Please Help. Ram or SSD? Upgrading an Old PC

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Insulares

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Feb 18, 2016
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My old pc only has only 2gb ddr2 memory and 256gb HDD. Should I add 2gb memory or add a 128gb SSD? I can only choose one as I wont have money left for another upgrade.

I will use it of light video and audio editing. Thank you
 
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jr9
As long as the motherboard has SATA the SSD will work fine.

It sounds like low RAM is the main issue if opening more applications is cause slowdowns. SSD will help you with things like slow loading of appications or operating system in general. I am not sure exactly how much of your RAM you are using when Chrome is running but if it is getting up to close to 2GB I would upgrade the RAM to 4GB first. Afterwards to can upgrade the SSD to 128GB so you don't spend extra money on a 60GB SSD.
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jr9

jr9

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Dec 6, 2017
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More RAM won't make your PC faster unless you are constantly running out. If you are at max physical RAM usage, I would upgrade the RAM to 4GB or 8GB. If you are at something like 1.15GB used, I would upgrade to an SSD. Task manager can tell you your RAM usage. Try it with an editing program open.
 
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I

Insulares

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Feb 18, 2016
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The mobo only accepts up to 4gb of ram. I'm tight on the budget, is it best to upgrade memory and add a 60gbssd for the mean time instead of 128gb?
 
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jr9

jr9

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Dec 6, 2017
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That is also an option; you could install Windows on the 60GB SSD and upgrade the RAM to the max 4GB. If you can fit your main programs on to the space that is left (around 40GB with once Windows 7 or 10 is installed). You want to make sure the RAM is the right one for your motherboard and preferably the same speed if you are adding it to the other 2GB RAM you have. Everything else could just sit on the bigger HDD. The SSD is mostly to make your Windows and programs go much faster.
 
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Insulares

Commendable
Feb 18, 2016
34
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1,530


When the editing program is open it consumes a bit more 1.15gb but when I open chrome it starts to slow horribly.
By the way the processor is a core2quad q8300 and mobo is Foxconn mcp73m06, will these support or maximize the speed of an SSD? What do you think is the best option? Maximize ram, add 128gb SSD, or add ram and SSD but only 60gbssd?
 
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jr9

jr9

Estimable
Dec 6, 2017
2,212
3
3,960
As long as the motherboard has SATA the SSD will work fine.

It sounds like low RAM is the main issue if opening more applications is cause slowdowns. SSD will help you with things like slow loading of appications or operating system in general. I am not sure exactly how much of your RAM you are using when Chrome is running but if it is getting up to close to 2GB I would upgrade the RAM to 4GB first. Afterwards to can upgrade the SSD to 128GB so you don't spend extra money on a 60GB SSD.
 
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