RAM Question

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 12:27 am

I need to add RAM to my desktop. It's been a little sluggish lately. I checked a website that told me my model can handle 2048MB of RAM. Dells largest (at least that I could find) are 512 MB Modules, and I only have two slots.

Are the generic Dimm RAM modules OK? I found a 1 GB by Micron/ Crucial Technologies that is only $136.

http://www.crucial.com/store/MPartspecs ... N=CT323835

Shlomart Ben Yisrael · Mon Jan 30, 2006 12:42 am

What are you running that you feel you need more than a gig of RAM?

The sluggishness may be attributed to something on the OS side.
Perhaps a driver conflict.

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 12:59 am

many programs at once.

5 browser windows, 10 to 20 files of MS word, MSAccess, adobe acrobat, notepad, E-fax, streaming music, winamp, a printer, and a photo editor.

Get the picture?

PrimeX · Post by **PrimeX** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 1:38 am

Are you sure your Dell will support other RAM modules? I tried to add memory to my old Dell and found out nothing would fit but Dell RAM modules.

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 1:51 am

check out that crucial link site. They guarantee it. They also have an advisor that tells you what type of memory you need.

What did you buy before, and where?

I'm not at all sure if they will be 100% compatable,
but WTF is the use of have 2048mb of Ram in two slots when all Dell sells are 512mb modules?

ElTaco · Post by **ElTaco** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 2:01 am

Just go to Crucial, put in your motherboard or computer model and it will tell you want you can put in there.

Also you might consider cleaning up your machine a bit like others have suggested.

Shlomart Ben Yisrael · Mon Jan 30, 2006 2:21 am

Mister Bushice wrote:many programs at once.

5 browser windows, 10 to 20 files of MS word, MSAccess, adobe acrobat, notepad, E-fax, streaming music, winamp, a printer, and a photo editor.

Get the picture?

You know, you can close down some programs you won't be using in the next, say 8 hours.

P.S. Tabbed browsing is easier on your RAM than opening multiple browser windows...
...but, oh yeah...you don't like/can't figure out Firefox.

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 2:55 am

Actually I like/ fixed/ still use Firefox in this computer, but I did not know that tabbed browsing uses less RAM.

Right now I have 19 Word files open, one notepad, 3 firefox browser windows, windows media player, MS access, Two windows explorer windows, and a calculator.

I bounce back and forth between them during the workday. I'm preppping for a honking busy day tomorrow, so that maybe I can have Monday be less crazy.

HEY ET,

Crucial RAM modules are compatable with dell with no problems you know of? I did the match up and saw the guarantee. Just wanted to make sure.

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 2:57 am

ElTaco wrote: Also you might consider cleaning up your machine a bit like others have suggested.

Clean up how? It ain't dirty. ;)

I've been getting some "virtually memor running low messages a little too frequently lately.

I have to run a shitload of programs at once. It's the nature of my workday. I'm the boss and have to over see a ton of shit.

Donovan · Post by **Donovan** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 4:32 am

Martyred wrote:
P.S. Tabbed browsing is easier on your RAM than opening multiple browser windows...
...but, oh yeah...you don't like/can't figure out Firefox.
:meds:

I love Firefox, but there are well-document issues with its use of RAM.

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:12 am

looks like mimizing FF browser windows helps, but what was that last dude saying about virtual memory?

Donovan · Post by **Donovan** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 6:00 am

Virtual memory is a file on the hard drive that the OS uses to supplement the RAM. Having it set too low can lower performance, and the same will happen if it's fragmented. You can read about it here.

JCT · Post by **JCT** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 6:32 am

If you have a dell you'll need to buy ram from dell.

I don't know where you were looking but Dell has up to 2 gig mods.

http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=d ... 2999&k=RAM

Also how old is your desktop? I got mine (4600) 3 yrs ago. It's a P4 2.66ghz and it has 4 ram slots. Dell makes their machines so you can keep upgrading them for a long time.

ElTaco · Post by **ElTaco** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 7:41 am

Crucial's memory will work just fine with any machine. I usually do price comparison between Dell and Crucial and buy from whoever has the better deal but most of the time its from Crucial. The only times I've had issues with their memory had been when Dell uses mainly one board but then for a small number of systems in that line, they use a slightly different system. If you call them up, they will probably just send the memory for the board that was used 95% of the time but if you get it and it doesn't work, they'll replace it with the other one no problem. Other then that, (happend to me twice in 5 years) I've never had an issue with them and they have always been very happy to work with me.

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:57 pm

Donovan wrote:Virtual memory is a file on the hard drive that the OS uses to supplement the RAM. Having it set too low can lower performance, and the same will happen if it's fragmented. You can read about it here.

I know what Virtual memory is, but I was wondering what that dude over there was getting at, saying something about how virtual memory is used by FF. Here is his post:

You should learn about virtual memory a bit. What you are looking at is only part of the picture - physical RAM usage. Virtual memory consists of 'pages' of memory in both physical RAM and in the swap/page file. You can add to task manager a column indicating the amount of page file; simply add the 'Virtual Memory' column. This amount + physical RAM usage is the true amount of virtual memory the application is using. This is how Firefox 'releases' memory suddenly - it is paging it out to the swap file, not magically freeing it. Anyway, too much to describe here, please do research so you know what's up. I don't disagree that Firefox's virtual memory usage is excessive, I just wanted to clear things up.

