Upgrading old PC, just RAM?

Opinicus

Have an old PC sitting in the corner and decided to see if I could make maybe some use of it for college. I won't need it for anything too graphics intensive, a little bit of photoshop/flash and also to compile some java.

I've restored it using the factory image and have installed all vista updates and it's now running a lot smoother, but it can be slow enough for some tasks, especially if running several programs together. It's an old IQON PC which were not famed for there reliability but it's still going strong somehow.

So I was wondering if just upgrading the ram might make it a little faster? The specs are below.



From doing some googling I've found these:

http://www.orcalogic.co.uk/asp/prodtype.asp?prodtype=50104&ft=m

http://www.offtek.co.uk/ModelData.php?stid=7&manu=Gigabyte&modeltype=GA-9%20Series&model=GA-945GCMX-S2

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=GA-945GCMX-S2%20%28rev.%206.6%29

Is it as easy as buying the ram and placing it in the slot?
Also, should I buy it in matched pairs or does it matter?

Thanks

Moon54

The GigaByte page for that mainboard page here;
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2521#sp
shows that it can take DDR2 PC2-5300 memory and is dual channel.
It looks like you have just one stick in your machine atm.
It would be best to get a matched pair to utilise the dual channel features.

I'd suggest getting another 1GB stick of the exact same make and size as the one you have....
Or buy a new matched pair of RAM... Max 2x2GB for that that mainboard.

1GB stick is about €20 or €30

Opinicus

Thanks for the reply.

Just a little confused about the max memory amount, the link you have from the official site says 4gb max, but in everst and CPU-Z (and all the online configs) the max is 2gb. Is the one on the gigabyte site a newer model or something?



Also my CPU comes up as a 1.6GHz but also in the same program its clock speed is given as 1200MHz. Are these not the same thing?



Thanks again.

Moon54

np, Opinicus, glad to help.

I'd go with the manual specs as being more accurate.
According to the manual it says;

• 2 DDRII DIMM memory slots (supports up to 4 GB memory)
• Supports dual channel DDRII 667/533 unbuffered DIMMs
• Supports 1.8V DDRII DIMMs

Your machine would definetly benefit from even an extra 1GB of RAM, to get it working as dual channel RAM, Vista especially needs a lot of RAM. Is there only one stick of RAM in machine?

I can't find a 1GB of the same Melco Ram that you have,
but Memoryc.com has a suitable 2x2GB for €51 - http://www.memoryc.com/computermemory/ddr2ram/4gbteamelitepc25300kit.html

But of course, if you do add 2x2GB, and your Vista is 32-bit version, only 3.4GB or something of that RAM will be used by OS. Only 64-Bit windows can address all 4GB.

Monotype

Opinicus wrote: »

Also my CPU comes up as a 1.6GHz but also in the same program its clock speed is given as 1200MHz.

Don't worry about that. That's just speedstep underclocking your processor from 1.6GHz to 1.2GHz when it's idle, to save power.

Fanny Cradock

Perhaps you are running an older version of Photoshop and the like, but I seem to recall that the newer versions recommend a minimum of 2GB RAM.

As Moon54 suggested, if you are running an older 32-bit OS (XP for example) then you wont avail of all the RAM. I run a fairly high end machine but because I did a bit of cost saving and used my old copy of XP (as opposed to shelling out for Win 7) about 0.5GB RAM isn't recognised. Still, I've got an automatic upgrade whenever I switch over to Win 7.

In short, if your machine allows for 4GB then install 4GB.

Opinicus

Moon54 wrote: »

I can't find a 1GB of the same Melco Ram that you have,
but Memoryc.com has a suitable 2x2GB for €51 - http://www.memoryc.com/computermemory/ddr2ram/4gbteamelitepc25300kit.html

Nice one, €51 looks like good value, thought it would cost way more!

Fanny Cradock wrote: »

Perhaps you are running an older version of Photoshop and the like, but I seem to recall that the newer versions recommend a minimum of 2GB RAM.

I have CS4, it will run but it's kind of slow if you're adding filters and stuff like that, especially with big images.

Monotype wrote: »

Don't worry about that. That's just speedstep underclocking your processor from 1.6GHz to 1.2GHz when it's idle, to save power.

Whew! Puts my mind to rest, thanks.


Was just looking at the specs for my CPU and it said it was 64-bit capable. So I could run windows 64 bit if I wanted? Probably no point though as I don't really need something that intensive.
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=29738



OK one last question. Do I have to mess around with the BIOS or anything when I install it? Or is it just as easy as switch off, replace RAM, switch on?

Moon54

Yeah, no need to mess with BIOS or anything.

Just the usual care is all that's required when handling sensitive electronics,
beware of static, don't touch the RAM sticks connections.:D

Skerries

just make sure you touch something metal like the pc case or a radiator to discharge any static buildup in your body and just pop it in
it may feel like it is not going to fit but once you have the memory lined up correctly which you can tell from the gap in the memory then it is just a case of applying a good bit of pressure until it sits in properly