{"id":5264,"date":"2008-05-14T14:33:34","date_gmt":"2008-05-14T13:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onsoftware.en.softonic.com\/5-steps-to-upgrade-your-ram\/"},"modified":"2025-07-02T02:31:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T09:31:16","slug":"5-steps-to-upgrade-your-ram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/5-steps-to-upgrade-your-ram\/","title":{"rendered":"5 steps to upgrade your RAM"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RAM\"Upgrading your RAM is one of the best ways to speed up an old laptop. As applications get bigger and the number of programs you install increase, the demands on your RAM also increase. Add to that graphics-heavy online applications such as Google Earth<\/a> and those exciting Web 2.0 apps and you can see why having enough RAM is essential for smooth functioning of your PC.<\/p>\n

Nowadays, if you’re running on anything less than 512MB RAM then God help you – you must be suffering some awfully slow PC usage. However, even 512MB is not really enough nowadays – you’ll need to double it to get the most out of your PC but before you do anything, you’ll need to know exactly what type of RAM your laptop or PC uses. Here is a 5 point plan for upgrading your RAM:<\/p>\n

1. Check whether you have any RAM slots free<\/strong> – You should check your manual to find where your expansion slots are – in the case of laptops, they are usually on the bottom of the machine. You should find between two and eight same-sized parallel sockets on the main circuit board.<\/p>\n

2. Check whether your RAM is parity or non-parity<\/strong> – Determines whether a random access memory unit stores a parity bit for error detection purposes.<\/p>\n

3. Find out the speed of the RAM you currently have<\/strong> (in nanoseconds) – Buying RAM of the wrong speed will conflict with your current RAM and not work.<\/p>\n

4. Check what type of modules your PC uses<\/strong> These will be either Single In-Line Memory Modules (SIMM’s) or Dual In-Line Memory Modules (DIMM’s) – There’s only a subtle variation in how they look but buying the wrong one means it simply won’t fit in the slot!<\/p>\n

5. Check the number of pins on your motherboard<\/strong> – This should be 30, 72 or 168. Use this<\/a> motherboard-RAM guide to see which RAM is compatible with your motherboard.<\/p>\n

Once you’ve established all this information, it’s time to head to your local PC dealer or buy the RAM chips online<\/a>. Remember that once opened, it’s very hard to return components such as RAM. If you’re unable to ascertain any of the above data, then it’s better for you to take you laptop to your dealer. However, if you purchase online, usually they will specify the exact RAM you need based on your laptop or PC model so you should have no problems.<\/p>\n

Upgrading RAM is one of the most effective and easy ways to speed up your PC and even better, it’s not very expensive. I just checked-out an additional 512MB RAM<\/a> for my Acer Aspire and it costs less than $30. So what are you waiting for – pump-up your RAM today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Upgrading your RAM is one of the best ways to speed up an old laptop. As applications get bigger and the number of programs you install increase, the demands on your RAM also increase. Add to that graphics-heavy online applications such as Google Earth and those exciting Web 2.0 apps and you can see why … Continue reading “5 steps to upgrade your RAM”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2009,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[2441],"tags":[],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-5264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-to"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t