I bought a new ram, now i have a new question

[xeverex18]

crucial says i have one empty memory slot available for an upgrade. I assume i will put the new Ram in the empty slot. So my question is, does the new Ram take precedence over the old one, making the old one useless? So can i just take out the old RAM?

[klwillis45]

how does crucial know what's in your box? are they spying on you??

[Cornfedwb]

It will use the two DIMMs and basically add them together. Leave the old one in.

Also, make sure there is no power to the computer and make sure you discharge any static electricity you may have before touching anything.

[Strell]

You'd only want to take the old one out if the clock speed of the RAM dimms differ. I.e., if you had PC2700 Ram versus PC2100. But really you'd only want to do this if the new ram quantity far outweighed the older one, i.e., you were adding a gig of higher speed ram and had only 128 of slower speed in the machine originally.

Best answer is to just leave your existing ram in there, the computer should benefit from more in pretty much any scenario.

[ragtop70]

I don't mean to insult your intelligence or talk down to you, but, based on the question you just asked, maybe you should do a little more research before installing your RAM. Read the section of your computer's owner's manual about installing new components. Check google for instructions on installing RAM (you may even find exact instructions for installing RAM in your specific computer).
I say all that because it is possible to render your computer useless if you don't know what you are doing. Most importantly, remove all cabling from your computer, make sure you are properly grounded before touching the RAM or anything inside your computer, only hold the DIMM (the RAM) by the edges, and don't force the DIMM into the slot.

[Metal Boss]

throw caution to the wind and plop it all in. works fine

[Swingman]

I don't mean to insult your intelligence or talk down to you, but, based on the question you just asked, maybe you should do a little more research before installing your RAM. Read the section of your computer's owner's manual about installing new components. Check google for instructions on installing RAM (you may even find exact instructions for installing RAM in your specific computer).
I say all that because it is possible to render your computer useless if you don't know what you are doing. Most importantly, remove all cabling from your computer, make sure you are properly grounded before touching the RAM or anything inside your computer, only hold the DIMM (the RAM) by the edges, and don't force the DIMM into the slot.

Remove all cabling? I hope you're just referring to the things connected on the outside of the computer (power, monitor, speakers) because he doesn't need to unhook all the inside parts and cables (like the wiring from the battery).

As to the original poster's question, I would put the bigger, better ram in the first slot and move your old ram to the 2nd slot. Memory is fairly easy to uninstall if you encounter problems. Just make sure you're not caring static when you do the changing and nothing is plugged into the computer, especially power.

[xeverex18]

i just bought it and it should come in 3 days. So some1 said i need to install it, so i guess a cd will be provided. Will putting the new one in the 1st slot and put the old one in the 2nd slot be better? The older one is 128 and the new one is 500something. Does that mean my cpu will be running bout 650MB ram? And is 2GHz good for a desktop to play games?

[TimPV3]

Yikes

[ragtop70]

Yes, by "all cabling" I meant cords and cables on the outside of the computer. For example, the power cord, monitor cable, and printer cable.

[Swingman]

i just bought it and it should come in 3 days. So some1 said i need to install it, so i guess a cd will be provided. Will putting the new one in the 1st slot and put the old one in the 2nd slot be better? The older one is 128 and the new one is 500something. Does that mean my cpu will be running bout 650MB ram? And is 2GHz good for a desktop to play games?


There won't be a CD. The PC will automatically recognize that you put in new memory.

http://www.smartcomputing.com/Editorial/article.asp?article=articles/2004/w1510/30w10/30w10.asp&guid=

That website has instructions. I think they're a bit paranoid about static but the rest might help you understand how to install the ram.