Computer Repair
 

Computer Memory Upgrade

How much of a computer memory upgrade do you need?

The answer will very much depend on a number of deciding factors but the principal questions should be

What is the age of your computer, Pc or laptop?

What do you actually use it for?



Free Computer Memory Scan

The first thing it would be best to do is to have a computer memory scan. These are free and a memory scan will enable you to see quickly exactly what type of memory is used in your computer no matter if it is a desktop or laptop system.

Another good thing about a memory scan is it will recommend and guarantee a match for your system and in addition will let you have the price of your memory upgrade so you can see straight away how in-expensive a memory upgrade really is.

Free Memory Advisor System Scan for UK Visitors

 

Free Crucial Memory Scan for US Visitors 

Crucial Memory Selector

 

Computer Memory Upgrades - Free Memory Advisor Scan

How To Install Computer Memory Video

Computer Memory Upgrades For Older Computers

Generally speaking, if your computer is more than 4 - 5 years old then a computer memory upgrade may be a waste of money unless you can get some used older memory at a sensible price from somewhere like the The Computer Part Store for example.

Computer Memory UpgradeOlder computer memory is often more expensive when bought new as there is less demand, and equally older machines tend to still be running on older operating systems that are less memory hungry. You can find out what memory your computer uses by doing a memory scan.

If your system is younger however, then a computer memory upgrade most certainly will give you a very worthwhile boost in performance.

Historically a high percentage of Pc's have been sold by vendors in the past with barely enough memory to run the system efficently, this is often done to keep the price point low or to make the computer look like good value for money.

Free Memory Advisor ScanThe problem with this strategy is the average consumer just doesn't realise how a system works and don't realise how important a computer memory upgrade is (and why should they?) so they don't get drawn into paying for extra memory or don't realise it is neccessary. As a result they end up with a slow computer

Memory Needed For Running Additional Programs

As soon as they start adding background programs (anti-virus etc.) when they get home or later and/ or start using multiple programs, Physical memory usage goes up and is exceeded causing the computer to use virtual memory on the hard disk which is massively slower

For most systems a memory upgrade that adds or doubles the exisiting system memory is an exceptionally cost effective way of increasing the performance of your computer system and extending its life into the bargain.

So How Much Memory Do You Really Need?

Computer Performance Memory UpgradeThe answer very much depends on the age of your machine and the use to which you put it to so to help you decide we have included a handy matrix below.

Have a look at the matrix and decide what category best fits your daily computer use and remember sometimes a larger memory module will be cheaper than buying two smaller modules.

The bottom line is that adding memory makes your computer more efficient and allows you to do more things at once.

Computer Memory Upgrade Matrix 

What do you do: Here's what you need:
Minor Administrative
Some word processing, occasional e-mail
384MB – 512MB
Fair Administrative
Word processing and e-mail, spreadsheets, fax and communication software, simple graphics programs, two applications open at once
384MB – 512MB
Intense Administrative/Student
Word processing and e-mail, spreadsheets, fax and communication business graphics, general gaming software, three or more applications open at once
384MB – 512MB
Executive/Management
Word processing and e-mail, spreadsheets, fax and communication software, presentation software, illustration software, photo editing, Web browser
512MB – 1GB
Professional and Gamer
Word processing and e-mail, photo editing, font packages and multimedia software, CAD software, CAM software, gaming
1GB – 2GB
Heavy Graphics Design
3-D CAD software, modeling software
2GB and up


Whilst the above matrix gives a good guide our own personal rule is generally Windows XP 1GB Minimum and for Windows Vista 2GB Minimum providing your machine is capable of taking this amount of memory.

A Computer memory upgrade is relatively inexpensive and this simple computer upgrade in a majority of cases will give your system a welcome boost.

Recommended Computer Memory Upgrade Supplier

If you are comfortable conducting your own memory upgrade then we can highly recommend Crucial as our Computer memory upgrade supplier of choice.

To help make life nice and simple they even offer a Free Diagnosis & System Scan to ensure that any memory upgrade you order is 100% guaranteed and it also comes with free shipping.

Crucial Computer Memory

Crucial awarded the Best Memory Manufacturer in Personal Computer World, January 2007

Crucial is a division of Micron, one of the largest DRAM and flash manufacturers in the world and carries more than 110,000 memory upgrades for more than 20,000 desktops, notebooks, servers, and printers. As well as Flash memory cards, High-performance Ballistix™ gaming memory, and graphics cards so we consider them the best choice for your computer memory upgrades (and more). 

If you are not comfortable conducting your own computer memory upgrade then contact your local computer repair professional near you by selecting your local area from the links provided.

Computer Memory Upgrade - Computer Memory Scan - Memory Upgrade

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