do I need more ram

[perky]

I am running xppro,fully updated with sp2. I have a 40gb hd and the memory
cards are 256mb x 2 (512mb). My web surfing can be described as average and
my game playing is low.I use the computer for mainly dvd writing and movie
editing. I would like to know the pro's and cons of adding more ram. Do I
need it and what (if any) are the benefits of extra ram. I have 3 ram slots,
one of which is empty. The other two each have a 256mb ddr card. Any
feedback would be greatly appreciated. TIA
perky

 

[Howard Kaikow]

I am running xppro,fully updated with sp2. I have a 40gb hd and the memory
cards are 256mb x 2 (512mb). My web surfing can be described as average and
my game playing is low.I use the computer for mainly dvd writing and movie
editing. I would like to know the pro's and cons of adding more ram. Do I
need it and what (if any) are the benefits of extra ram. I have 3 ram slots,
one of which is empty. The other two each have a 256mb ddr card. Any
feedback would be greatly appreciated. TIA
perky

Adding ram is usually the least expensive way to get better performance.
Go to http://www.crucial.com/ to see what would be the approximate cost and
to assure
that you choose the right memory,

Also, CALL Crucial. They are very helpful.
Most importantly, read your PC's documentation, or call the manufactuer, to
learn the menory
limits for your PC. and the configurations allowed.

 

[perky]

thank you for the swift reply. I have heard of crucial and I will deal with
them If I decide to add the memory
perky

 

[Daave]

I am running xppro,fully updated with sp2. I have a 40gb hd and the
memory cards are 256mb x 2 (512mb). My web surfing can be described
as average and my game playing is low.I use the computer for mainly
dvd writing and movie editing. I would like to know the pro's and
cons of adding more ram. Do I need it and what (if any) are the
benefits of extra ram. I have 3 ram slots, one of which is empty. The
other two each have a 256mb ddr card. Any feedback would be greatly
appreciated. TIA perky

If you didn't do any video editing, 512 MB would more than likely be
more than enough RAM. However, since movie editing is memory-intensive,
you would definitely see improved performance if you increase your RAM
to 2 GB (or perhaps more). What is the make and model of your PC?

 

[perky]

my pc is not any particular model. It was built for me by my step-son who
build these machines for a living, so it is made up of different
manufacturers components.
perky

 

[Gerry]

Perky

The answer to your question depends on how much use your system makes of
the page file. Any graphics programme use a fair bit of memory. You
mention movie editing. If the application you are using includes an undo
process then this normally means that even larger amounts of memory are
required. In these circumstances 512 mb RAM may be insufficient. You
need to carry out tests of usage when doing typical tasks.

Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager and click the Performance
Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total, the Limit and the Peak? When
the Total exceeds your RAM then there is a presumption that the system
is is using the pagefile, although there are some processes that will
use the pagefile and not RAM.

You can do a better check on pagefile usage using pagefilemon.

Use page file monitor to observe what is the peak usage. Start it to run
immediately after start-up and look at the log. Pagefilemon takes
snapshots. You need to run it at the beginning of the session at then
run it again at intervals throughout the sessions. The log is Pagefile
log.txt. If you right click on the file in Windows Explorer and select
Send to, Desktop (Create Shortcut). The same applies to
XP_PageFileMon.exe.

A small utility to monitor pagefile usage:
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_pagefilemon.htm

Note that programs using undo features, particularly those associated
with graphics and photo editing, require large amounts of memory so if
you use this type of programme check these first observing how the page
usage increases when they start and whether the usage decreases when you
close the programme.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[perky]

thanks for the advice. my step-son works away from home and comes home at
week-ends. I will ask his advice when I see him.
perky

 

[perky]

thank you again,gerry. As I say,i will ask my step-son at week-end and see
what becomes of it. once again thank you for your assistance
perky

 

[Howard Kaikow]

Perky

The answer to your question depends on how much use your system makes of
the page file. Any graphics programme use a fair bit of memory. You
mention movie editing. If the application you are using includes an undo
process then this normally means that even larger amounts of memory are
required. In these circumstances 512 mb RAM may be insufficient. You
need to carry out tests of usage when doing typical tasks.

Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager and click the Performance
Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total, the Limit and the Peak? When
the Total exceeds your RAM then there is a presumption that the system
is is using the pagefile, although there are some processes that will
use the pagefile and not RAM.

Use the following to see how much page file you really need.

http://www.standards.com/index.html?PageFileUsageMonitor

Most of the usual apps do NOT use enough of the memory available.
Some apps go overboard with te pagefile, even when there's lots of free
memory.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

I follow Mark Minasi's rule for determining when to add more ram.

According to Mark, if the houselights don't dim when you turn on the
computer, add more ram.

Your references to "dvd writing and movie editing" suggest that you would
benefit from more ram. Those apps are undoubtedly doing a lot of writing to
the hard drive. Having room in memory for those kinds of files saves hard
drive usage and speeds up the processing.

 

[Gerry]

Howard

How does your contribution add anything to what I said?


--
Regards.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Daave]

Most of the usual apps do NOT use enough of the memory available.
Some apps go overboard with te pagefile, even when there's lots of
free memory.

Which apps?

 

[M.I.5¾]

If you didn't do any video editing, 512 MB would more than likely be more
than enough RAM. However, since movie editing is memory-intensive, you
would definitely see improved performance if you increase your RAM to 2 GB
(or perhaps more). What is the make and model of your PC?

You don't really need as much as 2GB unless you are editing HD video. 1MB
is good enough for SD video editing. 512k is bit on the mean side.

 

[perky]

hi
I think I have got the gist of things. I have just one point to clear up. In
my original post i stated that i hade 3 memory slots, two of which have a
256mb card in them. The one that is free, do i put an additional card in it,
or is it better to remove the two and just add one card of 1gb. thank you
for being patient with me cause sometimes i do not know how to put pen to
paper using the correct technical jargon
all the best from north west england
perky

 

[Bob I]

It depends on the motherboard, please have your step-son review your plan.

 

[Daave]

You don't really need as much as 2GB unless you are editing HD video.
1MB is good enough for SD video editing. 512k is bit on the mean
side.

Even if 1MB might be fine for many, I'd still go with 2MB. Since the
cost isn't much more, I'd rather have too much than not enough. Also,
2MB would allow me to edit HD at some point in the future (or upgrade to
Vista -- shudder!).

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

You mentioned that you have 512mb of ddr ram. It is likely that you have an
older system and you have a limitation on the ram you can use. Please check
the mobo manufacturer's website for the amount of ram supported. 2GB may
not be an option for you.

Having said that, if the mobo supports 1GB, I would put a 512mb card in the
third slot. Otherwise use a 256mb card.

 

[Daave]

hi
I think I have got the gist of things. I have just one point to clear
up. In my original post i stated that i hade 3 memory slots, two of
which have a 256mb card in them. The one that is free, do i put an
additional card in it, or is it better to remove the two and just add
one card of 1gb. thank you for being patient with me cause sometimes
i do not know how to put pen to paper using the correct technical
jargon

You need to know what the mobo supports -- the limit of the amount of
RAM, the type, speed, whether or not you should use matching pairs
(probably not since it has three slots), etc.

Download SIW (the standalone version should be fine). Look specifically
at Motherboard and Memory.

Also, you may want to use the Crucial System Scanner tool:

http://www.crucial.com/

 

[perky]

once again, thank you one and all. the crucial system scanner tells me that
the max memory capacity is 1536mb so i think it would be best to add another
512mb card in the third slot. I will close this thread now and say that i
have learned a lot off you people and please keep up the good work
perky

 

[Plato]

I think I have got the gist of things. I have just one point to clear up. In
my original post i stated that i hade 3 memory slots, two of which have a
256mb card in them. The one that is free, do i put an additional card in it,
or is it better to remove the two and just add one card of 1gb. thank you
for being patient with me cause sometimes i do not know how to put pen to
paper using the correct technical jargon
all the best from north west england
perky

In theory, its less risk to add a single large ram card then take the
chance of seeing if an additional card will get along with your
origianal ram cards.