Need Help on Purchasing RAM for PC

greyzieoriental

greyzieoriental

CAGiversary!
Feedback
68 (100%)
Hi, I just purchased a desktop computer for pretty cheap $265. Thing is that it only has 1gb of RAM and i'm looking to upgrade to 2gb+ since its running vista a little slow.

Anyways Heres the model:
Acer Aspire
AST180-UD440A
AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core Processor 4400+ 2.3ghz

Now i've been searching online trying to find a good deal on RAM, but i dont know what kind of ram to buy?
Do I just buy DDR2 or do I have to make sure its a specific type?

Thanks to anyone who can help, I'd really appreciate it.
 
Pretty much any DDR2 (533, 800, etc) if you're not going to do anything too extreme with the computer, like overclocking etc. DDR2 is backwards compatible, so the speeds don't have to match - but the RAM will run at the lower speed if you run mismatched pairs.
 
so you're saying i can just buy any ddr2 ram and put it in? (meaning that the pc2 6400, pc2 3200, etc., doesnt matter?)

and by matching i'm thinking you mean pairs, so if i already have 2x512's and i buys another 2x512's will it be ok(not lower) or would i have to get 2x1gb?

if anything could you guys help with a recommendation from newegg.com so i can know what i'm looking at or for, thanks
 
The speed is what was meant by mismatching pairs. You can run any DDR2 speed RAM but if you have two sticks of PC2 6400 and two sticks of PC2 8000 all four sticks will run at the slower speed, not half and half.

I've been using GSkill brand ram for a few years now and haven't had a problem.
 
I think the more important thing is make sure you have 2 extra slots for you to upgrade. Cheap computers usually use cheap motherboards that only come with 2 memory slots, which are already taken up by your 1GB of stock memory. I would open the computer up and visually inspect the memory slots to see if you have any open ones for you to upgrade. If there are 2 open slots, you can easily by 2 x 512MB or even 2 x 1GB (for 3GB total after upgrade) of DDR2. If there are no open slots, then you'll have to replace your existing memory and install a pair of new 1GBs (for 2GB total).
 
I've had good luck with Gskill, not so much with PQI. Their turbo series died on me recently, but as long as you get it from Newegg, they're pretty good about replacing anything.

Everyone else is right though, make sure you have the slots open to run everything, especially in dual channel.

Go to www.crucial.com
and Use the Memory advisor tool so it can bring up your PC's specs. It's an easy way to tell what slots you have, if they're DC compatible, etc.
 
[quote name='invinceable104']Go to www.crucial.com
and Use the Memory advisor tool so it can bring up your PC's specs. It's an easy way to tell what slots you have, if they're DC compatible, etc.[/quote]

I would recommend Micron/Crucial as well. It's the only memory I've ever used in my computers and I have yet to ever have a problem. Good quality and usually pretty reasonable prices.
 
[quote name='invinceable104']Go to www.crucial.com
and Use the Memory advisor tool so it can bring up your PC's specs. It's an easy way to tell what slots you have, if they're DC compatible, etc.[/QUOTE]

Ding ding ding.....winner.
 
I got the same PC, mine has 667/pc5300 in it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  • Maximum Memory Capacity: 4096MB
  • Currently Installed Memory: 1GB
  • Available Memory Slots: 2
  • Number of Banks: 4
  • Dual Channel Support: Yes
  • CPU Manufacturer: AuthenticAMD
  • CPU Family: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4400+ Model 11, Stepping 1
  • CPU Speed: 2000 MHz
  • Although the memory can be installed one module at a time, the best performance comes from using matched pairs of modules.
Each memory slot can hold DDR2 PC2-4200,DDR2 PC2-5300,DDR2 PC2-6400,DDR2 PC2-8500 with a maximum of 1GB per slot.*
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top