XP & Memory

[ep2002]

Hi,

So I wanted to upgrade to 4 GB of memory & after talking to 3 different guys at Best Buy & getting all different answers & mistakes <sigh>, I decided to ask people & see what the majority says.

I do remember hearing several times in the past that anything more than 2 GB is worthless on a computer.

The last guy said b/c I'm on XP, even if I upgraded to 4 it wouldn't matter. It's DDR2. He said the computer will only fly if it's 4 & on Vista or 7.

I hope a real geek is out there to help

Thanks


Michelle

 

[j0elr0xx0rz]

U need a 64-bit version of XP for it to recognize the 4GB. I run XP in a virtual machine (Vbox) and dedicated only 1GB to XP. My old rig which had XP Pro had 2 gb of memory, and it ran decently, considering that I used it for gaming 2gb should be sufficient for XP unless you are using something like Adobe CS or running virtual machines...stuff like that. I would look into a cpu upgrade, or possibly a whole-system upgrade...what is ur cpu specs, if u don't mind my asking?

 

[ep2002]

Hmm, how do I see if it's 64? Never mind, I can see from the SS that it's 32 bit.

I wish I could upgrade, but I can't budget that out right now & just the thought of putting everything back gives me nightmares. I run my business from this computer, so I do have a lot of stuff open, but not CS. I'm not a designer, I'm an entrepreneur.

Don't do gaming either.

I actually have serious problems with my computer that no spy/maleware or virus scanner (both internal & online) is picking up. We are swapping the modem tomorrow to see if that's what's causing huge spikes in uploads, but I have a feeling that's not the issue as I know my baby & she's been acting up for months now.

I've been looking for a die hard geek for a while to remote troubleshoot the problem, but haven't found anyone yet since most people think or lie about what they know & they know nothing. My ISP is going to send me some recommendations.

I hope this is accurate b/c the software I used to read the hardware is saying the RAM is 333 MHz & I was told 2 times that it should be 500 something.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 @ 2.13 GHz Conroe 65nm

ASUSTek P5N-E SLI (Socket 775)

SyncMaster@1280x960

128MB ASUS Extreme AX300 Series

195 GB Seagate SATA (but there's no raid system in there naymore. One of the HDs caused problems in the previous computer, so I just said screw it & kept one.

Audio - Realteck High Def

Thanks a ton


Michelle

 

[sniperviper21]

Hmm, how do I see if it's 64? Never mind, I can see from the SS that it's 32 bit.

I wish I could upgrade, but I can't budget that out right now & just the thought of putting everything back gives me nightmares. I run my business from this computer, so I do have a lot of stuff open, but not CS. I'm not a designer, I'm an entrepreneur. Save up and then just build or buy new.

Don't do gaming either.

I actually have serious problems with my computer that no spy/maleware or virus scanner (both internal & online) is picking up. We are swapping the modem tomorrow to see if that's what's causing huge spikes in uploads, but I have a feeling that's not the issue as I know my baby & she's been acting up for months now. http://www.free-av.com/ try that anti virus.

I've been looking for a die hard geek for a while to remote troubleshoot the problem, but haven't found anyone yet since most people think or lie about what they know & they know nothing. My ISP is going to send me some recommendations.
CF is where the geeks are lol. though i prefure the term Technician or Specialist. Geek is degrading lol

I hope this is accurate b/c the software I used to read the hardware is saying the RAM is 333 MHz & I was told 2 times that it should be 500 something. if your RAM is DDR2 its 666Mhz speed ram, as you double the number

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 @ 2.13 GHz Conroe 65nm

ASUSTek P5N-E SLI (Socket 775)

SyncMaster@1280x960

128MB ASUS Extreme AX300 Series

195 GB Seagate SATA (but there's no raid system in there naymore. One of the HDs caused problems in the previous computer, so I just said screw it & kept one.

Audio - Realteck High Def

Thanks a ton


Michelle

But long story short, you cant use any more then 3GB of RAM on your windows XP 32 bit edition. it just is not programed to properly use the 4 Gigs.

and who ever said anything over 2 Gigs is uselless needs bitch slapped.


Also, heres a Pro tip.

Best Buy employees dont know jack, and if they do, they wolnt be honest with you. they just want you to buy there products with any line of bullshit that they can fool you with.

