Adding more RAM (probably belongs in RL)

[Baa]

Like I said this probably belongs in RL because I'm not a total computer guru. I managed to upgrade my video card and power supply thanks to KellinJar's help on the BBS (I think it was him?) and even plugged everything in and everything! Go me! 

But now my dad (parents are separated) calls from Indiana and tells me he wants me to e-mail him a small list of things for Christmas.
And honestly, as strange as it sounds with me being a kid and all, I really can't think of much. Other than RAM. I've got only 256MB.

I just need to know what kind I need, etc. Where do I need to start, and what's a good cheap RAM, because they aren't the most wealthy people.

[gali]

Try here:

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ram.htm

You can enter Yahoo too, and search for RAM.

[idtaminger]

If I'm not mistaken, Kellinjar himself had a site that linked to some pretty useful sites, including one which sort of auto-diagnosed your RAM needs. I don't have the link anymore, but you could check his profile or something and see.

[Darkstormyeve]

I bought my RAM from Ebay. Heaps cheaper and its very easy to install. You need to check your ports though and see if your existing RAM is double sided or not and how many pins it is.

[Liss]

I advise finding a flesh-and-blood computer tech to look at it for you.  You need to know what the bus speed is on your existing RAM is as well as what bus speed your board/cpu runs.

[miramis]

You will need to find out which type of ram (SDRAM or DDR) your motherboard will support, and also how much it can take, how many ram slots are available can be helpful too.  Some older motherboards may only take one slot of DDR400 while others may have 2 or three.  Some motherboards will only take up to 1gig total others can take 3 or 4 gigs.  Use system information to find out your motherboards model number and then do a search on that in google to find the manufacturer, they should have a page listing what types of hardware that motherboard will take.

To access System Information.. Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information, look for System Model.   If your pc is a store built one it might not have the motherboards model listed next to System Model.  In which case you might find it on the actual motherboard.  Of course if you have a motherboard manual it would be easier to just look at that but many people don't keep their manuals.

[Baa]

System Model   Dimension 4600i

Is that what you're looking for?

All of my manuals and computer things are packed in boxes.

[simmiecal]

System Model   Dimension 4600i

Is that what you're looking for?

All of my manuals and computer things are packed in boxes.

That's a dell model, right? Don't ask me too much, I'm not a techie, but when my sister was updating my video card for me a couple of weeks ago, we logged into dell's website and she was able to pull up all the specs of my computer. If you could do that, you could just email that to your dad and he could bring it with him to the store and the techno-geeks at the store would be able to get the right ram.

[radiophonic]

I could be wrong, but it may be possible that Dell RAM is proprietary, meaning you may need to buy it from Dell which could get expensive.

[Edana ni Emer]

I could be wrong, but it may be possible that Dell RAM is proprietary, meaning you may need to buy it from Dell which could get expensive.

Nah, I had a straight-up Dell, and had no problems updating the RAM.  Of course, that was back when it was PC133 RAM... *cough* The only thing that's really a problem with Dell stuff is that when I rebuilt it (better, stronger, faster!), the hard drive decided it didn't want to be a slave drive, it had to be the primary. Period. Otherwise it didn't even show up on the new mobo.

But yeah, the website ought to have it, or you can call Dell and ask the tech-support.  I know it's gone seriously downhill in the last few years, but that's a simple enough question that they ought to be able to handle it.

[twojeffs]

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?model=Dimension+4600&tabid=CR

Your pc has 4 memory slots, and you're probably one using 1 if you've got 256mb. The link above is to Crucial's memory advisor results for your system. You don't have to buy from them, you can use any DDR (not DDR2) memory in your system. Get at least PC2700 (thats the speed of the memory), the higher the number, the faster it is but it will only run as fast as the other memory already in your system (which is probably 2700). Just gets whatever is cheaper at the time. Get at least another 256mb, but the 512mb sticks aren't much more expensive than the 256's these days.

[TaWanda]

When my son built his computer he got most of his parts from Newegg.com and he's been very happy with their prices and their delivery time. Worth a look anyway.

[miramis]

Another thing to keep in mind if you plan on adding to the existing memory rather than replacing it, is that you need to 'match' the ram.  (This is the part where my knowledge is sketchy so jump in and correct me if necessary..)  As I understand it there are two types, one called 'Registered' and another called 'UnRegistered', now I have no idea what this means, all I know is that all the sticks need to be one or the other and not mixed.  I've read something about it being best to use the same manufacturer as the original stick too but I'm not sure how correct that information is.

