RAM upgrade question

[Michael R. McKenney]

I currently have a Dell Dimension 4500 with a Pentium 4, 2.40 GHz chip,
512 MB RAM. Running Windows XP Home.

Was wondering if I would notice any significant difference in
speed/performance if I added another 512 MB RAM? I realize it probably
depends on exactly what my computer is used for. I am a medical
transcriptionist and use this computer mainly for word processing. I
have quite a number of "medical software" installed (word lists,
anatomy, medication/drug references, etc.) plus use the Internet to
search for medical terminology on pretty much a daily basis, but never
for long periods of time, just to search for a particular word to
document spelling.

So, with that in mind, what would any of you advise, a "thumbs up" and
purchase the extra 512 MB of ram for a significant improvement in
performance/speed, or

a "thumbs down" and not purchase the RAM as there would not be that much
difference?

Thanks so much for your input!

Mike from Milwaukee

 

[Maximus]

well, my motto is - the more the merrier . but i think for the tasks that
you describe u have more than enough memory. but thats just my opinion.

 

[Jim]

More memory only provides more/better performance *if* memory is so
exhausted, the system is using the paging file to swap out inactive memory
allocations to make room for new ones. If not, then every byte of memory
never used is a byte wasted (money down the drain).

So the performance benefits you *might* experience are indirect, not direct.
If the Task Manger never shows a peak usage above your installed memory,
more memory won't make a wit of difference. If, on the other hand, it does,
then it's a matter of degree. If the peak only exceeds available memory on
a rare occasion, it's not that big a deal. But if it becomes habitual, a
daily problem, so the HD thrashes as memory and the HD exchange data, well,
then more memory is certainly going to help. It prevents all that IO, which
is what slows down the system.

But first you need to determine if paging is indeed the source of your
problem by carefully examining behavior. If your processor is just too
slow, or you have slow HDs, or the memory "speed" is too slow (e.g, PC2100),
all these need to be addressed by focusing on those components specifically.
IOW, it's just as plausible that FASTER memory (of the same amount, 512MB)
would do more to improve performance than MORE memory of the SAME speed.
Since you didn't mention memory speed specifically, I can't comment further.

And since you mentioned the Internet, let's suppose you're annoyed by long
delays in retrievval from Internet websites. NO CHANGES in your PC are
going to make a wit of difference if the problems are related to the
inherent latencies of the Internet (congestion, slows servers, concurrency,
bandwidth limitations imposed by your ISP, etc.). These problem lie outside
the scope of your PC. That's why it's hard for anyone to be definitive
about a solution here since it's not clear *exactly* what the problem is (if
any) and where is lies. Until you do, you're simply throwing darts.

Jim

 

[Rocket J. Squirrel]

You would not notice a difference in your computer's speed.

The additional memory would be beneficial if you routinely performed data
intensive tasks. Your pattern of use is a 'walk in the park.'

You may find a larger monitor to be useful, or even two monitors, as you are
dealing with information from many different sources.

Rocky

 

[Guest]

-----Original Message-----
I currently have a Dell Dimension 4500 with a Pentium 4, 2.40 GHz chip,
512 MB RAM. Running Windows XP Home.

Was wondering if I would notice any significant difference in
speed/performance if I added another 512 MB RAM? I realize it probably
depends on exactly what my computer is used for. I am a medical
transcriptionist and use this computer mainly for word processing. I
have quite a number of "medical software" installed (word lists,
anatomy, medication/drug references, etc.) plus use the Internet to
search for medical terminology on pretty much a daily basis, but never
for long periods of time, just to search for a particular word to
document spelling.

So, with that in mind, what would any of you advise, a "thumbs up" and
purchase the extra 512 MB of ram for a significant improvement in
performance/speed, or

a "thumbs down" and not purchase the RAM as there would not be that much
difference?

Thanks so much for your input!

Mike from Milwaukee
.
Video editing,fast responding games,multitasking-----

HUMM,sounds like you have a computer,that will not need
anything for a long time.512MB Ram probably DDR
Ram,running like 1028.

 

[Michael R. McKenney]

Thanks to all for the valuable and very much appreciated input! I am
grateful when people take time out of their own schedules to help others!

Mike from Milwaukee