Need help with upgrading RAM please

rodeojones903

rodeojones903

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Ill be the first to admit that I'm not all that good with PC's when it comes to hardware, and find it somewhat confusing. I am wanting to upgrade and get some more RAM to play Lord of the Rings Online a little smoother. My PC has 4 slots and I am using two right now with 512MB sticks. This is the description i have of my RAM from Alienware.

x2

Capacity: 512MB
Bank Label: CHANNEL A DIMM0
Data Width: 64Bits
Speed: 533MHz
Socket Designation: J5G2
Verified Hardware Device against Order: MEM-DDR2512PC4200SR2
Verify Correct Memory Type
Verify Correct Memory Size

Now I want to fill the other two slots both with 1GB sticks. I was told that I need to match my other RAM exactly by the guy at Best Buy. Does he mean only in spec like speed, or can I only put two 512mb sticks in the two slots. Also does my new RAM I buy have to be 4200 as well, because I really can't find much along those lines. Everything at Best Buy was either 3700 and 5300 if I remember those numbers correcty.

A buddy of mine recommended Patriot RAM, and was looking at this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220144

but I'm not sure if it will work since my other RAM is 4200 and this is not. Thanks in advance for any advice. :D
 
You don't need to match them.. but your combined ram will effectively run at the lowest speed/timings of any of your sticks.

For example, if you have 3 sticks of DDR2 800 and 1 stick of DDR2 667, then the fastest your memory will perform at is DDR2 667. Same thing with timings.

If you want to run dual channel (which you probably are right now) then you'll need to identical sticks in the matched slots- usually it's A-B-A-B (or they have the same color) where you'll have two matched sticks in the A slots to run dual channel. But that's not always the case, might wanna read your manual.

If you want to run two separate dual channels (i.e., in your case with the first set being the 2x 512MBs and the second set being 2x 1GB) then you do not need for them to match.

But remember, your computer can only run memory at whatever the lowest specs are so you should try to stick to what you already have or go with something faster if you'll eventually replace told sticks.

As for brands, most of the name brand stuff is good... Corsair, Crucial, Corsair, Patriot, etc. The differences in performance is minuscule.
 
Protip: Don't buy computer parts at Best Buy... ever. Go to Newegg.com, lots of awesome RAM, some of it has free shipping (mine did) and lots of them have mail in rebates (mine did also).

Also, don't ever listen to what they have to say about upgrading a computer ;)

Vinny's advice is better than what some guy trying to make a sale will spew your way.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I asked the people at BB just because I was confused about what is compatible with what. All they really had there was low grade junk anyway. :D

I was also looking at this, as it seems to match my current ram speed wise.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145527

What would you guys recommend I go with, the Corsair or the Patriot? Since it will only match my current ram in speed I am thinking why spend the extra cash when it wont give me a performance difference. I am not all the worried about the price difference, just want to make sure it works with my current set up.
 
I've only used A-DATA (who actually provides chips for a many of the other brands), PNY and Corsair memory ever in my life... and honestly, I've never had an issue with any of them. Go with the speed closest to your current memory without going under it.
 
I'd get the slower (cheaper) ram. Faster ram isn't goiging to make that big of a difference unless you are overclocking your CPU.

What kind of video card are you running? More Ram will diffently help, but it might not make things that much smoother if your video card can't keep up.
 
For the most part, Best Buy training consists of "Sell, Sell, and Upsell". You might get a good knowledgeable associate here and there, but you're better off seeking advice somewhere other than Best Buy.
 
[quote name='ofacto']I'd get the slower (cheaper) ram. Faster ram isn't goiging to make that big of a difference unless you are overclocking your CPU.

What kind of video card are you running? More Ram will diffently help, but it might not make things that much smoother if your video card can't keep up.[/QUOTE]

Its probably shitty by todays standards, but Im using an ATI Radeon X850 XT.
 
[quote name='Roufuss']Protip: Don't buy computer parts at Best Buy... ever. Go to Newegg.com, lots of awesome RAM, some of it has free shipping (mine did) and lots of them have mail in rebates (mine did also).

Also, don't ever listen to what they have to say about upgrading a computer ;)

Vinny's advice is better than what some guy trying to make a sale will spew your way.[/QUOTE]

QFT
 
I think that going with cheap ram is probably a bad idea as the timings will not be as good as low latency fast timing ram. If you bought an alienware, the timings are probably fairly low like 2-2-2-5 with a command rate of 1t. if you get cheap ram with higher timings then as far as i know the ram you got from the alienware will run at the higher timings of the cheap ram
Also, unless you are running Vista, i see no point in getting two 1 gb sticks of ram when you already have dual channel 1gb. it is kinda a waste of money.

To answer level1online,
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/26 is a great article about the specifics.
Hope this all helps
 
[quote name='TheClassicObserver']
Also, unless you are running Vista, i see no point in getting two 1 gb sticks of ram when you already have dual channel 1gb. it is kinda a waste of money.

[/QUOTE]

So only vista makes having more than 2gb worthwhile? The $50 difference doesnt make that much a difference to me from 1gb to 2gb as long as it give a performance increase.
 
With Windows XP, there is a 4gb theoretical limit for RAM but the performance increase that you would see with 3 gigs split between two dual channels would not be as great as you would think
Unless you do heavy graphics intesive photo,or video editing i think that the extra gig with slower timings is going to be wasted.
If you are only buying an extra gig for games you might see some increase but you might want to consider using the money to buy a new graphics card instead as you will see a better imporvement with that

Anyways here are the ram dual channel kits that i would recommend
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820141199
For two gigs

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227075
For one gig
 
[quote name='rodeojones903']Its probably shitty by todays standards, but Im using an ATI Radeon X850 XT.[/QUOTE]

Hey man, don't diss that card. It works just fine for 1280x1024 on most games still. Best $100 I ever spent.:p

Whoever said that more memory doesn't help is right to an extent but I disagree that only Vista will be noticeably faster. I honestly can't imagine how long it would take some games to start up and load if I only had 1GB of memory. But 3GB is pushing it... unless you plan to do some heavy Photoshopping and video editing from time to time. Memory only goes so far, a good graphics card and processor will do you more. While 1GB is ok, I'd never want to run below 2GB on XP.
 
[quote name='TheClassicObserver']I think that going with cheap ram is probably a bad idea as the timings will not be as good as low latency fast timing ram. If you bought an alienware, the timings are probably fairly low like 2-2-2-5 with a command rate of 1t. if you get cheap ram with higher timings then as far as i know the ram you got from the alienware will run at the higher timings of the cheap ram
Also, unless you are running Vista, i see no point in getting two 1 gb sticks of ram when you already have dual channel 1gb. it is kinda a waste of money.

To answer level1online,
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/26 is a great article about the specifics.
Hope this all helps[/QUOTE]


DDR2 ram has higher timings than DDR. The lowest cas latency they have for DDR2 is 3. I am guessing that the ram installed on his computer is probably Cas Latency 4, since that is the lowest latentcy they had for DDR2 533 a couple of years ago. Plus the cheap RAM link he posted is not "cheap" its a pretty reliable brand, Cosair.
 
Thanks for the help everyone. I went with the 2x 512mb corsair sticks. I they actually have helped quite a bit. I load much faster and dont get nearly as much lag in large towns in LOTR online now. :D
 
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