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Computer Memory – What You Should Know Before Buying
Category: Computers
As technology advances, it gets more difficult to figure out what the best computer memory is to choose for oneself. Not long ago a gigabyte of ram would be enough to run any application. Even an early Bill Gates stated that, “640k is all any computer user will need”( which is about half a megabyte). Good thing we have progressed. So, lets dive into the basics of what computer memory is and which memory to purchase in today’s market. If you are looking for a more advanced memory guide, read my article on Memory Modules and Descriptions.
What is Computer Memory?
Computer
The first place to start is to identify the difference between storage and memory, which is often confused. The term memory correlates to the amount of RAM(random access memory) installed and storage correlates to the capacity of your computers hard drive. Both store information, but RAM stores temporary data that the CPU(central processing unit) can access quickly. When loading an application the information is transferred from the hard drive to the RAM for faster loading times. Does it seem your computer doesn’t access information quickly? You have probably seen an annoying pop-up at the bottom right hand corner of your computer screen that says virtual memory too low. When the memory of your computer is full, space on your hard drive is made for the excess data that needs to be accessed at a slower speed. If this is happening on a regular basis then its time to upgrade your memory or add to your existing.
Ram and SSD
There have been many improvements in the HDD category as well as RAM. Memory for now will always be faster, but the newest SSD(solid state drive) will probably replace hard disk drives in the future. If you have an old hard drive and upgrade your system memory you will still see slow boot-ups and install times. The hard drive will be the bottleneck of your performance, so why upgrade to a new solid state drive? SSDs are silent, contain no moving parts, and have lower latency and access times compared to most hard drives. Solid state drives use NAND-based flash memory, which even retains memory without power. The only drawback is that the cost per gigabyte is expensive right now.
Choosing the Right Upgrade
When looking at a buying new memory for your computer, your upgrades should be to DDR2 or DDR3. The most important part when purchasing name brand memory modules is checking compatibility with your motherboard. Using CPU-Z or system BIOS will give you information to decide if a new motherboard is needed before you upgrade. After verifying that everything is compatible, its time to buy. Key things to notice are that most quality desktop memory comes with heat-spreaders which will help dissipate the heat that your memory generates. Another thing is you want to make sure you compare memory module specs and prices(including memory size). The majority of websites you can purchase from will have reviews on specific products to help make that decision easier. To this day I still read reviews from owners that have good feedback. The next article I write will be on avoiding common installation mistakes and what to do if your memory doesn’t function correctly when installed.
Computer Memory – What You Should Know Before Buying
About the Author:
Spencer M Deane invites you to educate yourself in computer repair to save hundreds of dollars in shop fees. Most people feel that they need some type of certification or IT background to start, but that is far from the truth. Most repairs are easy and you can contact Spencer if you have any questions. For free information on computer repair and performance, check out Best Computer Processor website.
