Upgrading RAM

[Mikkilla]

Hey guys, I'm new to the whole upgrade your own computer without "professionals" scene. So, Im getting a new computer, but I also want to upgrade the RAM in my current computer..I have 1GB right now..so I did the unthinkable and opened the case. I located the RAM slots ontop of motherboard...I have researched this a bit but here's a few questions..

There are 2 slots that are perpendicular to the motherboard, and 2 that are like 30 degrees from it. What are the differences between these? And at the moment, there is one that is perp. and one that is on one of the 30 degree ones. What's the difference? I think they are both 512 MB sticks..so I was wondering if I could stick a 1GB ram in that one that runs perp to the motherboard even though I have 512 sticks now? Can anyone give me some step by step instructions and what kind of ram?

 

[eyeCpc]

Sounds like one dimm is a single sided dimm while the first you mention is dual sided. First you would have to post the make and model board here for a look at the specifications to see just what memory as far as speed and type are supported.

Your description seems to point at a board that runs two different types such as DDR and DDR2 memory. You can't mix those together or single sided with dual sided(IC chips on both sides of a dimm) dimms(dual inline memory modules).

 

[aspire]

Pictures needed...

 

[Mikkilla]

Ok well my computer is registering 1 GB of ram, and one of the sticks is in the slanted and one is in the perp. So it seems like thats working. So my older computer (what im on now) is a Dell XPS Gen 2..so I went to crucial.com and looked it up and came up with this.

2GB kit (1GBx2)
DDR2 PC2-4200

So can I put one in the slanted and one in the perp? (1gb sticks)

 

[Mikkilla]

Actually I think this is the kind I should be using..it actually says gen 2 instead of 200 or whatever..

Buy Dell Dimension XPS Gen 2 RAM Upgrades from PC Memory Store

"If a system has more than 1 socket in a bank, a Kit must be purchased for that bank."

Crap, so that means I have to buy all new RAM and get rid of the older?

 

[aspire]

Like I said before, pictures are needed...

 

[eyeCpc]

What would be needed is the model number for the model desktop? laptop? there for a look at the system specifications. First you are pointing at DDR2 then DDR memory.

Another quick way to find out would be to simply download a free System Info for Windows tool and simply double click on the executable file. That will provide a complete breakdown on just about anything including the type of memory it runs. SIW | System Information for Windows

That will show the size of each dimm along with the speed.