RAM help

hello everybody agian, sry if ur getting tired of me posting i just need help , well in a little bit i am going to best buy, any recommend on what ram i buy for under 150$? please reply back..OH and exactly what does ram do? like why is it so vital? whats it's purposE?

 

I'm not going to go techie on you, keep it simple.....I might not be 100% correct, so if I'm wrong, someone please correct me...

RAM stands for Random Access Memory. As for what it does...

Say that you have an icon on your desktop (ewwwww....Microsoft Outlook, for example) and you double-click to run it. Normally, your processor would takse the request, then start looking in the Hard drive for Microsoft Outlook's files, so Outlook can open up on your monitor. However, the Hard drive is really slow, so it would actually take a while for Outlook to load. What RAM does is store some of the opeining code of Outlook in itself. RAM is plugged directly into your motherboard (unlike hard drives, which us PATA, SATA,USB or Ethernet cable to connect). RAM is a lot faster than than hard drives, and so Outllook opens almost when you click the icon (because the data stored in your RAM is accessed so quickly, instead of waiting for the HDD to spin up, and transmit to the processor). All you need to know is that RAM stores data, faster than your hard drive. Therefore, the more RAM you have, the more data can be stored, the faster your computer can do things for you

Don't shop at bestbuy for computer parts (or any retail store for that matter). They have a limited selection, and they overcharge(they do this b/c they assume that you don't know jack about computers, and b/c they;rte whores. The best place to buy any computer component is online (Two best sites being www.Newegg.com and www.tigerdirect.com). Personally, I prefer Newegg. Selection is amazing, thourough specs on every piece, and it's fast and reliable, plus being mad cheap. (And the selection of RAM under 150$......there's like 1000 options I bought a 512 stick of pc2700 for 35$, and it's good stuff).

As for what RAM you need, that depends on the FSB (Front Side Bus) of your computer. I'm going to avoid that rat's nest for right now (anyone else care to explain it?) and just do this: DL this little nifty piece of software called Everest Home Edition (http://majorgeeks.com/EVEREST_Home_Edition_d4181.html) from right here at MG. This is a system info tool that shows damn near everything about your computer. Click on "motherboard", then "SPD". Wait for some stuff to load.......... then look at "module type" and "memory speed" for any chip you've got.

For example, My "type" says "DDR SDRAM" and my speed says "PC2700". Whatever memory that I buy SHOULD be PC2700 DDR (SDRAM part is unimportant) memory to work in my computer (there arre future-proofing tricks, but that's another post).

Need more help? post your Everest info, and I'll help you. And for 150$ on Newegg, you could get 2Gigabytes of RAM happy shopping. Dunno about the price gougers at BestBuy .

 

goddamit kaula, you put your tiny, efficient post in while i was writing my long-winded one X_x

 

Field Value
Memory Module Properties
Module Name Infineon HYS64D32309GU-6
Serial Number None
Module Size 256 MB (1 rows, 4 banks)
Module Type Unbuffered
Memory Type DDR SDRAM
Memory Speed PC2700 (166 MHz)
Module Width 64 bit
Module Voltage SSTL 2.5
Error Detection Method None
Refresh Rate Reduced (7.8 us), Self-Refresh

Memory Timings
@ 166 MHz 2.5-3-3-7 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)
@ 133 MHz 2.0-3-3-6 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)

Memory Module Features
Early RAS# Precharge Not Supported
Auto-Precharge Not Supported
Precharge All Not Supported
Write1/Read Burst Not Supported
Buffered Address/Control Inputs Not Supported
Registered Address/Control Inputs Not Supported
On-Card PLL (Clock) Not Supported
Buffered DQMB Inputs Not Supported
Registered DQMB Inputs Not Supported
Differential Clock Input Supported
Redundant Row Address Not Supported

Memory Module Manufacturer
Company Name Infineon Technologies AG
Product Information http://www.infineon.com/cgi/ecrm.dll/ecrm/scripts/prod_cat.jsp?oid=-8003

 

You can buy any PC2700 DDR RAM, and be sure it will work (the capacity of the RAM isn't a problem, until you hit the capacity of the mobo, which is probably 2 gigs )

 

So does it have to be a PC2700??? or can it be anything else? and i need a good ram stick thats mostly for gaming ish?

 

What kind of motherboard do you have and processor, then we should be easily able to tell you what you can have......

 

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim4550/specs.htm#1103184

 

Today, the owner of the computer store I work at, bought a computer from some guy, who NEEDED cash badly. Anyway, this guy had a 128 PC 2700 and a 256 PC 3200 stick. So, sounds like you can....

 

So far so good. You can either use DDR 233/PC 2100 or DDR 333/PC2700. Now, we just need to know what YOUR cpu is so we can tell you exactly what you can use.

If the cpu is 400 system bus, then PC2100, 533 = pc2100 or pc2700.

 

FOR THE RECORD: your memory speed CAN be faster than your FSB....then when you upgrade the processor, you don't have to upgrade the memory (I mentioned "futureproofing" in my first post), but the MINIMUM acceptable RAM is PC2700

 

Field Value
Memory Module Properties
Module Name Infineon HYS64D32309GU-6
Serial Number None
Module Size 256 MB (1 rows, 4 banks)
Module Type Unbuffered
Memory Type DDR SDRAM
Memory Speed PC2700 (166 MHz)
Module Width 64 bit
Module Voltage SSTL 2.5
Error Detection Method None
Refresh Rate Reduced (7.8 us), Self-Refresh

Memory Timings
@ 166 MHz 2.5-3-3-7 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)
@ 133 MHz 2.0-3-3-6 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)

Memory Module Features
Early RAS# Precharge Not Supported
Auto-Precharge Not Supported
Precharge All Not Supported
Write1/Read Burst Not Supported
Buffered Address/Control Inputs Not Supported
Registered Address/Control Inputs Not Supported
On-Card PLL (Clock) Not Supported
Buffered DQMB Inputs Not Supported
Registered DQMB Inputs Not Supported
Differential Clock Input Supported
Redundant Row Address Not Supported

Memory Module Manufacturer
Company Name Infineon Technologies AG
Product Information http://www.infineon.com/cgi/ecrm.dll/ecrm/scripts/prod_cat.jsp?oid=-8003

 

Field Value
Motherboard Properties
Motherboard ID <DMI>
Motherboard Name Dell Dimension 4550

Front Side Bus Properties
Bus Type Intel NetBurst
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 100 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 400 MHz
Bandwidth 3200 MB/s

Memory Bus Properties
Bus Type DDR SDRAM
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 133 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 267 MHz
Bandwidth 2133 MB/s

Chipset Bus Properties
Bus Type Intel Hub Interface
Bus Width 8-bit
Real Clock 67 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 267 MHz
Bandwidth 267 MB/s

Motherboard Manufacturer
Company Name Dell Computer Corporation
Product Information http://www.dell.com
BIOS Download http://support.dell.com

 

cmon people...this is a simple RAM change. not rocket science . EOX, get 186(I believe that's the number)-pin PC2700 RAM. IT WILL WORK. END OF STORY. what the heck is the crap some of you are posting? memory is only dependant on the FSb amd CPU (which is...also dependant on the FSB )so far as I was told and practiced with. Motherboard type largely doesn't matter, and Since it uses DDR, we don't have to go into the whole "RDRAM" shit. 186-pin RAM, PC2700 or higher speed.


EDIT: Look at his Everest Results for crying out loud! says "PC2700" right there. If he uses PC2100, he'll be OCing his RAM just to run at normal speed. PC2700 is it

 

sorry if I offended with my high and mighty tone guys, it's just that a lot of the stuff you guys mentioned is crap that will confuse people, especially since Everest just gave us the answer right there. Please forgive me.



PC2700 RAM for teh win.

 

I was wrong. It's 184-Pin PC2700RAM. And you said you want gaming RAM? My friend, Newegg just hooked you up with some Kingston HyperX for just under 150.00 (even with shipping and handling included). You could buy this exact item, and I guarantee it would work

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144122

*turns around, takes payoff from NE*

 

This is the RAM types your system can accept Memory Link Here. Crucial.com is an excellent site when you are trying to find memory that is compatible with your computer system.