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Author Topic: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?  (Read 10275 times)

Offline QBERT (BERT QUITEVEZ)

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ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« on: January 07, 2007, 01:07:46 AM »
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS TRUE.

SOMEONE TOLD ME THAT ADDING MORE MEMORY CAN MAKE MY PC FASTER.

IT'S ALSO CHEAPER THAN UPGRADING CPU'S.

I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF SOMEONE WILL EXPLAIN THIS PC TECH STUFF.
I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT COMPUTER HARDWARE, I JUST USE EM.
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Offline jun_BALARAW

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #1 on: January 07, 2007, 08:31:38 AM »
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS TRUE.

SOMEONE TOLD ME THAT ADDING MORE MEMORY CAN MAKE MY PC FASTER.

IT'S ALSO CHEAPER THAN UPGRADING CPU'S.

I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF SOMEONE WILL EXPLAIN THIS PC TECH STUFF.
I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT COMPUTER HARDWARE, I JUST USE EM.
tamang tama tlaga yan sir.
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Offline xjepoyx

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #2 on: January 07, 2007, 02:02:27 PM »
depende rin actually.


1. What applications ba ginagamit mo? you need to comply with the softwares minimum hardware requirements.
2. if your proc is somewhat 4 years old or more need mo na din sigurong mag upgrade   
3. if your mobo is old na din mahirap na maghanap ng memory modules na mas mababa eg. ddr266, ddr333 (mostly binebenta na lang eh ddr400 and ddr2 pataas na lang nasa mga stores.
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Offline panterica

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #3 on: January 07, 2007, 02:09:53 PM »
agree with jepoy.

pag memory upgrade, mas mabilis lang ng konti ang loading ng applications, kung pentium III or pentium 4 na lower than 2.4ghz, kahit anong upgrade pa ang gawin mo sa memory mo, with today's applications, mabagal pa rin yan.
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Offline xjepoyx

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #4 on: January 07, 2007, 11:00:11 PM »
one more thing. Dont buy 2nd hand memory modules unless with shop warranty pa. Memory Modules are so delicate, installing them again and again to different mobos may also cause the module to get busted.
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Offline MIG AYESA

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2007, 10:46:43 PM »
one more thing. Dont buy 2nd hand memory modules unless with shop warranty pa. Memory Modules are so delicate, installing them again and again to different mobos may also cause the module to get busted.

Sir mabuti nabanggit nyo, I was planning to buy surplus memory sa SOS. kasi mas mura. Tks for the info.

Offline jefft

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2007, 06:18:45 AM »
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS TRUE.

SOMEONE TOLD ME THAT ADDING MORE MEMORY CAN MAKE MY PC FASTER.

IT'S ALSO CHEAPER THAN UPGRADING CPU'S.

I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF SOMEONE WILL EXPLAIN THIS PC TECH STUFF.
I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT COMPUTER HARDWARE, I JUST USE EM.

Yes, adding extra memory  will make it easier/faster for you to open windows or programs... and it's true that its cheaper to upgrade than the processor. But of course the benefits you'll get will depend mostly on the applications or programs you use your system for. Sabi nga ni sir jepoy, check mo ung system reqiurements ng programs na gamit mo... pero kung sa internet, basic word processing at playing media files mo lang naman gamit ang pc... getting at least  512 MB to 1GB memory will help you for sure.

Kung gamit mo naman pc mo for recording, video editing, games ant the likes... you may have to consider upgrading other components of your pc like processor, video card :-D and hard drive space.. hope this helps..
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Offline KitC

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #7 on: January 16, 2007, 12:03:25 PM »
Adding more ram will not make your processor faster, but it will make program access faster (since the pc uses the HD swap file less) and you can have more programs in ram; and we all know that ram access is way faster that HD access.

The easiest way to spot if you need more ram is to open Windows Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del) when you seem to experience a slowdown. Look at the peak in Commit Charge and compare it to your total Physical Memory. If at any time the Peak Commit Charge is greater than the Total Memory, that means your pc is accessing the HD swap file more often than it is ram. This is an indication that you should increase your ram.

