RAM - How much, where and how?

[Squawk]

Looking to upgrade my Ram - have 1/2 GB I think atm and capacity for 4GB. Probably only need 1GB. Any suggestions as to how much, from where and how to get it done?

[Strawb]

don't make the mistake and get ram from New Zealand they will think you are gay.

[stan]

The more the merrier.

[Wedgie]

Anything more than 3gb is a waste as it makes no difference.
Its so cheap at the moment there's no need not to max out at 3gb though. It all helps!

[RoosterMarty]

Actually this is something I've thought about recently, if you find any decent prices/shops then make sure you mention it in this thread!

[Psyber]

I just upgraded one machine from 1GB to 2GB, which is ample for XP Pro. I'd go higher if I were running Vista, but why would you.
[Actually I've just picked up Ubuntu 8.04 to try.]
http://www.ubuntu.com/

[Wedgie]

Very cheap at the minute.
MSY in Adelaide currently has 2gb for $45 and 1gb for $26.

[firstblood]

Squawk...you can easily do it yourself...just find out what type of ram chip you have in your pc.....open the case and see if you have an empty slot to insert a new ram chip, some are slightly different and just slot in and usually have a little clip at each end to clamp them down. .they look like this.

Then just phone around for the best price (pc shops, Dick Smiths or Tandy's, shouldn't be much more than $30 - $40 for a 1/2 gig.
Then it's just a matter of slotting the chip into an empty slot...boot up your pc and it will automatically detect the new RAM.
If your not sure what type of RAM chip you need, take one out of your pc and take it with you to where ever you buy it from.

[mick]

Squawk...you can easily do it yourself...just find out what type of ram chip you have in your pc.....open the case and see if you have an empty slot to insert a new ram chip, some are slightly different and just slot in and usually have a little clip at each end to clamp them down. .they look like this.

Then just phone around for the best price (pc shops, Dick Smiths or Tandy's, shouldn't be much more than $30 - $40 for a 1/2 gig.
Then it's just a matter of slotting the chip into an empty slot...boot up your pc and it will automatically detect the new RAM.
If your not sure what type of RAM chip you need, take one out of your pc and take it with you to where ever you buy it from.

You can also use a small utility called "cpuz" just google to find it. This avoids having to open the case before you fit your new RAM, as said above the RAM is easy to fit, you don't need to be a techy. If you use cpuz you won't make a mistake and get the wrong RAM. I purchased my RAM on ebay and sold the old RAM, I had five phonecalls within an hour of posting it

[Dutchy]

Squawk...you can easily do it yourself...just find out what type of ram chip you have in your pc.....open the case and see if you have an empty slot to insert a new ram chip, some are slightly different and just slot in and usually have a little clip at each end to clamp them down. .they look like this.

Then just phone around for the best price (pc shops, Dick Smiths or Tandy's, shouldn't be much more than $30 - $40 for a 1/2 gig.
Then it's just a matter of slotting the chip into an empty slot...boot up your pc and it will automatically detect the new RAM.
If your not sure what type of RAM chip you need, take one out of your pc and take it with you to where ever you buy it from.

is it that simple for laptops?

[smac]

Depends on the laptop Dutchy.

They all have a hatch in the bottom where you can upgrade the ram, but some only have one of the slots under this hatch, with the other being under the keyboard.

Flip the laptop over and open the hatch on the bottom to check with your laptop.

[Psyber]

You can also use a small utility called "cpuz" just google to find it. This avoids having to open the case before you fit your new RAM, as said above the RAM is easy to fit, you don't need to be a techy. If you use cpuz you won't make a mistake and get the wrong RAM. I purchased my RAM on ebay and sold the old RAM, I had five phonecalls within an hour of posting it

Thanks for that Mick. CPU-Z is much quicker than the PC Wizard utility I had been using for getting basic information.

[Squawk]

Cheers for that guys. Now, where can I find some time to follow this through?

[Wedgie]

Cheers for that guys. Now, where can I find some time to follow this through?

You don't need much time mate, 99% of RAM is really very easy to install yourself. Just spend $45 at MSY and open up your box and push it in.

[Psyber]

I just added 2x 512M of Corsair to a machine that had 2x 512M of Kingmax in it. And it wouldn't work.
So I put the Corsair in the primary slots and the Kingmax in the secondary ones and all was well.
Interesting that....

[Wedgie]

I just added 2x 512M of Corsair to a machine that had 2x 512M of Kingmax in it. And it wouldn't work.
So I put the Corsair in the primary slots and the Kingmax in the secondary ones and all was well.
Interesting that....

Excue my ignorance but why bother taking out 1gb of ram to put in 1gb of ram when 2gb of ram costs $45 these days?

[Psyber]

I just added 2x 512M of Corsair to a machine that had 2x 512M of Kingmax in it. And it wouldn't work.
So I put the Corsair in the primary slots and the Kingmax in the secondary ones and all was well.
Interesting that....

Excuse my ignorance but why bother taking out 1gb of ram to put in 1gb of ram when 2gb of ram costs $45 these days?

No mate finished up with 2GB - 2x 512M Corsair and 2 x 512M Kingmax.
I'd bought 2x 1MB Corsair for another machine and transferred its previous 2x 512MB into the second machine to give it 4x 512MB.

[Zelezny Chucks]

Might seem like a stupid question but is RAM different between PC's and Laptops? I have some spare RAM from a desktop that would be useful in a laptop if able.

[Psyber]

Might seem like a stupid question but is RAM different between PC's and Laptops? I have some spare RAM from a desktop that would be useful in a laptop if able.

First, historically, the RAM used in laptops is physically smaller for the sake of saving room. I think that is still so.
Second, the laptop makers don't really want us to be able to build them and tweak them ourselves. Some of them make the cases almost impossible to open without special tools.

They tend to be more a fashion item like Mac products, rather than a workhorse, and are marketed that way, similarly to mobile phones, which tend to be sold locked to a single provider who will unlock it, maybe, if you ask nicely and pay a big enough fee.

[Wedgie]

Yes they are different, in both shape and price.