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DADDY BOB'S COMPUTER Q & A
May 9, 2010
Q.
I have been told that to enhance the
performance of my computer that I should add
Memory. How can I find out what and how much
to add?
A.
There is probably nothing one can do
to a computer to enhance its performance
than to add more RAM memory. Of course,
adding memory may not always improve
performance but as a general rule, it will.
There are
very many different kinds of memory, so
getting the correct one for your computer
may not be an easy task. You could open the
case and remove the installed memory and use
it to determine the kind you need. But, the
information you acquire this way is very
limited and not nearly complete. You only
learn what kind has been installed, not all
the kinds the computer can use, nor how much
the computer can use. So there are better
ways.
The next
place to go is to the documentation that
came with the computer. However, my
experience has been that few users if any
have any idea where this is or f they ever
got it. Most users get a new computer,
immediately hook it up and turn it on
without ever so much as looking at any
instructions that may have come with it. It
is for this reason that few manufacturers
supply a written user manual any more.
Experience has proven that only a very few
users ever read the instructions for
computer hardware of software.
The next
place is the manufacturer's web site. Some
sites are very informative and can give you
specifics on a given model computer.
Unfortunately, this information is rarely
specific to your computer as there are
different options available for most
computer models. Also, required information
about your computer, usually detailed on the
packing slip or other documentation that
came with the computer may be required. Few
will have saved this information. So what
can you do?
Fortunately, there is still a very good way
to determine what kind of RAM memory your
computer uses without ever opening the case.
Information like what is already installed,
how many slots there are used and available,
what kinds and how much memory can be
used, etc. There is a web site that can do
all that for you automatically. That site is
www.crucial.com.
Not only
does this site offer this utility, it also
sells very good memory at a very reasonable
price. I personally buy all my memory from
Crucial, who claim to be the memory experts.
When this
site opens, you are given two ways to two
ways to proceed. The first is called "The
Memory Advisory Tool". Here you select the
manufacturer, product line and model number
of your computer Then information about your
specific model is displayed and you are
given many choices of memory to use. If you
already know things like what kind your
computer currently has, what it can use,
available slots, etc., this is will allow
you to make a logical choice.
The
second way will automatically detect all the
information you need to add more memory to
your computer. I highly recommend this
method. I have used it many times and found
it to be very accurate. It is called
"Crucial System Scanner" Tool and is
accessed by clicking on "scan your
computer". You will have to agree to their
terms, then click the Download the scanner
button. Choose to run rather than save if
you are offered the choice.
It will
take a few moments for the scan to complete,
and when it does, all the information you
need is displayed. Here are the results of
this scan from one of my computers.
Click the
above picture for a larger view. (Click Back
to return to this article)
Shown are
the number of slots, what kind of memory
modules are in them, how much the computer
can use and much more pertinent data about
your computer and its memory. This should
give you all the information you need to
make a good decision about adding memory to
your computer. |