You can always optimize your system for faster access. For ex., locate the swap file at the fastest hard drive in your system, assuming you have more than one drive. Some even partition their HD's and make sure the swap file is in the partition that uses the outside edge of the HD platter (the fastest portion of the HD and also the fastest data throughtput); some even dedicate that partition to the swap file. You can use Sisoft Sandra to run benchmarks on your HD's to determine your fastest drive. One more thing, run defrag regularly; a fragmented HD will slow down your system considerably.
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Offline georgieporgy

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #8 on: January 16, 2007, 08:53:12 PM »
...or you could try using a mac hehehehe  :-D
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Offline KitC

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #9 on: January 16, 2007, 09:41:26 PM »
...or you could try using a mac hehehehe  :-D

You know that's not true. Even macs would hiccup when their ram was insufficient. You can't even just add any ram; it had to be apple approved.
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Offline kaloyster

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #10 on: January 17, 2007, 02:19:32 PM »
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS TRUE.

SOMEONE TOLD ME THAT ADDING MORE MEMORY CAN MAKE MY PC FASTER.

IT'S ALSO CHEAPER THAN UPGRADING CPU'S.

I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF SOMEONE WILL EXPLAIN THIS PC TECH STUFF.
I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT COMPUTER HARDWARE, I JUST USE EM.

The answer is NO.

RAM just make your computer stable and crash-free even when RAM-hungry apps are open simultaneously (Photoshop/Dreamweaver/Corel/AutoCad etc). It doesn't make your computer faster. Upgrading the processor will make your computer faster.

@georgieporgy: Macs are still specs-dependable. Kung yung low-end ang Mac mo, makaka-experience ka parin ng occasional hangs.
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Offline prodigi

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #11 on: January 18, 2007, 04:31:17 AM »
...or you could try using a mac hehehehe  :-D
itong powerbook g4 12" ko 512mb ram pa rin huling upgrade ko hanggang ngayon hindi ko na na-upgrade ulit pero kayangkaya patakbuhin yung digital performer 4.6 & reason kargado mga instuments pati recording & mixing dito na rin sa laptop! :evil: kung gusto nyo demo pwede ko pakita ko sa inyo. :wink: baka lang pag in-upgrade ko pa ram nito masira yung caps lock key...  :roll: :-P  :-D

Offline jefft

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #12 on: January 18, 2007, 04:52:44 AM »

To Mr. Threadstarter,

           i hope the replies on your thread doesn't really confuse you more.  :wink:There are actually a couple of ways you can increase performance of your pc as the other members here have suggested...probably posting the specification of your computer and the programs you're using on it would help us give better suggestions. :wink:
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Offline starfugger

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #13 on: January 23, 2007, 10:13:38 AM »
Adding more ram will not make your processor faster, but it will make program access faster (since the pc uses the HD swap file less) and you can have more programs in ram; and we all know that ram access is way faster that HD access.

The easiest way to spot if you need more ram is to open Windows Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del) when you seem to experience a slowdown. Look at the peak in Commit Charge and compare it to your total Physical Memory. If at any time the Peak Commit Charge is greater than the Total Memory, that means your pc is accessing the HD swap file more often than it is ram. This is an indication that you should increase your ram.

You can always optimize your system for faster access. For ex., locate the swap file at the fastest hard drive in your system, assuming you have more than one drive. Some even partition their HD's and make sure the swap file is in the partition that uses the outside edge of the HD platter (the fastest portion of the HD and also the fastest data throughtput); some even dedicate that partition to the swap file. You can use Sisoft Sandra to run benchmarks on your HD's to determine your fastest drive. One more thing, run defrag regularly; a fragmented HD will slow down your system considerably.

Kit, valuable info as usual :) i checked the peak commit thing on my home pc just now and yes the peak is higher than the total.  my pc is a pentium 1.7Ghz with only 256 SDRAM. jologs but i will never hook up my DAW pc on the net, ever. (the pprospect of ruining my precious files send shivers up my spine) so this one is for home computing purposes.  anyhow, the ram is pc 133.  it is also possible to use ddr's on my board.  do you uggest i buy a 512 sdram to get a total of 768MB sdram.  or would it be better to get a 512 ddr and ditch the 256 sdram instead?  thanks :)
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Offline KitC

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #14 on: January 23, 2007, 12:02:26 PM »
Hazel,

Conventional wisdom dictates that you should get 2 matching sticks of ram instead of one stick. Since your mobo doesn't do dual channel, having identical sticks isn't that critical. Besides, it's better to have 2 sticks on the off chance that one should fail.

