Speed Up Your PC - RAM
Over time, our computers seem to get slower and slower from months of usage. This is partly due from the multitude of files accrued from being on the Internet and browsing various sites. While you can backup your files and restore your laptop or desktop just as it had come from the factory, there's no telling how long it will take before your computer returns to the slower state. Thankfully there are two inexpensive ways to bring your PC to blazing speeds; more memory and a solid state hard drive.
One of the earliest ways to increase speed was to simply swap out the processor for a newer, faster one. While this holds true, you may not even notice any type of speed increase. The cost of the upgrade doesn't always justify the lack of a noticeable speed boost either. The price of RAM varies on the age of the system and how much you're adding (and adding the most amount of RAM isn't always economical), and the cost of solid state drives vary on the capacity. Depending on where you look a solid state drive (abbreviated here on out as SSD) can be had between 25 to 50 cents per gigabyte. So a standard 120 GB drive should cost around $60 or less.
CONCEPTS
Memory, or RAM, is essential for speed and stability. Some users may be mystified as to why RAM is important. Think of RAM as being the top of your desk. You can put papers, pens, a lamp, Sticky notes, and more on the top of your desk and hopefully have room for books, more papers, and other items. The more items you have on top of your desk, the less room you have for other items.
Now think of the items on your desk as computer programs like Word, Excel, and Internet Explorer. The Windows operating system itself uses a good portion of memory, and Windows 10 is known to use quite a lot more. Let's say your desktop represents 4 GB of memory. Windows may take up 2 GB of that memory, Internet Explorer may use 1 GB, and the Flash plug-in for games on Facebook might take up 3/4 of a gigabyte of memory leaving you with only 1/4 GB of memory to work with. This leaves very little room to work with to open and close programs and usually causes long delays between the time you start up your computer and the time you get to the desktop. Adding more memory is equivalent to simply buying a desk with more space on top. You can fit more, you spend less time organizing and moving things around to make more room, and generally get things done faster because of the excess free space.
A regular hard drive has a series of heads activated by a motor that reads and writes to a series of platters. A solid state drive or SSD has no mechanical, moving parts inside and is more comparable to a flash drive, only a flash drive that can read and write data at about 20x faster! Another difference between a standard hard drive and an SSD is the physical size. Standard hard drive are in a 3.5” format (lengthwise) while SSDs are in a 2.5” size, the same as a laptop hard drive.
[pic of standard hard drive and SSD for size comparison]
Because of the speed boost, the capacity of each one varies for the same price. $50 will usually get you a brand new 1 TB (1000 GB) hard drive, but the same price can yield a 120 GB SSD.
EASY OR DIFFICULT
Memory is uber-easy to add or replace. To add memory in a desktop or laptop computer; simply power off the machine, open the case, snap the two notches away, insert the new memory, reassemble and power up. Purchasing the memory take a tiny bit of legwork though, as there are different types (and not just between desktop and laptop).
The fastest way to find out what memory you have is to look up your model of desktop or laptop on the Internet. You can go to the manufacturer's web site and find the model specifications, or you can Google “[manufacturer model] specs”, “[manufacturer model] spec sheet”, or “[manufacturer model] maximum RAM”. So to find the specs on an HP Pavilion p630y I could go to Google and type in:
HP p630y maximum RAM
...and get the information I need.
Dell owners can also go to the Dell website, type in their service tag, and it will take them to the page for their particular model where the RAM type will be shown. Be aware of these factors:
Desktop / Laptop: Desktop memory are known as DIMMs (Dual in-line memory modules, not important to memorize) while laptop memory is smaller and are named SO-DIMMs (small outline dual in-line memory module). You cannot use desktop memory in a laptop and vice-versa.
DDR2 / DDR3: This represents the “generation” of memory used by the computer. DDR3 is faster than DDR2, just as newer DDR4 (primarily used in high-end boards and servers) is faster than DDR3. Each type has a notch in a specific place so that it only can fit in one way inside a memory slot, so you cannot fit DDR3 memory in a DDR2 slot. This information is only essential when shopping for memory, as you want the right type to fit in your machine.
The issue of speed comes into play as well. Some older DDR2 memory is rated at 667 MHz while other DDR 2 memory is rated at 800 Mhz. If the memory slots on your PC only run at up to 667 MHz and you purchase memory rated at 800 MHz, the RAM will still run only at the slower, compatible 667 MHz speed. These same principles for DDR3, DDR4 and other memory technologies.
