RAM Upgrade!

[cgannon64]

My RAM upgrade should come on Wednesday at the latest! Besides using this to brag D), I'd like to know: Do RAM upgrades pretty much make everything run faster? Sorry, I've never been one for knowing the 'technical' parts of computers so...is a RAM upgrade pretty much a fix-it that just makes everything run faster?

CG

Oh, and BTW: 384MB RAM+Age of Mythology=Heaven. Just felt like sharing that with you guys...

 

[Crazy Eddie]

It will, if it cuts down the use of the swap-file. The CPU will still chug away at the same speed but you'll get less of those annoying pauses while things are shuffled back and forth between HD and memory.

 

[cgannon64]

Originally posted by Crazy Eddie
It will, if it cuts down the use of the swap-file. The CPU will still chug away at the same speed but you'll get less of those annoying pauses while things are shuffled back and forth between HD and memory.

Ah, thanks for answering my question. I believe this will cut down on the AoM load time, no? On my friend's comp (128MB RAM) it took about 10 minutes to load, which is terrible! I hope mine is alot less...

CG

 

[Civddict]

I have 640MB RAM and Windows loads under 40 secs.

 

[cgannon64]

Originally posted by Civddict
I have 640MB RAM and Windows loads under 40 secs.

Maybe I shouldn't have started to brag...

CG

 

[Crazy Eddie]

A quick check tells me that AoM has a *minimum* requirement of 128Mb, so I guess that 256Mb is the minimum for useable play. 10 minutes is pretty bad though, my Speccy used to load faster than that from a cassette tape

I have 512Mb...

 

[Pillager]

I've just upgraded my system from 128 to 256, and XP is noticeably smoother. With memory so cheap nowadays, it is one of those nice easy and effective upgrades to make.

 

[cgannon64]

Originally posted by Pillager
I've just upgraded my system from 128 to 256, and XP is noticeably smoother. With memory so cheap nowadays, it is one of those nice easy and effective upgrades to make.

This is your home computer, right? J/K Pillager.

Anyway, AoM runs OK with 128 RAM. I got it for my birthday yesterday, but the RAM still hasn't come yet. It is slightly jerky kind of slow with 128, so I hope with the other 256 it will be silky smooth.

CG

 

[Jeratain]

RAM will not necessarily make programs run/load any faster.

If you had a program which uses a lot of memory, and you had very little memory, then in those cases you will see a large increase in performance. Essentially what RAM will do is allow you to load more/run more programs simultaneously. You can load more into your memory and it will let things run smoother and faster because they are resident in the memory and they do not need to reload.

I like having a lot of RAM as well as a lot of Virtual Memory for optimal performance. I have 320 MB of RAM alongside a 8 gig paging file for virtual memory. Computer runs like a charm.

 

[kring]

I increased the RAM in my machine from 128 to 384 MB (ultimate goal is 512 MB).

The only problem I had was finding the right RAM, which wasn't that cheap. This is a new computer.

Seems that the stores' opinions as well as several of the stores' websites said I needed SDRAM PC133. Tried several different varieties of it, and it wouldn't do what it was supposed to; 512 MB RAM was registering and acting like 64 MB worth. Seems that the old PC100 did the trick. DDR RAM probably would work as well; maybe better, but after all the trouble I went through to get something.

Moral of the story; don't always trust stores, tech people, and/or web sites to know what they are talking about.

 

[Jeratain]

Originally posted by kring
Seems that the stores' opinions as well as several of the stores' websites said I needed SDRAM PC133. Tried several different varieties of it, and it wouldn't do what it was supposed to; 512 MB RAM was registering and acting like 64 MB worth. Seems that the old PC100 did the trick. DDR RAM probably would work as well; maybe better, but after all the trouble I went through to get something.

Whoa there. You need to be really careful what type of RAM you put into your computer. Certain motherboards only take certain types of RAM. The absolute best thing to do is to refer to your motherboard guide/manual if you have one. If you don't have one, then refer to the maker of your computer. Or if you made the computer and don't have one, but know the model, go to the producer's website and find out the specs on it.

The wrong type of RAM will not work with your system if your motherboard does not take that type of RAM.

On certain Pentium 4 motherboards, RDRAM is the only type it will take. But lately there have been a lot of motherboards that take DDR as well as SDRAM with the P4 motherboards.

One thing you do NOT want to do is mix and match RAM. Don't take PC 100 and PC 133 RAM and use them together on the same machine. Though this can work, it is very unstable and can crash your system unexpectedly.

 

[Rheinmetall]

Sufficient amount of memory means also longer harddisk lifespan.

 

[cgannon64]

I was supposed to get my RAM today; it came, but my sister was in the shower, so the UPS guy brought it back and it has to come tomorrow! Ugh. Anyway, Jeratain, I know what you mean about the RAM compatibility problem: with my computer, we almost bought one type, before realizing the compatibility problem. Gateway is good about that; all you have to do is tell them your computer serial number and they have the compatible type of RAM.

CG

 

[Pillager]

Originally posted by cgannon64


This is your home computer, right? J/K Pillager.

What are you trying to say? I'm very proud of my computer, thank you very much