How much memory to use?

Sorry if this has been said before but I couldn't find anything.

I have a Dell Dimension E520 with 4 memory slots. It came with 2 x 512MB RAM - foolishly, I should have ordered more at the time!

Anyway, I now have 2 x 1GB and 1 x 2GB which means that I have a spare slot and a spare 512MB memory card. If I use it, giving myself a total of 4.5GB, will it improve speed, make no difference or slow things down again?

Thanks

Liz

 

It depends on a few factoors:

What version of Windows are you running? If it is a "32-bit" version anything over 3.5GB won't be recognized or used by Windows. Only "64-bit" versions of Windows benefit from over 3.5GB. If you're not sure what version you have, go to CONTROL PANEL and click on SYSTEM. On the first screen that pops up it will tell you if it is 32-bit or 64-bit.

Second, go to either Dell's Website or Crucial Memory (www.crucial.com), and check a: What is the maximum amount of memory the motherboard/PC will support, and b: What the maximum memory capacity per slot is. I looked this up on Crucial's site; it states the each slot in the E520 will hold up to a 2GB stick each for a total of 8GB.

Even if you have a 64-bit version of Windows, it's doubtful you'll notice a major speed boost by having more than 4GB of memory unless you're doing extreme gaming, video editing or other high end creative software (PhotoShop, DreamWeaver, etc.).

If the computer seems to be acting sluggish, download Advanced System Care Free from Major Geek's download section. It will apply quick fixes (registry cleaning, disk defragment, junk files cleaning) to common issues that can slow PCs down. It's easy to use (no geek knowledge required ) and free for non-commercisl use.

 

Hi

Many thanks for the response. I have Windows 7 32 bit.

Actually, I'm a bit disappointed as I upgraded from Vista because many people said that it was because the OS used so much RAM that the PC could be sluggish but I have to say that Windows 7 makes little difference and I do find it slow as well as applications hanging etc.

I do do regular maintenance including spyware removal, registry cleaning etc. but I'll try the tool you suggest.

Thanks again.

Liz

 

Liz,

One other area you might want to check using Advanced System Care (or, alternately, by clicking the Windows Start Icon at the bottom left of your screen and typing in "configsys"):

See what programs are automatically running in the startup menu when the PC is turned on and disable ones you don't need (keep in mind this will not remove the programs; you can always start them if and when required using desktop icons):

Do not disable your main antivirus or anti spyware programs from startup. If you are not sure of what a startup item does, leave it alone. This being said, here are a few things you can disable from the startup menu:

• Adobe Reader and/or Acrobat
• Microsoft Office (or other office suites)
• Apple iTunes and/or Bonjour (you may have to start these manually by clicking on the icons in the program listings prior to using iTunes or an iPod)
• Browser toolbars (Yahoo, Google, etc.)

This may speed up the startup/boot time. In addition, not having unused programs running in the background frees up more memory for the software you're actually using.

One other issue: Be sure you don't have two antivirus programs (example: Norton and McAfee) running at the same time. I've seen this issue slow down a PC or, in a worst possible case, fight each other thinking the other is a virus). If you have multiple antivirus programs (excluding Windows Defender), it is best to uninstall the one you don't use through Control Panel.

 

Hi Liz,

The Dell page for the E520 gives a max RAM of 4GB, effectively, you're maxed out on RAM now.

Maybe the CPU is holding you back here, is it a Celeron? Press the Windows key +Pause/Break to get the System Properties page, the CPU should be listed there.

Dell fitted these CPU's:-
ntel® CoreTM 2 Duo processors: E6300
Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo processor 4300
Intel® Pentium® D 930 with Dual-Core Technology (3GHz, 800FSB)
Intel® Pentium® D 915 with Dual-Core Technology (2.80GHz, 800FSB)
Intel® Pentium® D 820 with Dual-Core Technology (2.66GHz, 533FSB)
Intel® Pentium® 4
Intel Celeron 346

If you have one of the bottom 3, your overall performance could be increased by upgrading the CPU.

 

Thanks guys

I'll check out all your suggestions. I've had trouble before with programs on startup but I'd forgotten to check that.

Cheers

Liz

 

Those people sold you a ton of bull. The reason that Vista and now W7 seem to use a lot of memory is because they were designed to do so as opposed to XP and before. Unused RAM is wasted RAM in this new philosophy to make things load quicker from the OS and it is very good at giving up the RAM if needed by other applications and your 4GBs is way more than is really needed by W7, some 1.6GBs IIRC.

Do check your startups as mentioned killing any that you don't need every day and do check out your CPU if you are near the bottom as stated. Oh, cleaning the registry is futile IMHO unless you install/uninstall applications on a regular basis.

 

FYI,

You can install a Q6700 and 8gb of pc6400 ram in your E520. Just make sure you have the latest Bios (2.4.0) Runs win 7 64 like a champ.