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Why you might want to add extra memory to your computer

By: Bill Hunter

If your computer is running slow it may be for a variety of causes like a virus or your hard disk becoming full or that you don't have adequate memory for the applications you're running. In this article I'll focus on how to speed up your PC with more memory.

The amount of memory inside your computer known as RAM (Random Access Memory) is a very important factor in determining how fast your computer runs. With a limited amount of this RAM memory inside your computer the processor in your computer is going to need to spending time moving information in and out of the memory into the harddisk. Time spent by the processor moving data in and out of memory is time not spent actually running your applications, hence why they will be running slower. Adding more memory to your computer system (if there is room available) will allow more applications or data to stay in memory, reducing the amount of time wasted by the processor moving information to and from memory to the hard disk.

When you've had your computer or laptop for many years and you may notice that it is running slower than it did when it was new. This can be due to new software you added to the computer or any software you upgraded as these could be larger programs and therefore are going to be using up more of the existing memory.

If you need to determine if memory could be making your computer run slow, check the memory usage by running Windows Task Manager. To start Task Manager merely press Ctrl-Alt-Del simultaneously (Vista users should click Start Task Manager) and then click the Performance tab. Check the number against 'Available' (or 'Free' in Vista) in the 'Physical Memory' section is getting very low for example if it is approximately 10% you most likely require more memory in your computer.

Normal Windows XP users will find that 1GB of memory will give them satisfactory system speed. For all those people running programmes that do a lot of processing on digital video or other large graphics files, or they run quite a few demanding programmes at the same time their systems must have 2GB or more of memory.

For those about to upgrade their computer to run a more recent Windows operating system then they should have at the very least 1GB of RAM, but for a better Windows experience 2GB or more of RAM could be a pretty good idea.

If you decided you would like to increase the quantity of memory in your system to improve its performance it is advisable to answer the following questions:-

1. Are there vacant memory card slots available on your computers motherboard?
2. Will you have to get rid of some of the current memory to make room for new memory?
3. What kind of memory does my computer utilize (yes unfortunately there are different types of memory)?
4. Is your computer using dual-channel memory, if that's the case then you have to install a pair of memory cards for maximum performance?

One method to obtain the answers to these questions would be to read the computer manuals. Then again a simpler way is to use the computer you need to upgrade to surf to a reliable memory manufacturer’s online site. These memory supplier websites have online tools which can examine your computer to identify the correct memory for that computer. These web-based tools can tell you what memory you are currently using, if you have any empty memory slots and what upgrade choices are available.

These simple to use web-based tools will quickly let you know your upgrade alternatives and will help you make sure that you buy the correct memory for your system.

When your new memory is delivered you must study your computer manual to understand the way to open up your computer and correctly incorporate the new memory. One thing to remember when handling memory is that static electricity can damage these memory chips and your computer’s other delicate circuits. So read your computer manual as it should explain that it's essential to unplug your computer from the mains electric supply before opening the computer, and then you need to earth yourself to the metalwork inside your computer, before removing your new memory from its protective wrapper and adding or removing items inside your computer.

For information on a suitable internet site that includes a web based memory upgrade tool click a link in the Author Resource for this article.

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I hope you now understand how to upgrade www.clickdigitalproducts.com/technology/help-in-a-digital-world/speed-up-your-pc-with-more-memory.html>"> laptop computer memory or do other types of computer www.clickdigitalproducts.com/technology/help-in-a-digital-world/speed-up-your-pc-with-more-memory.html"> memory upgrading.

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