can have 1 single sided stick, 4 banks also means forget about the whole banks stuff
i only learnt about the banks a few moths ago so don't know everything for all computers.
and one more thing to check is how much speed the RAM slots can take,
this will usually be measured by something like:
pc3200 (400mhz)
then there's all the others but if you see that one your fine and really you can't ask for much more.
but if you haven't got a manual then well makes life tricky, but
if your dell dimension 4500, (which i am not aware of the details)
if it is only a few years old then everything should be ok,
but if again you can't tell or it is a few years old then,
if you know the original cpu (processor) speed, then if over 2000mhz it should be ok,
i would suggest really getting another 256mb stick just at a high speed (if can take above)
i think for an average user 512mb is a reasonable amount,
Just thought of something....
your hard drive might be the thing slowing comp down
if you have a big hard drive say 80gb at 7200rpm should be ok but getting a 10gb hard drive at high speed and putting all regulary used things helps speed up (this is more difficult than upgrading RAM though)
hope this helps anyway
where you planning to fit it yourself or get SR to do it because if SR did it they would stop you getting the wrong RAM but myself i think building PC's is fun.
béSSánt ©opy®ight™ wrote:
> 2 x 266mhz = 532mhz (2x256mb)
> 1 x 266mhz = 266mhz (512mb)
>
> so its like saying two sticks are better than one (unless you get a
> 532mhz stick)
>
> personnaly i have one 512mb stick at 400mhz with copper heatsink
> plates
>
So could I get a 512Mb stick at 400mhz and add it to my 256Mb stick at 266Mhz, or would I need to get another stick (256 or 512) at 266Mhz?
I have a Dell Dimension 4500 and Windows XP Home Edition.
> 2 x 266mhz = 532mhz (2x256mb)
> 1 x 266mhz = 266mhz (512mb)
>
> so its like saying two sticks are better than one (unless you get a
> 532mhz stick)
>
> personnaly i have one 512mb stick at 400mhz with copper heatsink
> plates
>
So could I get a 512Mb stick at 400mhz and add it to my 256Mb stick at 266Mhz, or would I need to get another stick (256 or 512) at 266Mhz?
I have a Dell Dimension 4500 and Windows XP Home Edition.
RoJ wrote:
> It's 266MHz. I would buy a 521Mb stick, but its an extra 20 quid and
> I'm also saving for a new graphics card, but would a 521Mb stick be
> worth it?
Can't help you on the technical side RoJ, but the more RAM the better - everything will run a bit smoother and you can have more stuff open at once without Windows using the hard drive as virtual memory so much.
Assuming you're using Windows, that is ...
> It's 266MHz. I would buy a 521Mb stick, but its an extra 20 quid and
> I'm also saving for a new graphics card, but would a 521Mb stick be
> worth it?
Can't help you on the technical side RoJ, but the more RAM the better - everything will run a bit smoother and you can have more stuff open at once without Windows using the hard drive as virtual memory so much.
Assuming you're using Windows, that is ...
ok if you want a new grapics card fair enough but *IF* your motherboard supports it you can upgrade the speed
i mean a 266mhz stick is fine but a 400mhz one is much faster.
do you understand the speed and size? well i will tell you just in case you don't:
two 256mb sticks running at 266mhz are much faster
than a 512mb stick with 266mhz
because:
2 x 266mhz = 532mhz (2x256mb)
1 x 266mhz = 266mhz (512mb)
so its like saying two sticks are better than one (unless you get a 532mhz stick)
personnaly i have one 512mb stick at 400mhz with copper heatsink plates
but it all boils down to if your PC can take it
if your motherboard is less than 3 years old then everything is *probaly* going to be fine.
i mean a 266mhz stick is fine but a 400mhz one is much faster.
do you understand the speed and size? well i will tell you just in case you don't:
two 256mb sticks running at 266mhz are much faster
than a 512mb stick with 266mhz
because:
2 x 266mhz = 532mhz (2x256mb)
1 x 266mhz = 266mhz (512mb)
so its like saying two sticks are better than one (unless you get a 532mhz stick)
personnaly i have one 512mb stick at 400mhz with copper heatsink plates
but it all boils down to if your PC can take it
if your motherboard is less than 3 years old then everything is *probaly* going to be fine.
Here is the one I have currently in my PC:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ [SPACE] productdetail.aspx?sku=A0034761&c=us&l [SPACE] =en&cs=19&category_id=4325&page=external
And here is the one from SR:
http://uk.special.reserve.co.uk [SPACE] /q_GG6161_ddr_dimm__256_mb_r.html
SR's one is cheaper, but would it work?
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ [SPACE] productdetail.aspx?sku=A0034761&c=us&l [SPACE] =en&cs=19&category_id=4325&page=external
And here is the one from SR:
http://uk.special.reserve.co.uk [SPACE] /q_GG6161_ddr_dimm__256_mb_r.html
SR's one is cheaper, but would it work?
It's 266MHz. I would buy a 521Mb stick, but its an extra 20 quid and I'm also saving for a new graphics card, but would a 521Mb stick be worth it?
not all ram has the black boxes on the RAM
IF your ram has gold plates (where you place RAM into slot) on both sides you may not be able to add another lot of memory
but that rule only usualy applys to motherboards with 3 slots
should be ok but too be really carful you might want to but a 512mb stick.
and the faster in mhz the memory the faster it works (mb is how much it stores temporarily)
IF your ram has gold plates (where you place RAM into slot) on both sides you may not be able to add another lot of memory
but that rule only usualy applys to motherboards with 3 slots
should be ok but too be really carful you might want to but a 512mb stick.
and the faster in mhz the memory the faster it works (mb is how much it stores temporarily)
My PC has been running sluggishly as of late, and I think it is time to get some more RAM. I have 256MB DDR RAM at the moment, and I opened up my tower today and saw there is another slot free. So, does that mean that I can get another 256MB of DDR RAM and add it, providing me with a total of 512MB of RAM? The thing is though the memory module I have at the moment is different from the ones shown here:
http://uk.special.reserve.co.uk/ q_GG6161_ddr_dimm__256_mb_r.html
As in the fact that it has a gap in the middle where there is no black rectangle. (I don't know the technical term). Does this mean it is compatible or not? I am going to check out the Dell website and see if there is anything there, as I can't find my motherboard manual. Any help aprreciated, and if you need any more info I'll give it to you.
Cheers.
http://uk.special.reserve.co.uk/ q_GG6161_ddr_dimm__256_mb_r.html
As in the fact that it has a gap in the middle where there is no black rectangle. (I don't know the technical term). Does this mean it is compatible or not? I am going to check out the Dell website and see if there is anything there, as I can't find my motherboard manual. Any help aprreciated, and if you need any more info I'll give it to you.
Cheers.
Page: