Upgrading Ram Question.

Hello Everyone,

I am considering upgrade my ram. I will give the specs of my computer and what I am currently looking at. If anyone can confirm that the ram I am choosing is compatible and/or recommend any ram that you have purchased it would be great

Also, I will take recommendations on maybe I should upgrade something else first and I will notice a bigger upgrade in performance. I know the market on processors has decreased a lot in terms of price so maybe get a sick upgrade for cheap via n3w3gg.

If I do go through with it is there any settings I need to change once I install the ram that would be great (When I originally built my pc I had to change the volts on the rails running to it, it was 2 weeks of pain because I didn't know what was wrong :cry )


SPECS:
Operating System------Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2
CPU Type--------------DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2000 MHz (10 x 200) 3800+
Motherboard Name-----DFI nF4 Series
Motherboard Chipset---nVIDIA nForce4, AMD Hammer
System Memory-------2048 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
Video Adapter---------NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT (256 MB)
Monitor---------------SyncMaster 22.1'
Disk Drive-------------WDC WD2500KS-00MJB0 (232 GB)
Disk Drive-------------Maxtor 6Y120P0 (120 GB)



Thanks All I Appreciate it.

~CB

 

Link to the ram you are choosing?

 

Ok two things, so it seems I forgot to post the ram I was selecting, but after looking it over I noticed that all the 2gb x 2 sticks are 240 pin not 184 pin.

This is my motherboard

So I'm assuming I should probably match my current ram (OCz) with 2 more sticks of 1 GBs so it's all the same? Or does it not matter? If I buy 2 sticks of 'different brand' or 'better' ram will it make any difference?

Otherwise this is my ram I was going to buy

Also, I currently run Windows Xp Pro in 32 bit. I heard beyond 2 gbs it doesn't matter unless I change to 64. So aka I have to guy buy a Windows XP Pro (Or Vista ;/ ) 64 bit version since I have AMD correct?


~CB

 

Presumably you currently have 2Gb of ram in your system. In which case without going into detail and looking at your specs, the answer is 1. don't bother adding anymore ram and 2. don't change your ram for a higher spec one.

Good Luck

 

My specs are in my first post, also is it not that much of a difference or why not upgrade? I am considering my HD actually since I still have an IDE one.

My choices;

Western Digital SE16

Western Digital RE2

Seagate Barracuda

Thanks

 

I believe those are SATA drives, not IDE. Do you have a SATA controller on that motherboard?

 

Your mobo (DFI LanParty NF4) can support SATA drives as per your link.

If you are loking to acheive a speed boost through upgrading your HDD from IDE to the SATA ones listed then the answer would be that the boost would not be that great. IMHO, data would flow faster simply because of the platter (CAV) speed and higher HDD cache.

You are looking to speed up your rig (with the exception of gaming) and given your specs, then a cpu upgrade (or o/cing your cpu) should be your option of choice.

Hopefully, other users will post their comments and views

Good Luck

 

Yes, my mobo has 4x SATA-II slots available, I am going to replace the IDE since its old and outdated (i think slowly dying as well)

 

If you're going to go with SATA, then this would be a better choice, I believe.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148298

It has a 32MB Cache, compared to the 16MB in your links.

 

"There is currently a bug in the drive's firmware which keeps the 32MB cache from being recognized. Because of this issue the drive's burst transfer rate is much slower than it should be. Seagate is currently working to fix this problem."

I was reading the reviews, so I figured why buy a more expensive one thats 32mbs if the burst isnt up high enough so it doesnt even work

 

Then consider this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136011