Dell Computers
Desktop PC Components Buying Guide
Speed up your desktop PC or just get better computing performance by upgrading your desktop pc memory (RAM), sound card, video card, CPU, or motherboard. You'll find a huge selection of PC components to fit all your upgrade needs on eBay.
Boost Your Desktop PC Memory
Add a Sound Card or Video Card
Choose a New Desktop PC Processor
Listen to Your Motherboard
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Boost Your Desktop PC Memory
Boost Your Desktop PC Memory
Adding more Random Access Memory (RAM) can result in an immediate, and often dramatic, improvement in performance. You'll often have faster response times for your programs and could even experience fewer system errors. RAM is relatively inexpensive, easy to install, and requires no configuration.
Determine what type of RAM you need
Pull out your handy computer manual and find out what type of RAM your motherboard (mobo) supports. Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM) is the most widely used RAM and forms the foundation for both DDR and DDR2 memory. SDRAM operates synchronously with the CPU clock, a function that can reduce downtime during data transfer.
Double Data Rate SDRAM (or DDR SDRAM) is a faster version of SDRAM. In fact, DDR SDRAM is twice as fast, accessing data twice for every cycle of the clock compared to SDRAM’s data access speed of only once per clock cycle. DDR memory operates at effective speeds of 200MHz to 550MHz in which the clock is functioning at half this speed, but the data is transferring at the rated speed.
Choose your RAM speed
Programs, including operating systems, need a certain amount of RAM to run, with more RAM providing better performance. For example, Windows XP requires at least 128MB RAM to run according to Microsoft. Most people find the number closer to 256MB and see even better performance with 512MB RAM, 1GB RAM, or more. Therefore, it's a good idea to buy the fastest memory your motherboard allows. The following outlines the minimum memory required for typical usage.
Home users: 1GB of memory or more.
Home office: 1GB of memory or more.
Gaming: 2 to 4GB of memory or more.
Multimedia: 2GB of memory or more.
DDR memory types are categorized by motherboard manufacturers according to several features, including bandwidth or clock speed. The slowest form is the DDR200, equivalent to the PC1600. The DDR266 or PC2100 is faster, surpassed by the DDR333 or PC2700 and the upcoming DDR400, equivalent to the PC3200.
Some DIMMs, or sockets, also require you to install RAM modules in pairs. Know what your motherboard supports before you buy.
Ramp up your desktop PC with Rambus memory
A few Pentium 4 chipsets still require Rambus memory (RDRAM). RDRAM is available exclusively on motherboards equipped with Intel’s 850 or 850E chip sets.
Applications requiring hefty bandwidth, such as 3D gaming or video editing, benefit from RDRAM, but can cost nearly twice the price of DDR memory. RDRAM is available in PC800 and PC1066 speeds.
Upgrade your memory slots
You can also upgrade your memory by adding a Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM). This compact circuit board is outfitted on each side with memory chips. Electrical contacts line the bottom edge, where it plugs into an adjoining motherboard connection.
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