How Much PC Memory Do You Have?

Computer memory is an essential part of your computing experience. If you don’t have enough in your system, it will appear to be slow, may take a long time to boot, or may delay completion of essential tasks like virus checking. Many computer users will undoubtedly still be running Windows XP and probably will for some time. Instead of throwing away a perfectly good computer (a nightmare for the EPA), try this simple upgrade.

Computer memory comes in many different sizes from the early days of 8 MB to today’s 2 GB chips. Some higher-end systems can accept much more than that. I suspect many current computer users will have motherboards that can accept between one and two gigabytes of memory. Motherboards manufactured between 2003 - 2005 might have a limited upgrade path. That limitation is usually the result of the type of hardware you are using and the type of Operating System you are running. Dell computer has some computers — usually gaming systems — that fall into that category whereby the 32 bit XP (Home) edition of the OS will be limited to 2 GB when, in fact, the motherboard can hold as much as 6 GB of memory.

Your computer manual will detail how much memory your system can take and what kind. Dell’s Web site is also helpful in this regard.

There are several good competing memory makers. The memory maker I like and trust is Crucial. Its online system makes it easy to find the correct memory for your system and there is also a scanner tool that can be used to check your computer for your computer’s memory type. There are also easy-to-follow how-to videos for first-time installers.

An easy way to check how much memory you have in Windows XP is to go to your system’s Control Panel. You can access Control Panel from the Start menu. It should appear in the right column. In case it does not appear in your Start menu, go to Start>Run; type: Control. Now click on the System icon. In the General tab, the amount of your system memory will show. For Vista users, you can click the Orb (Start) and type: Control and you should see the Control Panel come up. Click it. Vista will provide more details, but you should easily see how much memory you have.

How much memory do I need?

This year we saw an all-time low in memory prices, and prices are still very reasonable. It’s a good time to stock up on memory. As a field tech, I often do a lot of memory upgrades. Many Dell systems from 2004-2005 were notorious for being underpowered. So, if you are only running 256 MB of memory and using XP, it’s time to upgrade.

Windows XP should have a minimum of 512 MB of system memory. If you have the latest Norton Anti-Virus 360 scanner, then you’ll need 1 GB of memory. If you have 512 MB of memory in your system, it is better to install a 1 GB chip than to add an additional 512 MB memory module for better performance. This rule holds true for laptops as well.

For Vista users: if your computer has 1 GB of memory, you’ll want to add 1 GB for a total of two gigabytes. Check to see how many chips are in your Vista machine first. Many HP systems come with two chips of 512 MB each. When upgrading, the best advice is to remove the two chips and add two 1 GB chips. This will result in better performance.