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Frequently Asked Questions
What if I don't know my computer/motherboard brand and model, and how do I find out the type of memory I have in my computer currently? For Windows: Right mouse-click on the "My Computer" icon and select "Properties." The total memory is calculated and displayed under the "General" tab in the system properties window. There are 2 programs that can help you find out more specific information about your computer. Program 1: CPU-Z
1. Download CPU-Z from our website. Program 2: Belarc System Advisor 1. Download Belarc System Advisor from the Belarc website. For Mac: Click "About This Mac" or "About This Computer" from the Apple menu. (Far top left of the screen). This will provide information about your Mac's total memory (built-in memory plus DIMMs or SIMMs installed). Can't find your model of computer on our website? You still may be able to upgrade your computer. Complete our Memory Upgrade Enquiry Form and we'll get back to you within 6 business hours. Back to the topWill adding more memory make my computer go faster? Adding more memory to your computer is often the most cost-effective and convenient way to give your computer a significant performance boost. Many computers are sold with a minimum amount of RAM installed, and installing extra RAM can help your computer boot faster, load applications faster and enable you to have more open at the same time, and work with images and videos significantly faster. For Windows XP, we recommend a minimum of 1GB of RAM be installed, and 2GB if you always have a lot of applications open. For Windows Vista, our minimum recommendation is 2GB, and 4GB if you are a power user. If you play modern 3D computer games, we recommend installing the maximum amount of RAM that you can afford. Back to the top How much memory do I need for Windows Vista? Microsoft has created two classifications to help ascertain if your computer is capable of running Windows Vista: Vista Capable and Vista Premium Ready. Vista Capable pc's need to have a minimum 800 Mhz CPU, 512MB of system memory, a 20GB hard drive with at least 15GB of free space, and a DirectX 9 class graphics card. A computer that meets these requirements will be able to run all versions of Windows Vista but you may not have access to the transparencies, glass effects and other special features of the new Windows Aero user interface without upgrading your graphics hardware. Since most stores will be selling the DVD version of Windows Vista, it's also advisable to have a DVD-ROM drive installed, although Microsoft state that a CD-ROM version will be available. Vista Premium Ready pc's will require at least a 1Ghz CPU, 1GB of system memory, a 40GB hard drive with at least 15GB of free space, and an Aero-compatible graphics card which supports the new Windows Display Driver Model with at least 128mb of onboard memory. A computer that meets these requirements will be able to take advantage of the "high end" features of Windows Vista and generally make for a more pleasant experience with transparencies, window animations, and other eye candy. Microsoft offer the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor from their website to help determine if your pc is capable of running the various versions of Vista. This utility will only work on a pc running Windows XP or Windows Vista.These are the "official" minimum requirements, but let's get real for a moment about what hardware you are really going to need to have a satisfying experience using Windows Vista. We've upgraded literally thousands of computers over the last few years, and we couldn't recommend Windows Vista to anyone with a pc running a CPU slower than 1GHz. With a CPU this slow, it's very likely that the maximum amount of memory your pc can handle is going to be 1GB (especially with notebooks). Our recommendation is to stick with Windows XP and upgrade to at least 1GB of system memory and enjoy the experience, or look at buying a new computer with Vista pre-installed. If your PC has at least a 1Ghz CPU then by all means install Windows Vista, but don't mess around with recommended 512mb of RAM. Consider 1GB of RAM as the absolute minimum, and 2GB as the sweet spot. If you're a power user, then we recommend you seriously consider 4GB of installed RAM as a target for the maximum experience, but only if you have a modern CPU (Core Duo 1.8Ghz equivalent or higher) and graphics card (256mb on-board ram or higher). With the arrival of Windows Vista some say that Microsoft has caught up to, or even exceeded Apple in the user interface experience department, but the hardware requirements are certainly steep. As with Windows XP and most other windows-based operating systems, installing a good amount of system memory is going to give you a pleasant experience and ultimately extend the useful life of your computer. Back to the top Your site doesn't list my model of computer, can I still upgrade it? Try the complete listing