 

[Remeniz]

Oh Best Buy fail!

You can quite happily stick 4GB RAM in your machine but it will only use about 3GB-3.5GB. So 2 X 2GB sticks is perfect and will allow you to run multiple programs more easier. Also your board supports DDR2 800Mhz RAM. Overall it's not a bad set up.

So pop in some decent DDR2 800Mhz (PC2-6400) RAM. Also if you can find a Q6600 CPU it'll make a nice machine that should last a while.

 

[ep2002]

To everyone...

Well it was the 3rd guy who told me not to bother, so I wanted to get other opinions.

So now that I know I can get more memory, they have 4 GB (Lexmar) on sale for $99. One guy told me it's average in quality, the last guy told me it's pretty good.

Then they have PNY 523 MB that's over $120 (I think, I forgot to write it down). I'd prefer to go w/ Lexmar for obvious reasons & I still have to pay them to install it, but what are your opinions?

Ok, here is where my ignorance shows as I'm more a software than hardware person. The CPU is the MB or part of it?

But if I replace that, don't the other components have to be compatible which means I'd have to replace a lot more?

Thanks a ton everyone


Michelle

 

[Remeniz]

So now that I know I can get more memory, they have 4 GB (Lexmar) on sale for $99. One guy told me it's average in quality, the last guy told me it's pretty good.

I'm not sure about Lexmar but 4GB what ever RAM it is will be fine.

Then they have PNY 523 MB that's over $120 (I think, I forgot to write it down). I'd prefer to go w/ Lexmar for obvious reasons & I still have to pay them to install it, but what are your opinions?

Is this RAM? 523(?)MB is far too small.

Ok, here is where my ignorance shows as I'm more a software than hardware person. The CPU is the MB or part of it?

But if I replace that, don't the other components have to be compatible which means I'd have to replace a lot more?

The CPU is another part of the computer. I was just throwing an idea out there though and to be fair the CPU your running, Intel Core 2 Duo E6400, is fine if your just doing basic work on the machine.

See how much they charge to put the RAM in for you. If it's too much let us know and we can help you do it. It takes 2 minutes.

 

[setishock]

I run PNY in my lappy and in my HTPC rig. I've had no memory related problems with either system. And the bang for the buck ratio is not too shabby.
As for the others stating XP won't read past 3.5gig is accurate. 32bit for under 4gig and 64bit for 4 gig and over.

 

[ep2002]

Sorry, that was the speed of the memory.

I'm having them put in it, I don't want to take any chances.

Thanks


Michelle

 

[ep2002]

What a nightmare. After calling 3 different times to get pricing on the memory b/c I kept getting different answers & pricing, I went finally made it in today thinking all my research was done & everything would go smoothly, but it didn't.

Turns out the PNY memory was NOT for desktops, it must have been for laptops b/c they was nothing there when I went in & the guy yesterday told me there were several.

AND the Geek Sh*t guy brought me Kingston memory which was never mentioned to me at all which is why I never mentioned it in this thread.

So I had a choice between Lexar & Kingston & I didn't know which was better, so I just went w/ the Kingston b/c it it was slightly cheaper & of course I know the name.

When I asked what the speed was, they told me they didn't know. How can a package not tell you what the speed is? You have to open it just to see the speed? That's ridiculous.

So my question now is this.

I can't remember who I was talking to last week, but he was telling me that it was impossible that my DDR2 RAM was 333, so we thought the software (speccy) wasn't reading my computer right.

What the Geek squad guy said was that the speed that's on the package doesn't matter b/c it depends on the processor speed, so when I got home & ran speccy again, it only raised it to 400 or something like that even though the memory is 1,000 something (the receipt told me).

So I'm beginning to believe the Geek guy even though he was a blank giving me attitude.

They even had the nerve to tell me I should have called them for pricing, not the bloody guys who work in THAT dept. I can't believe how inept Best Buy is. I can't trust anything they say or do over there.

I'm disappointed that whoever was talking to me about the DDR & telling me 333 couldn't be right didn't figure out what was going on. I hate it when people think they know what they are talking about & don't, & then miseducate me.

So my question is, was the Geek guy correct? It doesn't matter what the speed of the memory is, what Speccy is giving me is the speed my computer is calculating the memory at?

Thanks


Michelle