[twojeffs]

Unless you built the pc yourself, or bought a server, you'll always have non-ecc (error correcting), non-registered memory. The memory modules don't need to be matched. Since it's a Dell, it just uses plain old generic DDR memory. No need to get fancy, just get whatever's cheaper. That's not picking on Dell specifically, all the manufacturers use generic memory except in there highest end stuff.

Edit to add: And yes, newegg.com is a great place to get computer stuff.

[RainbowTigress]

I like ZipZoomFly.com.  I've ordered from them a few times now, and they usually offer free 2nd day Fedex delivery!  I just bought some RAM from them and installed it myself on my work computer, which my bro-in-law built.  It only had 512 MB, so I bought another 512 stick to go with it.  He uses Kingston ValueRAM, so I got the same thing.  I ran the specs by him first.  It cost me about $40.  I plugged it into the empty slot next to the existing memory on the mobo, and it worked like a charm!  I was so proud of myself.  This is what I got:

Kingston KVR333X64C25/512 512MB DDR333 PC2700 Memory Retail *** Free 2nd Day ***    $41.90

[Dark Trepie]

I have to admit I'm kinda confused here.  I ran Crucial's system scanner and it recomends 184-pin DIMM DDR PC2700 for this Compaq Presario S4020WM I'm on.  And all of the recomendations got no higher than 256 megs.  Do I have to limit myself to this speed or can I go up to PC3200 and maybe 512 megs or even one gig?

If anyone needs to know, there's only two RAM slots on my motherboard.  And the model number from the system info is DK214A-ABA S4020WM NA210.

I kind of need this info quick since Newegg says I have to order by Monday for it to get here by next Friday.

[twojeffs]

Trepie, you can buy any 184 pin DDR memory, it doesn't matter what speed. If the new memory can run faster than your system can handle, it will just slow itself down to the correct speed. Your system can handle a total of 1gb of memory, but to get there with only 2 slots, you'd have to remove the existing memory (which I'm assuming is 256mb) and add 2 - 512mb or a single 1 gb stick. You can also just add a 512mb stick with the existing one to get to 768mb and you'll notice a huge improvment.

[Dark Trepie]

Cool, thanks.  I think I'll try to get a one gig stick now.  And maybe somewhere down the road I can get another 1 gig stick for the other slot.   

[Zandi]

Like I said this probably belongs in RL because I'm not a total computer guru. I managed to upgrade my video card and power supply thanks to KellinJar's help on the BBS (I think it was him?) and even plugged everything in and everything! Go me! 

But now my dad (parents are separated) calls from Indiana and tells me he wants me to e-mail him a small list of things for Christmas.
And honestly, as strange as it sounds with me being a kid and all, I really can't think of much. Other than RAM. I've got only 256MB.

I just need to know what kind I need, etc. Where do I need to start, and what's a good cheap RAM, because they aren't the most wealthy people.

This would only belong in RL if you wanted to know where to download memory and had it in your head that RAM and drive space were one in the same.
The toughest part is figuring out wich sort of RAM you need for your board but I figure folks here have helped you figure out how to get that info.

[Kristalrose]

Okay, someone come along and rip my lips off, because I'm about to be stupid.

Hubby decided to update our RAM on our Dell Dimension 8250 in the spring when he installed the new video card for me.  He got the specs from Dell on what kind of RAM chips we needed, and then found and ordered them on Ebay.  They didn't work. I can't remember exactly what the problem was, there was something amiss with the pin settings.  We have 512 MB of DDR Ram sitting around our house, usless.  It's because, like someone else said, our computer is a Dell and is designed to only take DELL RAM. 

Hubby visited our local computer store and showed them the chips and the specs from Dell about our computer.  The guy told Hubby that we have an odd system.  Dell was changing their RAM chips and in some sort of legal issue over the licencing, and our computer was built during this time.  They do not use that type anymore, and the type are hard to come by because they are old.  He suggested that Hubby buy a new motherboard because our computer is a dinosaur and is not going to be upgradable.  Of course, the computer guy was happy to sell Hubby the motherboard, or even a new computer if that's what Hubby wanted. . . LMAO.  So, don't know how much truth there is to that.  Just thought I'd share, Dell owner to Dell owner.