Take note of your ram type, though. AFAIK, pc133 isn't DDR SDRAM. DDR begins at pc2100, also known as DDR 266, all the way up to pc3200/DDR 400. Pin counts for plain SDRAM are 168 while DDR-SDRAM has 184 pins. You can easily spot the difference: DDR has a single notch at the 'golden fingers' while SDRAM has 2 notches (you don't have to count the pins).
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Offline starfugger

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #15 on: January 23, 2007, 04:27:41 PM »
sorry i was unable to clarify.  my mobo has 2 slots for sdram (one of which is installed with a 256mb stick), and 2 slots for ddr (which are empty at the moment).  i was wondering if it is better to install a single 512 mb ddr (or two 256 mb ddr's), or to just add another 512 mb sdram on the second sdram slot.  if i do this the total ram would be 768 mb pc133.  would that still run faster than a 512 mb ddr, most probably pc2100 (this pc was built around 2003)?

thanks :)
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Offline KitC

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #16 on: January 23, 2007, 05:45:03 PM »
I'd say ditch the sdram and go ddr all the way. You might get a performance boost. If you can go for 1 gig total ddr, much better although you won't see a radical increase in plugin usage - unfortunately, that's cpu dependent.
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Offline 3650guy

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #17 on: January 23, 2007, 07:56:35 PM »
you cant use both ddr and sdr slots at the same time. for most motherboards anyway. best thing to do is to use ddr memory. before you get more memory, you have to check out the boards capabilities so that you can maximize it.  i think this is a "transition" board so that its a 266ddr board. adding 512mb stick or 1gig would just add a bit in total performance. but programs would open and close more quickly...
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Offline ishimaro

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #18 on: January 24, 2007, 10:12:23 PM »

yes, mpapabilis ung PC mo and dadami ung applications mo pwedeng patakbuhin at the same time... dahil sa laki ng storage ng RAM mo, mapapabilis ng process ung processor mo.

 like having 15+ programs nakatago sa system tray then pag nka 2gig ddr2 RAM ka, wala lang ung 15+ applications n un.. heheh

Offline lexushugo

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #19 on: January 26, 2007, 11:39:59 PM »
sorry i was unable to clarify.  my mobo has 2 slots for sdram (one of which is installed with a 256mb stick), and 2 slots for ddr (which are empty at the moment).  i was wondering if it is better to install a single 512 mb ddr (or two 256 mb ddr's), or to just add another 512 mb sdram on the second sdram slot.  if i do this the total ram would be 768 mb pc133.  would that still run faster than a 512 mb ddr, most probably pc2100 (this pc was built around 2003)?

thanks :)

as suggested by KitC ditch the sdram and go ddr. although medyo mahirap na maghanap ng ddr266, you can still buy decent ddr400 sticks that are always ddr266 backward compatible. just make sure to get the 8chip variety since 4chips tend to be very motherboard picky. :D

although one stick of 1gb is the best option for you since you will only run the system in single channel, i'd still say try a single stick of 512mb first. if buy then under cpu utilization peak your free memory is hitting bet 160 and up mb then 512mb is good enough. the only prob is where to borrow a test module. hehehe...

pero sayang ang moola sa 512mb if you can shell out a little extra for a 1gb stick of ram.  maliit lang price difference now.  hope this helps.  :mrgreen:

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Offline starfugger

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #20 on: January 29, 2007, 05:56:16 PM »
thanks for all your suggestion. mejo mahal nga yung sdram and i thought baka reduced yung performance compared to the ddr's.  thanks i'll look into the 1 gig module :)

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Offline krizxia

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #21 on: January 30, 2007, 02:38:44 PM »
does software memory booster help increase processing speed?

Offline KitC

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #22 on: January 30, 2007, 02:48:00 PM »
does software memory booster help increase processing speed?

If you mean cpu speed, no.
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Offline krizxia

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #23 on: January 31, 2007, 08:39:22 AM »
no sir, not the cpu. softwares like rambooster, turbo mem, etc., helps to decrease loading time of programs, optimizing the use of mem, makes your pc run faster.

kasi im only using 256, eh wala pera, i hav to stick to this specs.

thou marami sa net pwd ma dl, i just dont want to take any risk, baka masira ko pa ito pc. yari na kay mama.

Offline KitC

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Re: ADDING RAM CAN MAKE YOUR PC'S FASTER?
« Reply #24 on: January 31, 2007, 10:05:03 AM »
There are 2 kinds of 'memory boosters' that I've seen (and used) over the years: one is something like a memory defragger and the other is a virtual hard disk. I've never noticed any real benefit to the defragger while the virtual HD blocks off a portion of your ram; if you have only 256 megs and part of it is blocked off, you may be able to get faster loading times from a particular prog loaded into it but you compromise the rest of the system's allocated memory... not worth the trade off, IMO.
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