Need RAM help

[nikanj]

Hi,

I have a P4 3Ghz PC with 512Mb Ram. I mainly use my machine for web, but also some photoshop and dreamweaver and similar programs. I do absolutely no gaming. Will another 512Mb ram give me a significant, or at least a noticeable improvement?

Also, my current ram says:

"512MB UNB PC3200 CL3"

What type of ram can I add to this? What type of ram SHOULD I add to this? I really know very little about ram. Can I use DDR, what do the UNB, PC3200 and CL3 mean? What should I be looking for when shopping for ram?

Thanks in advance.

 

[b1gapl]

Yes definitely get more RAM....more RAM is a must especially if you're doing photoshop and editing programs. Your's says PC3200, thats probably DDR. PC3200 is the speed of the RAM and CL3 is the latency of the RAM. I don't know what UNB means.....possibly brand? I would sell that stick and get 2x512mb or even better 2x1gb.

 

[aliasaid]

yes, another 512 will help.

yes you will have to use DDR ram.

UNB = donno
PC3200 = speed of ram, which is DDR400
CL3 = cas latency, your new ram doesn't have to have the same latency, but it is better to get ram that is the same.

edit: bigpal beat me to it!

 

[Syrillian]

Ditto to aliasaid,

In addition another 512MB (2 x 512MB) in Dual-Channel mode will yield faster transfer rates, just make sure you use the appropriate slots. For the most part ATX boards will have 4, 184-pin DIMM slots and Mirco-ATX boards will have only 2. Discern which one you have.

Remember, try to add memory with the same timings. You can verify your timings with CPUz, Everest or SIW. An online search will direct you to the appropriate sites.

Good Luck!