Upgrading help

[desiboi]

RAM Increase Speed

I have 256 MB of SDRAM PC133 DIMM 168. 8 MB is shared with my integrated video. My computer takes about 5 minutes to load, and I want to buy some more memory. So if I buy a stick of 512 MB, how fast will it be? Will I notice it?
I use about 45% of my harddrive space. And I'm also thinking of buying a PowerColor ATI Radeon 9250 PCI, because I have no AGP slot. Is this one of the best PCI video cards out? (not pci-e). And where can I get all this under 250 bux?

 

[YanBooth]

This vid card:http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-434&depa=0

You are on your own with the RAM, anyone else know?

 

[synergy]

You will have to check and see how much and what kind of RAM your mobo can handle. You might not be able to put that much in. I had an old Intel board that had 64 MB in it. I put a 256 stick in and it ran fine. When I came across another 256 stick I put it in place of my 64 stick and it had major conflicts. It all depends on what you mobo can handle.

 

[desiboi]

lol itz not dat old i noe how much it kan handle 1 GB.

 

[Trotter]

Check to see what type of RAM you need. It should be in the documentation that came with your computer.

If you don't have that, go to www.crucial.com and use their memory upgrade finder. It will guide you through the process and tell you what you need. Then go to NewEgg and get it cheaper.

512MB will give you a nice boost. Pick up this months copy of PC World for a couple of great articles on optimizing Windows and speeding it up.

 

[dhw200]

about the Radeon 9250 256MB, its a decent card considering. i was in the same boat, what with PCI slots only. I can play Far Cry on lowest settings (and it still looks great), on a P4 2.4ghz w/ 512 RAM. havent tried Doom 3 or HL2 though.

 

[desiboi]

the crucial site iz for pc made by companies. i went dere, it doesnt detect it. i have a mx of 1024, it sayz 2048. it says i have a GANxxxx. i have a GA-6VEM. lol whuz up wit dat

 

[emeraldice]

Whoa...i have a question. Do you need a special slot of PCIe? doesn't PCIe cards run on a normal PCI slot

The RAM will make a noticable difference. But your comp taking 5 min to load...that's something else I think. The ram might help, but to make your HD load faster Defragment it. My computer>Right click on a drive>properties>Tools>defragment. It might take awhile, like overnight, but it'll make your comp start up faster i think.

 

[dhw200]

If only PCI and PCI-E were compatible...it would be a dream come true

Unfortunately, they arent. PCI cards wont work in a PCI-E slot and visa-versa

I could be wrong, but I'm almost positive.

 

[desiboi]

lol i wuz being sarcasticabout da 5 minz it olnly takes 2 minz. i defrag with diskeepr 9 everynite. lol i have a 80 gig harddrive im using 28 gigz