Server / Non-server: Essential only when shopping for memory online. Server memory chips used a method known as Error-Correcting or Error-Correction (ECC) for critical applications that reply on error-free data. Desktop and laptop memory chips can still function perfectly without error correction and can have the term “Non-ECC” to designate themselves between server and non-server memory. Walk into a Best Buy and they will only have memory for laptops and desktops, not servers.
Number of slots: This is applicable to the number of slots inside your desktop computer, usually 2 or 4 in most instances. The majority of laptops and ultrabooks have two memory slots. Keep in mind that if you have only two slots in your desktop computer, the memory inside may already be taking up one or both of the slots. If both slots are occupied you will have to remove one memory stick and put a larger-capacity memory stick in its place.
Also note that memory works faster when installed in matching pairs. While you can have one 4 GB stick in one slot and one 2 GB stick in another slot, having two 4 GB sticks or two 2 GB sticks of memory work a little bit faster. There are more factors to this in regards to latency and timing, but aren't crucial when you want a quick and easy speed boost.
Maximum Capacity: Each laptop or desktop board has a specific design to it that sets limits as to how many USB ports it can have in addition to the amount of memory that it can address. This is another area where looking up your make and model online for the specs is most helpful. You don't want to purchase 16 GB of memory only to find out your computer will only read up to 8 GB of memory, and 8 GB of RAM is fine in most cases depending on what programs you use.
Windows XP users: If you're still running Windows XP, it's probably time for an upgrade. Windows XP is a 32-bit operating system (OS) and can only address up to 1.5 GB of memory, so an upgrade to 2 GB of memory won't allow your computer to reach its full potential. If you're migrating from XP to a newer operating system, it's probably best to add more memory.
SHOPPING AROUND
So now that you have your make and model down and you know which type of memory you should use, you can start shopping around. Best Buy usually carries the top brands, but if you're not in a rush you can shop online via Amazon and eBay instead. Remember that when shopping in brick-and-mortar stores you get your items faster and have the luxury of a quick turnaround if you have to do a return or exchange. But buying online is cheaper, you have a larger selection, and can still get good coverage and warranties from reputable vendors.
If you shop on eBay, you can type in your computer's model number along with the amount of RAM, with or without the number of sticks. However, the results may show higher prices because the sellers know that the buyer may not be looking around for a cheaper price. Take the example below:
p630y 4GB
“p630y' is the model number listed earlier in the article, and the number immediately before the “GB” indicates the capacity of the memory module. I could add “HP” or “Hewlett Packard”, but sellers only have so much space to work with when making the title for the products they're selling and may not include the manufacturer name. In addition, it's less likely that another manufacturer has another computer by the same name, so you can leave off the name of the manufacturer when doing a search and find more (and cheaper) results.
4GB
This signifies the amount of RAM but can be broken down multiple ways. You may see some listings shown as “2GBx2” or “2x2GB” which comes out to two sticks of 2 GB each (4 GB total). You may find “1x4GB” which equates to one 4 GB stick of memory. Sometimes you'll also see listings as “4x1GB” which means that you'll get four sticks with 1 GB of RAM each. This would be acceptable if you have four memory slots available but not if you have only have two slots available. A large amount of RAM on one stick is more expensive than a smaller amount of RAM on multiple sticks, so two sticks of 2 GB of memory costs less than one stick of 4 GB of memory. This is because the additional sticks require extra memory slots in your computer.
I once purchased an HP 630 laptop that had an AMD processor but needed parts. So I went on eBay and bought another HP 630 laptop which had an Intel processor. Turns out that the two different laptops were a generation apart as one used DDR2 memory while the other used DDR3 memory (which was incompatible). So in order to purchase the right memory and avoid mistakes, be sure to add more details to the eBay search:
2x2GB DDR3
This would show listings for two sticks of 2 GB of memory in the DDR3 format. If you were looking for memory for your laptop or notebook computer you could add “SODIMM” if needed. While you can look at the photo of the memory represented in each auction, some sellers might offer different types available in one listing just as they would offer a phone case for multiple models in one listing.
DOING THE EBAY THING
Ebay is your best bet for the lowest prices. Simply type your search in the search field and press Enter or click on “Search”, as you do not have to select the category quite yet. I recommend searching for Buy It Now auctions in the US and sorting by price: lowest to highest”. You can also select more criteria in the left pane to narrow down your search results, such as buying new vs used, brand name, returns accepted, etc.
