I just bought a computer system which has 512M of RAM and had option for free upgrade tp 1G. The sales guy told me I would be better off with the 512Mb as the 1 Gb he said was slower memory and unless I was going to have over 8 applications open at once, that the 512 Mb would be faster. Is this possible?
2006-12-21 16:01:10 · 8 answers · asked by GORD P 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
Answers are missing point. Cost for upgrade = $0
512 mb = ddr2
1gm = older type (what ever that is, can't remember what he said)
Also, additional free upgrades he talked me out of but made sense:
2.8 ghz upgraded to 3.2 ghz CPU.
Apearently 3.2 was single processor where as the 2.8 was dual core. Opted to keep the dual 2.8 ghz.
Also, 250 gb hard drive upgraded to 500 gb. Again, he said 250 gb was 7200 rpm and 500 gb was 5600 rpm and would be better off with faster hd. The ram was what I thought mother board determines speed and was just yes or no whether ram could no have errors. From what I'm reading here the newer RAM SIMMS seem to have intelligence and tell mother board how fast to treat them. Man, new technologies change so fast. Please advise if I are been rooked or not. I thing sales guy was probably correct as he seemed to know what he was talking about and I am technical myself but technologies change so fast. Never knew RAM had intelligence to tell PC how fast to treat.
2006-12-21 17:20:06 · update #1
No, he scammed you.
While it's possible that they would have given you slower RAM, more would definitely be better.
2006-12-21 16:03:05 · answer #1 · answered by Che jrw 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ok don't listen to these idiots.
I build computers and I will explain it.
My computer needs a type of RAM that is "DDR PC3200." I have 1gb myself and it's faster than the same "PC 3200" 512mb ram. Now, if the 1gb was "PC 2400" and the 512mb was "PC3200," then the 512 would be faster for single threaded apps like 1 or 2 things running.
If you know how to use RAM dividers with A64 systems, then speeds don't really matter, but it get's very complicated and you wouldn't want to have 1.5gb RAM.
You need to keep it "normal"--128, 256, 512, 1gb, 2gb, etc.
384mb is possible, but not that smart as curruptions on the Hard disk can happen.
Another way to make the RAM faster, is to run it in "Dual Channal." This means if you have 1gb of memory, you use 2x512mb sticks in 2 slots. This allows it to run much faster. It is always going to be your total ram, divided by 2.
Here is a chart:
1gb- 2x512
512- 2x256
256- 2x128
When you go to upgrade this, it can be more costly...
So he may have been saying that the ram was going to be of slower speed. If it was the same speed i.e. pc3200, then if will not slow it down. More ram does NOT mean slower computing--otherwise my 1995 NEC would be faster then my 2006 gaming pc (32mb ram vs 1gb soon 2gb).
2006-12-21 16:14:05 · answer #2 · answered by emoguy43 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
More memory is the best bet depending on what you are doing with the PC. If you use your PC for daily applications like surfing the internet, word processing and email. Then the speed wouldn't be much of a factor and having more memory would be best. If you are a hard core gamer then speed and more memory would be recommended. 512 RAM now is good, but you would be better off with at least 1gig of RAM regardless of the speed.
If your PC runs out of memory. It will start to use your harddrive as memory (call Virtual Memory) which is a bad thing. System will start to drag and it is bad for the harddrive too. The more apps you run at a time the more memory is being used. So, with this said. More is better always! Speed is second Choice. Hope that helps.
Oh, one more thing. A single stick of 1gig RAM is faster than having 2 sticks of 512MB RAM.
2006-12-21 16:40:55 · answer #3 · answered by Neo_AZ24 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have a lot of input here. RAM is variable. Your 400 MHz ram could be running at 320 MHz and you would never know it. 512 meg is good if your not into a huge amount of graphics. Some games require 1 gig (twice as much as the 512) to run properly but such games usually require very fast video cards and a processor to match. I have been working with computers for almost 30 years and have done some really stupid things to try to get more performance. Your RAM speed will probably not affect your overall speed at all. I would go for the 1 gig but only because it is worth more.
2006-12-21 17:08:24 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, RAM can have variable speeds... whether you are better off with 512 over 1gb is questionable... i guess in the short-term, with the state of current software's demand on a system, it's fine, Long term, not really good to have less. Luckily RAM is relatively cheap and easy to install... so upgrading will be easy.
2006-12-21 16:04:46 · answer #5 · answered by Butka 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not very likely at all.
Keep in mind there are different speeds for RAM, but that's usually negligable to most users.
One of the first and best upgrades to any current system would be to add more RAM.
If you are talking about using the exact same RAM modules, 1GB is always better than 512MB.
I'd suggest speaking with another salesperson.
2006-12-21 16:06:48 · answer #6 · answered by cSc 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO, more RAM is always better!!!! It just depends on the speed of the RAM. DDR2 SDRAM is the fastest type of RAM out right now. I've 1GB of PC3200 DDR RAM, it is pretty good for anything.
2006-12-21 16:14:34 · answer #7 · answered by Sean S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no yar...
its like this...
put one more 512 on your machine
so that it can work good
and dnt add 1 gb on whole
so that it ll be of 1.5 gb
its not needed
so buy one 512 mb and fix up with the existing one
2006-12-21 16:04:22 · answer #8 · answered by sweetraskels 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