What is he getting at, in terms of how firefox deals with VM? Is he saying there is a solution? He didn't get into it or clear it up.

That's what I meant originally.

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 6:00 pm

JCT wrote:If you have a dell you'll need to buy ram from dell.

I don't know where you were looking but Dell has up to 2 gig mods.

http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=d ... 2999&k=RAM

Also how old is your desktop? I got mine (4600) 3 yrs ago. It's a P4 2.66ghz and it has 4 ram slots. Dell makes their machines so you can keep upgrading them for a long time.

Mine is only 18 months, but there are only two slots, each can handle a 1 gb RAM module. It is shipped with 128, but can be upgraded, which I did, but since I've switched to FF, it's not enough. Reading that article Donavan posted sure outlined my problem. Now I know I need more RAM, and thanks to ET for clarifying the crucial question.

JCT, as far as I know for this Dell model they only have max 512 MB modules, at least when I did a search on Dell for my computer that is all they linked for me.

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:24 pm

UPDATE:

I bought and installed the 1 GB of RAM from crucial. On boot up, the computer said "System memory has changed", gave me the option to continue or do set up, I continued. Box is running normally but when I click on my computer and check the system information it still lists the old Ram size.

Don't know what up with that. IS there a settting I have to tweak, or will it appear correctly on the next boot?

PSUFAN · Post by **PSUFAN** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:26 pm

Any RAM slot in a storm, right

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:45 pm

On a reboot it now reflects the correct amount.

BTW it was firefox slowing shit down. I closed my FF windows after I used themand didn't keep them open liek before, and the speed was much better.

Of course now I've got a shitload of space. :)

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:58 pm

First, someone on here posted an update about how the latest version of Firefox is fucked up, and recommended a fix. My FF has been eating resources like a mofo, which it never did before.

Second, if you went and bought more memory sticks for a problem with virtual memory, then you're a computer store's dream come true.

PSUFAN · Post by **PSUFAN** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 9:50 pm

firefox update today, btw

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 11:54 pm

Dinsdale wrote:First, someone on here posted an update about how the latest version of Firefox is fucked up, and recommended a fix. My FF has been eating resources like a mofo, which it never did before.

Second, if you went and bought more memory sticks for a problem with virtual memory, then you're a computer store's dream come true.

I've had 5 browsers windows, my email client, 12 word files, MSAccess, notepad, windows explorer, E-fax Adobe acrobat and windows media player open for 3 hours now and it's still screaming right along. before I upgraded the RAM everything would be crawling with all that shit open.

I guess the computer store was my dream come true. :)

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 12:04 am

I may be mistaken here, but I'm pretty sure that when you add more RAM, Windows automatically increases the size of your paging file, which is what most people do when they get a virtual memory error...they increase the virtual memory.

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 12:53 am

If that was what I needed to do to get the results I'm getting, good for me. I made the correct choice.

Things were sucking bad last week. We just went all digital in my business and so an added load was put on my computer system. I'm glad it was a cheap and easy fix. Only 140 bucks for 1 gb of RAM. I only have two slots in this box, so I went for the largest capacity they have.

BTW I wasn't always getting a virtual memory error, but It was always running slow with all that shit opened.

Also, when you run low on VM, Windows automatically increases the the size of the paging file, but even when that happened, it still did not help the system performance.

frodo_biguns · Post by **frodo_biguns** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 4:51 pm

Mister Bushice wrote:I need to add RAM to my desktop. It's been a little sluggish lately. I checked a website that told me my model can handle 2048MB of RAM. Dells largest (at least that I could find) are 512 MB Modules, and I only have two slots.

Are the generic Dimm RAM modules OK? I found a 1 GB by Micron/ Crucial Technologies that is only $136.

http://www.crucial.com/store/MPartspecs ... N=CT323835

Seriously! That much RAM? Okay list your hardware. Main reason you want to make sure that your MB can handle the Bus speed and tranfer rate. Adding RAM won't do shit if the rest of your system is bottlenecking.

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:34 pm

Read my other responses. The RAM solved the problem.

What's the big deal about having a lot of RAM? Now I'll never need to worry about it.

frodo_biguns · Post by **frodo_biguns** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 6:08 pm

Mister Bushice wrote:Read my other responses. The RAM solved the problem.

What's the big deal about having a lot of RAM? Now I'll never need to worry about it.

IDon't get me wrong, I'm all for more RAM. But as a Maxtor rep was once telling me a couple years ago at a trade show, I about busted a gut. He was going to take a GB RAM and solder it to his video cards and sell them for $1,000 each. The RAM of course wouldn't do anything, but there are fools out there who just have to have the latest and greatest thing. It all just depends what you are using it for, if you are using something like MAYA or video editing put as much as you can it. If you are only surfing the net,

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 6:15 pm

There there's always the "Who knows what the future might bring so I might as well get the maximum size available" school of thought.

For the price, it was worth it. It wasn't more than 4-5 years ago RAM was a buck a MB.

T1B

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