Here’s a search I performed for two 4 GB sticks of laptop (SODIMM) memory for DDR3 types:
One of the earliest ways to increase speed was to simply swap out the processor for a newer, faster one. While this holds true, you may not even notice any type of speed increase. The cost of the upgrade doesn't always justify the lack of a noticeable speed boost either. The price of RAM varies on the age of the system and how much you're adding (and adding the most amount of RAM isn't always economical), and the cost of solid state drives vary on the capacity. Depending on where you look a solid state drive (abbreviated here on out as SSD) can be had between 25 to 50 cents per gigabyte. So a standard 120 GB drive should cost around $60 or less.
CONCEPTS
Memory, or RAM, is essential for speed and stability. Some users may be mystified as to why RAM is important. Think of RAM as being the top of your desk. You can put papers, pens, a lamp, Sticky notes, and more on the top of your desk and hopefully have room for books, more papers, and other items. The more items you have on top of your desk, the less room you have for other items.
Now think of the items on your desk as computer programs like Word, Excel, and Internet Explorer. The Windows operating system itself uses a good portion of memory, and Windows 10 is known to use quite a lot more. Let's say your desktop represents 4 GB of memory. Windows may take up 2 GB of that memory, Internet Explorer may use 1 GB, and the Flash plug-in for games on Facebook might take up 3/4 of a gigabyte of memory leaving you with only 1/4 GB of memory to work with. This leaves very little room to work with to open and close programs and usually causes long delays between the time you start up your computer and the time you get to the desktop. Adding more memory is equivalent to simply buying a desk with more space on top. You can fit more, you spend less time organizing and moving things around to make more room, and generally get things done faster because of the excess free space.
A regular hard drive has a series of heads activated by a motor that reads and writes to a series of platters. A solid state drive or SSD has no mechanical, moving parts inside and is more comparable to a flash drive, only a flash drive that can read and write data at about 20x faster! Another difference between a standard hard drive and an SSD is the physical size. Standard hard drive are in a 3.5” format (lengthwise) while SSDs are in a 2.5” size, the same as a laptop hard drive.
[pic of standard hard drive and SSD for size comparison]
Because of the speed boost, the capacity of each one varies for the same price. $50 will usually get you a brand new 1 TB (1000 GB) hard drive, but the same price can yield a 120 GB SSD.
EASY OR DIFFICULT
Memory is uber-easy to add or replace. To add memory in a desktop or laptop computer; simply power off the machine, open the case, snap the two notches away, insert the new memory, reassemble and power up. Purchasing the memory take a tiny bit of legwork though, as there are different types (and not just between desktop and laptop).
The fastest way to find out what memory you have is to look up your model of desktop or laptop on the Internet. You can go to the manufacturer's web site and find the model specifications, or you can Google “[manufacturer model] specs”, “[manufacturer model] spec sheet”, or “[manufacturer model] maximum RAM”. So to find the specs on an HP Pavilion p630y I could go to Google and type in:
HP p630y maximum RAM
...and get the information I need.
Dell owners can also go to the Dell website, type in their service tag, and it will take them to the page for their particular model where the RAM type will be shown. Be aware of these factors:
Desktop / Laptop: Desktop memory are known as DIMMs (Dual in-line memory modules, not important to memorize) while laptop memory is smaller and are named SO-DIMMs (small outline dual in-line memory module). You cannot use desktop memory in a laptop and vice-versa.
DDR2 / DDR3: This represents the “generation” of memory used by the computer. DDR3 is faster than DDR2, just as newer DDR4 (primarily used in high-end boards and servers) is faster than DDR3. Each type has a notch in a specific place so that it only can fit in one way inside a memory slot, so you cannot fit DDR3 memory in a DDR2 slot. This information is only essential when shopping for memory, as you want the right type to fit in your machine.
The issue of speed comes into play as well. Some older DDR2 memory is rated at 667 MHz while other DDR 2 memory is rated at 800 Mhz. If the memory slots on your PC only run at up to 667 MHz and you purchase memory rated at 800 MHz, the RAM will still run only at the slower, compatible 667 MHz speed. These same principles for DDR3, DDR4 and other memory technologies.
