Advise on Memory

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John R

With XP Home Edition / SP2 on a Dell XPST550 I have three memory slots. Two
have 125MB each and the third slot is empty. To improve performance should I
install 250MB in each or just in the third slot. I am not a games player so
wonder if 750MB total is needed. Thanks..
 
"John R"wrote
With XP Home Edition / SP2 on a Dell XPST550 I have three memory slots.
Two have 125MB each and the third slot is empty. To improve performance
should I install 250MB in each or just in the third slot. I am not a games
player so wonder if 750MB total is needed. Thanks..
Click to expand...

If you don't use any memory hungry applications, 512 MB is normally fine for
most users. You should have 128MB in each slot, not 125. Adding 256MB
memory stick (not 250MB) in the 3rd slot would give you 512MB which should
be fine. You should check with the documentation or with dell tech support
to make sure it will take this configuration of memory. Also know that XP
is very fussy that the memory match what is in the machine. Mismatched
memory will cause errors in operation.

Adding more memory will only help if page file use is high, then more memory
will reduce page file use. In this article about Virtual Memory and setting
the page file by the late Alex Nichol, MVP is a link to a small utility by
MVP Bill James that will show current page file usage. Download that and
run it to get an ideal of how much the page file is used with your current
configuration. If the peak usage is high then adding more memory will help.
If it stays low, 50MB or less, then don't bother with increasing memory.

Virtual Memory in Windows XP
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm
 
John said:
With XP Home Edition / SP2 on a Dell XPST550 I have three memory
slots. Two have 125MB each
Click to expand...


128MB, no doubt.

and the third slot is empty. To improve
performance should I install 250MB in each or just in the third slot.
I am not a games player so wonder if 750MB total is needed. Thanks..
Click to expand...


You mean 768MB. It's highly unlikely that you need that much. As a matter of
fact, do not assume that adding any memory is needed.

How much memory you need for good performance is *not* a one-size-fits-all
situation. You get good performance if the amount of RAM you have keeps you
from using the page file, and that depends on what apps you run. Most people
running a typical range of business applications find that somewhere around
256-384MB works well, others need 512MB. Almost anyone will see poor
performance with less than 256MB. Some people, particularly those doing
things like editing large photographic images, can see a performance boost
by adding even more than 512MB--sometimes much more.

If you are currently using the page file significantly, more memory will
decrease or eliminate that usage, and improve your performance. If you are
not using the page file significantly, more memory will do nothing for you.
Go to http://billsway.com/notes_public/winxp_tweaks/ and download
WinXP-2K_Pagefile.zip and monitor your pagefile usage. That should give you
a good idea of whether more memory can help, and if so, how much more.
 
your motherboard manual
will have the memory configuration
and options for your particular system.

all systems are different. i had an AMD
that had 2 slots and all were different
sizes and everything work fine. I think
the requirement was that the first slot
should be the larger ram, or something like that...

dell is your best source for the info.

also, there are a lot of programs
that can manage the memory and
improve performance as well.

they also give you the amount
being used and amount that can
be free'd up.

This will also help you
determine if an extra ram chip is
what you might need or not.

this might be an easy fix for you
and cheap, eg "free".

i;ve been using this one for a
good while and run it as needed.

http://www.amsn.ro/

g.l......
 
John R said:
With XP Home Edition / SP2 on a Dell XPST550 I have three memory slots. Two
have 125MB each and the third slot is empty. To improve performance should I
install 250MB in each or just in the third slot. I am not a games player so
wonder if 750MB total is needed. Thanks..
Click to expand...

Try adding a single 256 mb module in the third slot and then assess
the performance to see if more RAM would be beneficial. Here is my
standard commentary on adding RAM to Windows XP:

Adding more memory can noticeably improve performance only if the
added memory results in reduced usage of the virtual memory paging
file. Therefore if the paging file is not currently being used to any
significant extent then adding more memory will not provide a
significant improvement.

Unfortunately there is no ready way of determing actual paging file
usage provided with Windows XP - it does not have an equivalent to the
'Memory Manager - Swap File In Use" reporting provided by the System
Monitor utility in Windows 95/98/Me.

There is a free utility that you can download and run which will
provide this information for you. It was written by MVP Bill James and
you can get if from
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_pagefilemon.htm or from
http://billsway.com/notes_public/WinXP_Tweaks/

If that utility shows actual page file usage of 50 mb or more on a
regular basis then that is indicative of fairly significant paging
file activity. Adding more RAM will reduce or even eliminate entirely
this activity thereby improving performance.

This apples regardless of how much or how little RAM is currently
installed in the computer, at least up to the 4 gb RAM maximum for
Windows XP.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."
 
My bad on the 125MB as noted it is 128MB! Thanks for the pointers!
Click to expand...

You're welcome. Also disregard databaseben's advice to use a memory
management program. XP's memory management tries to find a use for all
memory. Unused memory is wasted memory. Memory is dynamically allocated as
programs need it. Using a program that purports to free up memory is
useless. Such add on programs are a scam. They don't do anything for the
system. Do not use them.
 
your motherboard manual
will have the memory configuration
and options for your particular system.

all systems are different. i had an AMD
that had 2 slots and all were different
sizes and everything work fine. I think
the requirement was that the first slot
should be the larger ram, or something like that...

dell is your best source for the info.

also, there are a lot of programs
that can manage the memory and
improve performance as well.

they also give you the amount
being used and amount that can
be free'd up.

This will also help you
determine if an extra ram chip is
what you might need or not.

this might be an easy fix for you
and cheap, eg "free".

i;ve been using this one for a
good while and run it as needed.

http://www.amsn.ro/

g.l......
Click to expand...


Memory management programs are snake oil and a waste of time. Trying to
increase the amount of free memory is useless. XP tries to find a use for
all memory, and dynamically allocates it as needed. These are a scam and
not needed.
 
databaseben said:
you know Rock,

you have a serious misunderstanding
and as such, your unprofessional responses
are being foward, accordingly.

you are in violation with this
http://www.microsoft.com/communities/conduct/default.mspx
Click to expand...

Please provide the specific portions of Rokc's response that is
unprofessional and in contravention of the Microsoft Rules of Conduct.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."
 
databaseben said:
you know Rock,

you have a serious misunderstanding
and as such, your unprofessional responses
are being foward, accordingly.

you are in violation with this
http://www.microsoft.com/communities/conduct/default.mspx
Click to expand...


Misunderstanding of what? And how exactly was my response to the OP
unprofessional? The advice given was bad. I wanted to make sure the OP
understood that type of program does no good at all. So what is your
problem here?
 
Ron said:
Please provide the specific portions of Rokc's response that is
unprofessional and in contravention of the Microsoft Rules of Conduct.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
Click to expand...

I felt compelled to trace out this conversation because IMO his advice has
been good, showing no lack of understanding nor unprofessional responses
although some people like to use "professional" in their own ways.
I see/saw no violation of conduct. He may have been terse in his reply,
and I can agree that might hurt credibility for some (not being able to be
in their shoes at any particular time), and IFF the complaint was actually
submitted, it is IMO a fraudunelt complaint from someone who simply doesn't
believe the correct information that Rock provided.

I rather suspect the complainer simply didn't like being called on some
erroneous information he provided, which Rock corrected, and rightly so.
Perhaps it was a surprise to the complainer and thus sort of a shock of
disbelief that prompted him to be t hat way.
I'm not for or against Rock; but I've seen only accurate responses from
him. I do however hold a prejudice against those who will give misinformed
guidance in erroneous advice and use unfair practices, which IMO describes
the complainer.

Pop`
 
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