Adding extra memory?

muffler

First up Im pretty useless at the technical stuff but Im looking at adding additional memory to my old(ish) PC. I would be able to physically do this as I have done so with another PC some time ago but getting the right type of memory is where Im stuck.

The PC is a Dell Optiplex 755 desktop running Windows 7 professional and currently has 4Gb memory installed. Im looking top add another 2gb or 4gb maybe but Im not sure of the type, which way the slots work or even the best place to buy.

MemoryC.com is showing me this but Im pretty sure that i read somewhere that you cant "mix and match". What I mean is that all 4 slots would have to be fitted with 4 sticks of the same amount of memory (apologies for non tech description) either 4 x 1gb or 4 x 2gb. Would this be correct or can I remove 2 of the 4 1gb sticks currently fitted and replace with 2 x 2gb thus bringing the total memory up to 6gb

The memoryC website says 8gb is the max which is fine but would this have an effect on the processor or any other hardware?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

Johnboy1951

Most motherboards I have dealt with require matching the memory in pairs, and the memory sockets are usually colour-coded to show the pairs.

If you have not checked this site might be helpful
http://eu.crucial.com/eur/en/advisor

EDIT

That site gives me a page that I cannot see to use, but this one should provide the information required
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/memory-info?cm_re=homepage-_-main-body-_-us-buy-memory-button

I get this for my motherboard

memory

Max Unbuffered DDR3 SDRAM:32GB
Slots:4 (2 banks of 2)

*Not to exceed manufacturer supported memory.

coylemj

OP, get the service tag number from your PC and enter it into the Dell support website, they will tell you what configurations are valid. It should be on a label on the back of the PC. Do that before going to any third party website to purchase DIMMs.

TerrorFirmer

Is that 4GB of DDR2? Hard to get high density DDR2 sticks though I'm sure you'll get them on ebay.

However, consider that the PC is probably slow as christmas because it's ancient, not because of ram limitations - even in 2018, 4GB ram is generally plenty for normal desktop use. I can't imagine anything of the DDR2 vintage benefiting from 8GB of DDR2 ram unless you were running something extremely specific that eats up ram, but even if that were the case, anything that demanding would also choke on whatever CPU you have.

Maybe consider a new PC? You'd get a 2nd hand i5-based PC with 8GB ram for about 150 on Ebay that would be multiple times faster.

smuggler.ie

Full tech data here
Even if you do upgrade hard drive to SSD+8GB RAM, not much to expect - 2006 era

muffler

Thanks lads for all the replies.

I bought this PC a couple of years ago and use it for work which is mostly just your normal office stuff like Word docs, PDF's, a small bit of CAD and of course logging in here when I should be working If the boss catches me Im fcuked but seeing as Im self employed I have to say he's a great chap!

It's running well enough overall but when starting up it's slow and seems to take about 5 - 10 minutes for everything to load up. The task manage shows CPU at 100% at boot up and also for a few minutes after bringing it out of standby. The browsers seem to drain the resources a fair bit especially if there are videos or ads plastered around the web pages. Even running a scan is using a lot of memory so I thought that a bit of extra memory may solve all that.

Im on a different PC now which is also an oldish Dell (Optiplex 780) and it has 8Gb RAM and its flying.

smuggler.ie

It is important, but its not just about RAM, it is combination of multiple components(hardware) and software that effects PC performance.

Full tech data for Optiplex 780

unkel

muffler wrote: »

It's running well enough overall but when starting up it's slow and seems to take about 5 - 10 minutes for everything to load up.

You don't need more memory, you need an SSD! You can buy them in a package with a special cable and cloning software and easy to follow instructions. Like this:

Linky


This is not money lost either, as you can re-use the SSD in any laptop or PC going forward.

TerrorFirmer

muffler wrote: »

Thanks lads for all the replies.

I bought this PC a couple of years ago and use it for work which is mostly just your normal office stuff like Word docs, PDF's, a small bit of CAD and of course logging in here when I should be working If the boss catches me Im fcuked but seeing as Im self employed I have to say he's a great chap!

It's running well enough overall but when starting up it's slow and seems to take about 5 - 10 minutes for everything to load up. The task manage shows CPU at 100% at boot up and also for a few minutes after bringing it out of standby. The browsers seem to drain the resources a fair bit especially if there are videos or ads plastered around the web pages. Even running a scan is using a lot of memory so I thought that a bit of extra memory may solve all that.

Im on a different PC now which is also an oldish Dell (Optiplex 780) and it has 8Gb RAM and its flying.

That's nothing with RAM, it's a combination of it being ancient and probably the HDD as well.

An SSD will help a lot, but you'll still experience chokes or slow down due to the processor, there is no way around that...

Genuinely, you have buy a PC for €150 that's twice or three times as fast, in all departments - like this.