first. You might have missed it. Will installing a Kingston upgrade from RamCity affect my original manufacturer warranty? One of the most common concerns people have when adding third party memory is whether it will void their system warranty. What do the different Flash Memory, DDR, DDR2, DDR3 and RDRAM speeds mean? DDR is running at 100Mhz, 133Mhz, 166Mhz, 200Mhz, 233Mhz, or 266Mhz. What makes this separate from the older types of SDRAM (PC100, PC133) is that DDR can transfer memory on both the rise and the fall of a clock cycle. So, essentially, you are getting 200Mhz, 266Mhz, 333Mhz, 400Mhz, 466Mhz, or 533Mhz respectively. DDR2 is running at 266Mhz, 337Mhz, 375Mhz, 400Mhz, and 450Mhz. So, essentially, you are getting 533Mhz, 675Mhz, 750Mhz, 800Mhz, and 900Mhz respectively. DDR3 is running at 533Mhz, 666Mhz, and 800Mhz which provides a total speed of 1066Mhz, 1333Mhz, and 1600Mhz. With the introduction of competing DDR SDRAM memory, the DDR standards groups turned against the standard clock speed naming schemes such as PC100 and PC133 used for the older SDRAM modules, and instead named their parts by the amount of peak bandwidth they could utilize. For example, a 200 MHz DDR module wasn't called DDR-200, rather was called PC-1600, as the module could operate at 1.6 GB/s. Of course, the follow-ups like PC-2100 (2.1 GB/s), and PC-2700 (2.7 GB/s) followed and gave the impression that DDR SDRAM was faster than current RDRAM memory was. As PC-1600 DDR memory was coming out at roughly the same time PC-800 RDRAM was, people immediately started to think, PC-1600 is faster. However, this is not the case. So, DDR is most likely going to be known as PC1600 (200Mhz), PC2100 (266Mhz), PC2700 (333Mhz), PC3200 (400Mhz), PC3700 (466Mhz), and PC4200 (533Mhz), whilst DDR2 is going to be known as PC2-4300 (533Mhz), PC2-5400 (675Mhz), PC2-6000 (750Mhz), PC2-6400 (800Mhz), PC2-7200 (900Mhz), PC2-8000 (1000Mhz), or PC2-8500 (1066Mhz) as it correlates to the peak bandwidth potential. RDRAM or RAMBUS Ram up until a few years ago didn't have the same dual-data-rate features as DDR so was named according to the speed it ran at. So, essentially, PC600 RDRAM runs at 600Mhz, PC800 at 800Mhz, and PC1066 at 1066Mhz. Because each standard RDRAM module has only a single 16-bit channel, the modules have to be installed in pairs to achieve the same bandwidth transfer rates as DDR or DDR-2 ram. Due to the DDR naming conventions, Rambus had to alter their naming conventions to stay in line as well. In 2002 they introduced RIMM-4200, which is a dual channel PC-1066 memory stick, and can provide peak bandwidth of 4.2 GB/s. There is also a dual channel version of PC-800, which is dubbed RIMM-3200 (3.2 GB/s). So far there have been very few motherboards released to accept this new RIMM technology.
Flash Memory, (including USB Drives, CF Cards, SD Cards, and other types) is often labelled with a speed of 10x, 45x, 133x, etc. Typically this figure is worked out by dividing the maximum write speed in bits per second by 150. The latter figure represents the old standard 1x CD-ROM drive write speed - being 150 bits/sec or 1x. Therefore if a flash card is listed with a speed of 50x, then the maximum write speed in ideal conditions is going to be about 7500 bits per second, or around 7.5 Mbits per second. To complicate matters further, a new type of flash memory card was introduced, termed "High Capacity". Presently these cards have speed classified as "Class 2" (2 MB/sec minimum data transfer rate), "Class 4" (4 MB/sec minimum data transfer rate), or "Class 6" (6 MB/sec minimum data transfer rate). Already some manufacturers have started introducing their own write speed specification (such as 133x, or 20MB/s) to indicate that their High Capacity cards perform much better than the minimum standard. Back to the topMy computer or motherboard accepts two or more different speeds of memory (ex: PC2100, PC2700, and PC3200), which one should I buy? First, we recommend reading any notes on our website pertaining to your computer or motherboard. Sometimes there are specific rules regarding mixing memory speeds. In general however, you should choose the fastest speed available for your system. This is because memory in the same series (such as SDRAM, DDR, DDR2, DDR3) is designed to be downward compatible. This means that:
*Please note* An exception to this rule relates to RDRAM or RAMBUS speeds. These cannot be mixed and you should always match modules with the same speed together. Back to the topIs this upgrade compatible with my existing memory? Yes! All memory upgrades sold by RamCity are guaranteed to work with existing memory modules, providing that you have not already reached the maximum memory possible, and the module is the correct size. If you can't find your system or motherboard model in the All Manufacturers section of our website then please complete our Upgrade Enquiry Form so that we can assist you further. Back to the top |
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