Server / Non-server: Essential only when shopping for memory online. Server memory chips used a method known as Error-Correcting or Error-Correction (ECC) for critical applications that reply on error-free data. Desktop and laptop memory chips can still function perfectly without error correction and can have the term “Non-ECC” to designate themselves between server and non-server memory. Walk into a Best Buy and they will only have memory for laptops and desktops, not servers.
Number of slots: This is applicable to the number of slots inside your desktop computer, usually 2 or 4 in most instances. The majority of laptops and ultrabooks have two memory slots. Keep in mind that if you have only two slots in your desktop computer, the memory inside may already be taking up one or both of the slots. If both slots are occupied you will have to remove one memory stick and put a larger-capacity memory stick in its place.
Also note that memory works faster when installed in matching pairs. While you can have one 4 GB stick in one slot and one 2 GB stick in another slot, having two 4 GB sticks or two 2 GB sticks of memory work a little bit faster. There are more factors to this in regards to latency and timing, but aren't crucial when you want a quick and easy speed boost.
Maximum Capacity: Each laptop or desktop board has a specific design to it that sets limits as to how many USB ports it can have in addition to the amount of memory that it can address. This is another area where looking up your make and model online for the specs is most helpful. You don't want to purchase 16 GB of memory only to find out your computer will only read up to 8 GB of memory, and 8 GB of RAM is fine in most cases depending on what programs you use.
Windows XP users: If you're still running Windows XP, it's probably time for an upgrade. Windows XP is a 32-bit operating system (OS) and can only address up to 1.5 GB of memory, so an upgrade to 2 GB of memory won't allow your computer to reach its full potential. If you're migrating from XP to a newer operating system, it's probably best to add more memory.
SHOPPING AROUND
So now that you have your make and model down and you know which type of memory you should use, you can start shopping around. Best Buy usually carries the top brands, but if you're not in a rush you can shop online via Amazon and eBay instead. Remember that when shopping in brick-and-mortar stores you get your items faster and have the luxury of a quick turnaround if you have to do a return or exchange. But buying online is cheaper, you have a larger selection, and can still get good coverage and warranties from reputable vendors.
If you shop on eBay, you can type in your computer's model number along with the amount of RAM, with or without the number of sticks. However, the results may show higher prices because the sellers know that the buyer may not be looking around for a cheaper price. Take the example below:
p630y 4GB
“p630y' is the model number listed earlier in the article, and the number immediately before the “GB” indicates the capacity of the memory module. I could add “HP” or “Hewlett Packard”, but sellers only have so much space to work with when making the title for the products they're selling and may not include the manufacturer name. In addition, it's less likely that another manufacturer has another computer by the same name, so you can leave off the name of the manufacturer when doing a search and find more (and cheaper) results.
4GB
This signifies the amount of RAM but can be broken down multiple ways. You may see some listings shown as “2GBx2” or “2x2GB” which comes out to two sticks of 2 GB each (4 GB total). You may find “1x4GB” which equates to one 4 GB stick of memory. Sometimes you'll also see listings as “4x1GB” which means that you'll get four sticks with 1 GB of RAM each. This would be acceptable if you have four memory slots available but not if you have only have two slots available. A large amount of RAM on one stick is more expensive than a smaller amount of RAM on multiple sticks, so two sticks of 2 GB of memory costs less than one stick of 4 GB of memory. This is because the additional sticks require extra memory slots in your computer.
I once purchased an HP 630 laptop that had an AMD processor but needed parts. So I went on eBay and bought another HP 630 laptop which had an Intel processor. Turns out that the two different laptops were a generation apart as one used DDR2 memory while the other used DDR3 memory (which was incompatible). So in order to purchase the right memory and avoid mistakes, be sure to add more details to the eBay search:
2x2GB DDR3
This would show listings for two sticks of 2 GB of memory in the DDR3 format. If you were looking for memory for your laptop or notebook computer you could add “SODIMM” if needed. While you can look at the photo of the memory represented in each auction, some sellers might offer different types available in one listing just as they would offer a phone case for multiple models in one listing.
DOING THE EBAY THING
Ebay is your best bet for the lowest prices. Simply type your search in the search field and press Enter or click on “Search”, as you do not have to select the category quite yet. I recommend searching for Buy It Now auctions in the US and sorting by price: lowest to highest”. You can also select more criteria in the left pane to narrow down your search results, such as buying new vs used, brand name, returns accepted, etc.
