The truth about RAM please?

Question

I don't usually make my questions so long winded but please bare with me.I went into pc world yesterday and asked if adding 256mb of RAM to my existing 256mb would make a noticeable difference to my computers speed and he said it wouldn't make any difference at all and that i would have to upgrade to 2gb to make it worth while. If the money was there then i would have done it. Would doubling my RAM to 512mb really be that pointless. I don't use my pc for anything big like 3D games, just browsing and the odd small task here and there so bigger processors and graphics cards are pointless to me. I will eventually upgrade to a decent amount of RAM but for now a quick 'fix' would be sufficient.

One other thing, my processor is the Intel Celeron D. How do i find out what the maximum RAM it will support is and what happens if you put too much in?

Thankyou very much for your patience and all who answer

Answer 1

Doubling the RAM will make quite a difference for the tasks you are doing.  I have heard the guys at PC World giving customers loads of rubbish advice and information and its either they haven't got a clue about what they are selling or its sales talk to get you to part with as much of your hard earned cash as possible.. I believe the former.

Upgrade to what you can afford and I am pretty confident that you will see quite a difference with performance.

It is usually the motherboard that determines the amount of memory that your pc can support, not the processor, so your Celeron D does not come into the equation with your RAM.

Happy computing.

Answer 2

wow way too much to read

Answer 3

Go to www.crucial.com, they will scan your machine, tell you what's in it and recommend upgrades.

Answer 4

I'm sure adding ram will help in any situation. As far as "Too much ram" goes, i don't think you can. As long as it fits in your motherboard, it should be fine.

Answer 5

Yes. With Windows (is it XP?), the more RAM the merrier.

You will feel a difference when you upgrade from 256 MB to 512 MB, especially when you have at least several windows open on your desktop. You'll see less disk activity..

Answer 6

hi there,

i am assuming you are running Windows XP, there is a significant difference between 256MB and 512MB, just make sure you get the correct memory for your PC, as there are quite a number of difference types and you want to make sure it is compatible.

Go here -

http://www.crucial.com/uk/

Lose the /uk/ if you are not in UK, and either click Scan My System or put in your PC details from drop down boxes, it will tell you how much system memory you can run, what type of memory and how much. You don't need to buy it from them but at least you will know what you are looking for.

Moving on from 512MB to 1GB in the future is also quite significant and probably about what people call "the sweet spot" where things run very smoothly but 512MB will be a good step up for not much expense.

The maximum RAM is dictated by your Motherboard but check on the site above, it will make life a lot easier for you to check.

Hope this helps :)

Answer 7

Actually it doesn't matter what processor your have. The support for ram comes from the motherboard. Actually the sales representative was blowing smoke because he doesn't even know if your computers motherboard could support that capacity of RAM. furthermore, Guessing  that if you have 256mb now then your maximum probably is 1 gb of ram. If you are windows xp or earlier 512mb does make a difference. Although it is suggested you at least have 1gb of ram I would check with the motherboard spec to see what it can handle.

Answer 8

1, dont ask a salesman what to buy.

2. XP is really slow on 256mb but acceptible on 512

3. depends on the motherboard and such as well as processor, but most will hande 2gb.

Answer 9

I think that doubling the RAM will help.

And have u heard of google? IT could probably help u on that.

Answer 10

Upgrading from 256mb to 512mb RAM will make a difference.  Going to 1gb or 2gb will make an even bigger difference.  Bearing in mind the more RAM you buy, the cheaper it is, you should upgrade as far as you can afford, but if you can only afford to go to 512mb, then go for it.

You can't add too much RAM although there will be a point of diminishing returns, where adding more wont make much difference in performance (depending upon what you do with your PC), but there are different kinds, so you must use only what the motherboard on your PC supports.  The maximum amount of RAM you can add depends upon the motherboard.  If you go to the manufacturers website, you should be able to find out how much your PC will support.

Answer 11

You should see a difference with an extra 256...it won't be massive so don't expect too much but it is definately worth doing.

To check what your motherboard can upgrade to > Google CPU-Z, download and run it (it's free).  That will tell you exactly how much and what type of RAM you can have.  

Answer 12

Salesman may have been trying to get you to spend more money

type in www.crucial.com , they'll do a free scan of your PC, and tell you what you can take and prices......just done it, and can recommend them

Answer 13

Sometime ago I had 256 Mb with XP. I doubled it to 512 Mb and I did notice a big difference to the speed of programs and the Internet.