I need help deciding what RAM to get...

[usahellyes]

.

[pryomancer]

Well it runs Vista, so you should aim for 2gb minimum, or it's quite laggy apparently.

[The_Sith]

I prefer the Crucial brand of memory myself. I had a bad experience with Corsair on the computer I built in June - it turned out that there was a conflict between the RAM and my Asus motherboard. Anyways, I have always heard good things about Crucial and the prices are somewhat comparable, if not a little bit higher than say Kingston Value or Corsair.

 

 

 

Usually, there is a serial code "strip" or sticker on your computer that looks like a UPC scanning bar. Should say it there. If not, you can try right clicking My Computer and hitting properties. Or Start > RUN > "dxdiag" without quotes.

[usahellyes]

.

[The_Sith]

Well basically, how I understand dual channel memory is this: place the two DIMMs into the proper spots (for example, on the Asus, there are two yellows/two blacks). If the sticks are the same speed and capacity (along with other unknown factors ..), they will run in dual channel mode - which is faster than single channel mode. Throwing any old DIMM in there with different capacities/speeds would run in single-channel mode, being slower.

 

 

 

Yes, adding 2x1GB DIMMs would equal 3GB. Adding 2x512MB DIMMs would be 2GB total. It's up to you... but I do know that, setting the RAM aside that came with your computer, it is best to purchase a "multi-pack" of memory. That way, you can ensure it is the same speed/capacity/etc. and will run dual-channel.

 

 

 

If someone could confirm all of this, that would be great. I'm no expert in this field - just talking from first hand experience.

 

 

 

Here's a link I found also: http://www.hardforum.com/archive/index. ... 83553.html

[blade995]

The Sith pretty much hit the nail on the head.

 

 

 

So by you wanting to have 2x 512MB stick and 2x 1GB sticks to equal 3GB would have all of the ram run in single channel. There would be no way to run this set up in dual channel.

 

 

 

To run in dual channel they don't need to have the same speed (well, kinda). You could match memory with faster ram, such as your current ram is 667mhz with 800mhz ram and it could run in dual channel but the faster ram would downclock to the slower ram, so you would have it all running at the speed of the slowest ram. Same goes with memory timings.

 

 

 

Dual channel means double the ram speed in theory, but you will never see that much of an improvement in real world programs. If you have the choice of dual channel or more ram, always go with the more ram because it will always be faster.

[usahellyes]

.

[blade995]

The second computer is a lot better. It has 2GBs of ram and a dual core processor (first computer only has a single core). To answer your question, no, I don't see anything wrong with it.

[dfergfshktf]

I also think the second one is better

[Iamdan]

I like the brand corsair for ram. Never had a problem with it.

 

 

 

Motherboards with 4 slots for ram generally work like this:

 

 

 

There will be 2 slots of 1 colour and 2 of another colour. If you have 2 of the exact same ram in the 2 slots of the same colour, it will be duel channel.

 

 

 

 

 

My mother board has 2 blue and 2 yellow slots, so I put my 2x 1 gig 667mhz in each of the blue slots for it to work together. I could further add 2x 512 of the same type (or 2 of the same time as long as it's supported by the motherboard)

 

 

 

The rest has been explained.

[Bloodredsword]

The websites I've used for RAM/other hardware are Crucial and Newegg. Both Great sites.

 

 

 

 

 

I like the second comp more :)

[Medellin]

If it's possible, steer clear of Acer. I'd recommend Dell above Acer if that means anything to you.