adding memory cost?

alright i got a compaq presario 6350ca and it has 512.50mb ram of memory

i would like to add some memory to about 832mb , will this take up more harddrive space? and will this also increase my virtual memory?

and how much should this cost ? u can say the price in american dollars or u can be nice and translate what u think the price will be to canadian dollards at www.xe.com

 

Why would you want to go to 832MB? That's a really weird amount. You'd have to buy a stick of 256MB and then a stick of 64MB to achieve that. Which is just weird. Odds are right now you have one stick of 512MB. So the best way to upgrade that would be to simply buy another stick of 512MB. One stick of PC3200 512MB kingston ram costs $65 at the lcoal store in my area and I'm canadian.

The upgrade you're asking for is smaller and would most likely cost more since 64MB sticks arn't carried by many places these days. You'd most likely have to get it on special order and end up paying about 60$ for it anyways.

As for your other questions. No it doesn't take up more HD space. RAM doesn't impact the HD. Virtual memory does take up HD space though. Virtual memory is just space on the HD that is used in place of ram in the event you run out of ram. You can increase or decrease it's amount all you want, without paying. It does take up HD space.

 

I think you are a little confused. RAM will not increase your hard drive space. You need to get a bigger (or another) hard drive to increase your hard drive space. And virtual memory is part of your hard drive that is being used as RAM.

I am also wondering if you actually need more than 512Mb of RAM... What is it exactly that you use your computer for? 512Mb is more than enough for web surfing, word processing, email, digital cameras. Enough for about 90% of the things computers are used for. The things you would need more RAM for would mainly be high-end gaming, video editing, AutoCAD, and a few other things. Even so, 512Mb is enough to get by.

Having said that, I agree with coco. If you decide you still need more RAM, you should get another stick of 512Mb.

$75 Cd:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=235775

 

yes i use my comp to the max...

ive done some video editing , and i do lots! of high end gaming when i have the time to

 

Make sure you find out what is the maximum RAM your PC will support. Motherboard slots and BIOS support have to be considered before shelling out $$$. Bazza

 

The 6350 goes up to 2 gigs, so he should be fine.

 

Thanks Wyatt for the info. I suggest to THE_CANADIAN that he buys the largest capacity single stick of RAM that he can afford.If you can only afford 512mb so be it, but 1 gig would be better. Saves wanting to add memory past 1 gig in the future, if you want to expand again. Bazza

===

 

I dunno about 512 being most likely on one stick. Most computer companies are cheap and screw you with 2 dimm's. Or at least that's what I've seen when talking to friends who bought machines from the big companies.

 

Agree completely with you. Most of us get suckered in when thinking 512mb is one stick. It is usually 2 x 256mb to keep down the cost to the seller and to the uninformed buyer. Always ask if RAM is one stick, or more, and how much extra to make it one stick only. It will pay off in the long run if you want to add more RAM later. I've learn't from bitter $$$$ experience. Bazza

===

 

To be fair having two sticks is better then having one. The only downside to having it spread out across multiple sticks is when you want to upgrade. With one stick you can't use dual channel. With two sticks you can use dual channel. Which is much nicer.

SO it really boils down to knowing what you want. Getting one stick of 512 isn't a good thing if you don't ever plan to upgrade. It would be better to have two sticks of 256 so that you can run dual channel.

Either way though, he should be OK. Most boards provide 4 ram slots, and if not they have at least 3 almost all the time. So even if he has two sticks of 256, he can still add one stick of 512 and keep the two sticks of 256 running dual channel.

 

Fair enough. Keep in mind some of us use laptops (not in his case) and the less sticks for the most RAm will be an advantage if you want to increase RAM later. Bazza