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Selecting the right ram

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Hi, I want to improve the speed on my dad's old computer. What is the best choice for Ram i could purchase for him? It has only 256 or 512. Here's what else I know:
ddr ram pc2100/ pc2700/ 3200 (non-register & ECC)
sy-kt600 dragon plus v2.0

If there are other suggestions for improvements, they are much appreciated. The truth is, he uses it only for the most basic of applications and it's really old so I'm guessing adding a little memory would make surfing/email smoother. It takes a year just to load and start and then internet hangs and hangs...... Many thanks!

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GhislainG said:
Start Windows Task Manager and click the Performance tab. Report on the Physical Memory (K) and Commit Charge (K).



Thanks! Sorry for the delay. Here's what I found when I went to visit again.
Physical Memory (K): 261616
Peak Commit Charge (K): 486616

Also at the bottom there was another line, Commit Charge 438M/999M

I do so appreciate your help in this. You know, because this machine is so slow, it took me about 6 minutes just to get the simple information you asked for!

Great-- would you mind giving a recommendation of what/where to buy online? Also, if you have other ideas for improving the speed, please let me know. One question I forgot to ask: he gets a warning every time he turns on the machine that it's not certified genuine windows. Could that be causing a problem? THANKS again!

Here are two I found on ebay. One is a single unit of 512, the other is 2 x 256. How do I know which I need? I seem to remember from doing this myself once that you have to install in pairs. Is that correct? If so, maybe I only need on 256 unit? Is there a way to know without looking at the computer? I don't live near my dad.

http://cgi.ebay.com/PC2100-512MB-DDR-SDRAM-266-MHZ-PC-R...

http://cgi.ebay.com/512MB-2X256MB-PC2100-DDR-266MHz-Des...

Thanks again!

Best solution

Motherboard Master

I'd buy 2 (or 4) 512MB modules and remove the 256MB module. You could also buy 3 x 256 MB modules. Is the 256MB module PC2100? If you don't know, check it with CPU-Z or verify the memory specs at POST.

Yes, the modules I am looking at are pc2100. But I'm a little confused. You said earlier that the computer needs 512 and has only 256. If I put 2x512, that's not too much? And do you know if that genuine windows warning is causing some of the problem? Thanks again!
Motherboard Master

QuickQuestion_22 said:
Yes, the modules I am looking at are pc2100. But I'm a little confused. You said earlier that the computer needs 512 and has only 256. If I put 2x512, that's not too much? And do you know if that genuine windows warning is causing some of the problem? Thanks again!

The minimum required is 512MB. Installing 1GB can't hurt.

If XP is genuine, then that warning shouldn't be displayed. If it was installed on several computers, then it might not be legitimate. I can't determine if it's legitimate or not since I don't know where or how that OS was acquired. If you have the certificate, then contact Microsoft and they will provide a new key to make it legitimate.
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