Here’s a search I performed for two 4 GB sticks of laptop (SODIMM) memory for DDR3 types:
If you look closely you’ll see that some headings have extra spaces between the “4gb” and 2x” which is perfectly acceptable. The first hit looks pretty promising:
They’re new (other), have a 30-day money back guarantee, and the seller has 100% feedback rating. I can see this item being snatched up pretty quickly based on those specs. Now I’ll do a search on a standard memory stick for 2 GB of memory for both DDR2 and DDR3. Some motherboards support both types and have the notch for insertion in a different place.
The listing highlighted in red indicates in the header that it is server memory. Therefore you want to avoid this (unless you are in need of memory for your server). The listing highlighted in Blue indicates that in the header that it is desktop memory, which is appropriate for most users. Let’s take a closer look:
The header shows information for both DDR2 and DDR3, so which is it? At least the seller is advertising them in pieces, so you can get as many or as few as you’d like, up to the quantity available. Let’s scroll down:
In the item specifics section, it lists the type as DDR3, and a bit over to the right which I highlighted in blue it shows the speed as 10.6 MHz (10600). I’ve purchased memory from eBay sellers lots of times and have seen mistakes made in seller’s listings. If the item looks good and the price is hard to beat, the best thing to do is to reach out the seller asking for clarification on the listing. The last thing a seller wants is a return and bad feedback, so most reputable sellers will make the effort to correct any mistakes.
After you purchase the memory and receive it, now is when the rubber meets the road:
INSTALLATION - DESKTOP
The first sequence of steps is to power off the machine and then open the case. After powering off the computer, disconnect any cords or cables attached to the machine then place it in an easy-to-view location. Your computer's case will have either the left or right panel come off. Sometimes it is held in by one or two screws, but on others you have to remove all the screws on the back of the case. Once the screws are removed, remove the panel and look inside. Here is an overhead view of my motherboard with the cooler, video card, and cables removed:
[pic of overehead view of mobo]
1. CPU in socket
2. RAM (memory) slots - two occupied, two unoccupied
3. Power Supply Mains (from the power supply)
4. SATA Ports (for hard drives, DVD drive)
5. Southbridge controller
6. Front panel ports (connects to USB ports and others)
7. Mini PCI-Express slots
8. PCI-Express slots (for video cards)
9. Rear panel ports
10. P4 connector (from power supply)
In the above example, my motherboard has four slots, and two of these slots are occupied by RAM sticks / RAM modules. Now look at the photo below:
After you purchase the memory and receive it, now is when the rubber meets the road:
INSTALLATION - DESKTOP
The first sequence of steps is to power off the machine and then open the case. After powering off the computer, disconnect any cords or cables attached to the machine then place it in an easy-to-view location. Your computer's case will have either the left or right panel come off. Sometimes it is held in by one or two screws, but on others you have to remove all the screws on the back of the case. Once the screws are removed, remove the panel and look inside. Here is an overhead view of my motherboard with the cooler, video card, and cables removed:
[pic of overehead view of mobo]
1. CPU in socket
2. RAM (memory) slots - two occupied, two unoccupied
3. Power Supply Mains (from the power supply)
4. SATA Ports (for hard drives, DVD drive)
5. Southbridge controller
6. Front panel ports (connects to USB ports and others)
7. Mini PCI-Express slots
8. PCI-Express slots (for video cards)
9. Rear panel ports
10. P4 connector (from power supply)
In the above example, my motherboard has four slots, and two of these slots are occupied by RAM sticks / RAM modules. Now look at the photo below:
In the green highlighted area to the upper right of the photo you can see numbers in the labels DDR3_1 through DDR3_4. The last number indicates the order in which the RAM should be inserted (1-2-3-4). Each slot also has a tab on each side to secure the RAM. To pop out a module, press down fully on one tab on one side, then press down fully on one tab on the other side. The force should "pop" out the module. To reinsert it, make sure each tab for the slot is fully spread out. Then using both hands, eye-up the RAM stick and ensure the notch in the stick lines up with the notch in the slot, then press down on the stick until the tabs collapse inwards locking the module in place. If for some reason the notch in the stick doesnt line up with the notch in the slot, either the stick is in the wrong slot (if it supports multiple RAM types of DDR2, DDR3 and DDR4), or you bought the wrong type of RAM.