[Aishenne]

Hi, I'm thinking about adding some RAM to my PC to speed it up a bit. Looking and asking around, I was told that my system can support/recognize just a certain amount of RAM, no matter how much RAM I add.

I ran a scan through crucial.com, and my results are as follows:

Intel D102GGC2 Motherboard (currently 1gb installed)
Each memory slot can hold DDR2 PC2-5300 with a maximum of 1GB per slot.*

* Maximum Memory Capacity: 2048MB
* Currently Installed Memory: 1GB
* Available Memory Slots: 1
* Number of Banks: 2
* Dual Channel Support: Yes
* CPU Manufacturer: GenuineIntel
* CPU Family: Intel® Pentium® D CPU 2.66GHz Model 4, Stepping 7
* CPU Speed: 2666 MHz
* Although the memory can be installed one module at a time, the best performance comes from using matched pairs of modules.

I also got this from a FAQ in the site:

Q: Will my system recognize the maximum upgrade?

A: Possibly

How much memory your Windows OS will recognize depends on which version of Windows you are running. 32-bit versions of Windows will see (and utilize) only 3GB or 3.5GB. To utilize more memory, install a 64-bit version of your OS.

I'm just confused since it said that my system can support only another 1gb of RAM, but it said 32-bit Windows can support till 3-3.5gb. (Or is my OS not 32bit? @.@ )

I'm a fan of online RPGs, and mostly I want my games not to be laggy when there are many 'people' around in the game, which is what I'm experiencing now. Will adding 1gb of RAM help me in that sense? Or will adding 1gb RAM not help much at all? Would I need to throw out my PC and build a new one? ><; My vidcard is NVIDIA Geforce 7600GS, in case I need to throw that out as well.

Another question is about the 'twin' pairs of memory. Does this mean that I can't install a 2gb RAM with my 1gb now? As much as possible I want to install the maximum supported memory. Does the RAMs also have to be the same brand? (No idea what brand my RAM is now).

Thanks a lot!

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Your MotherBoard Supports 2GB of memory.

You have 1GB, you can add 1GB to the empty slot.
You Don't have to use the same manufacturer of the memory, however,
It's a good idea to keep them the same if you can.
You can install memory that is: DDR2 PC2-5300 (PC2-5300 is 667Mhz)

Your System is 32 bit.
What they are talking about is, you can put up to 3.0 GB if Your mother board will support it. (your's won't)

[isimaster]

Your MotherBoard Supports 2GB of memory.

You have 1GB, you can add 1GB to the empty slot.
You Don't have to use the same manufacturer of the memory, however,
It's a good idea to keep them the same if you can.
You can install memory that is: DDR2 PC2-5300 (PC2-5300 is 667Mhz)

Your System is 32 bit.
What they are talking about is, you can put up to 3.0 GB if Your mother board will support it. (your's won't)

[Aishenne]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

Would the 1gb of RAM help a lot in making my PC/games run faster? Like a noticeable difference? Maybe something like 30% faster or any other metrics I can use to assess the effect?

[tylerscool]

Yeah it will help. But a new video would also be a good choice to get

[Aishenne]

Hi, thanks for the replies !

[Ferrari]

Hi Aishenne,

Take a look at this article to get more performance out of your computer. What makes your machine slow? Has lots of tips, tools, and tricks for maximizing peformance.

Enjoy!

[Aishenne]

Hi Ferrari, thanks for the link .

I have a follow-up question. I went ahead and bought the recommended RAM and had it installed, then decided to run the crucial.com scan again.

It said something like:

Currently installed memory:

1GB
DDR PC2-5300
1GB
DDR PC2-5200

Each memory slot can hold DDR2 PC2-5300 with a maximum of 1GB per slot.*

I'm confused since at first it said I can install another PC2-5300 RAM, which I did, but now it seems that I have two different types of RAMS . (Turns out the first one I had was PC2-5200 instead of PC2-5300? ) In any case, given the recommendations of similar/same RAMs, I'm wondering if this will cause any malfunction or other problem to my PC. So far it seems to have accepted and recognized the additional memory... and it's not like I can return the new RAM ><; .

Thanks again!

[Ferrari]

If you are not experiencing any problems then you should be fine.

Question: Was it crucial that said install the PC 5300? They are usually not wrong.

Go to Start >> Right click on My Computer >> Select Properties >> under the General Tab, look towards the bottom. If it says 2GB of Ram or it may say 2048mb then you are ok, your system is recognizing the RAM.

Another thing, you don't necessarily have to have exact matching RAM. Like right now, I have a 256mb stick of PC 2 3200 and a 1GB stick of PC 2 5300 because the PC 2 5300 is backwards compatible with my system. Meaning the 5300 is a faster speed, but will run at the slower 3200 speeds.

This is not always the case though.

Also, on the crucial website when you scan your system or use their Memory Advisor Tool it will list some frequently asked questions, check those out.

You may find this article interesting. I don't know anything about over clocking so I don't suggest it, but this article provides info on that and how RAM works. How to Overclock

Hope that helps!

Have you noticed a better performance? Another gig of RAM should help out on those Games.

Edited by Ferrari, 09 March 2009 - 02:20 PM.

[Aishenne]

Hi Ferrari, my initial scan with crucial said:

Intel D102GGC2 Motherboard (currently 1gb installed)
Each memory slot can hold DDR2 PC2-5300 with a maximum of 1GB per slot.*

So I thought I had one PC2-5300 before getting the new RAM, and was just surprised that I ended up having not two PC2-5300, but one 5300 and one 5200.

The system is showing 2gb as my RAM, and so far I haven't experienced crashes, so I guess I'm OK. Just got paranoid and panicked when I saw I had different types.

Thanks for the help!

[Ferrari]

You should be just fine.

Remember to use Crucial online scan or tools in the future. It is was most techs seem to recommend in finding out what Ram you have and what RAM to buy.

Thanks for the help!

Not a problem, anytime. Good luck with everything.