Hey there I have a Dell XPS 400 that only has 512 MB of RAM. I was going to buy another 1-2 gigs. There's the cheaper generic RAM available here in Japan for about $120 for 1 gig. Some of the more expensive RAM is about $200+ for 1 gig. I use my PC for my internet work. I sometimes have 4-5 programs open at once such as Excel, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, an FTP client, Adobe InDesign, MS FrontPage, and MS Word. About 95% of the work I do is document creation and editing. Most photo work is basic editing. I don't play games on this computer...ever. So, is there that much of a difference in the quality of RAM when looking at my specific needs? I might just pick up two of them, giving me 2.5 gigs. I'm assuming that even if they don't have the power as the other makers it's still more than I'll ever need for less dollars. Any advice?
just get the cheap one, but make sure is some decent brand like corsair/pqi/etc and make sure is the same speed as the one you already have .... so is true huh? computers are expensive in japan.... i got 2 1gig sticks of ddr2 laptop memory for 150shipped...
Computers aren't expensive in Japan, they're a bloody rip off ! Probably because most of the parts are imported. Still, we get consoles and games cheaper so I guess we can't complain. Oh, Music CDs and DVDs cost more here too most of the time. Yakumo
I have the DDR2 533 Mhz thingamajiggy. http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-1GB-PC4200-...2QQihZ007QQcategoryZ74942QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Looks like it's as low as $49 on eBay....amazing...heh.
Only go with a brand named memory like corsair, crucial (I highly recommend), and I wouldn't buy it from eBay if I were you, since it would be hard to prove you haven't got a generic stick. While generic sticks can be fine and might work flawlessly, quite often they will suffer instability at high frequencies and may degrade over time. Usually when someone suffers issues with their OS it is down to overheating or low quality memory, in my experience.
DDR2 memory is cheap. You'll be fine just buying one stick of 1gigDDR 533mhz RAM. You will notice a difference on how fast you switch from window to window if you're running a lot of different programs at once. If you can afford it, always go for more RAM, like 2.5gigs. After that, adjust your SWAP file usage in windows so as it doesn't use a lot of virtual memory (aka space on your HDD) after upgrading the RAM.
As its a dell, it may only work with low speed DDR RAM, so buy as close to what you have now, there's no point sticking a $200 stick in there if it's going to run at half the speed it's designed for. You are more likely to get problems with expensive underclocked RAM than with generic RAM running at normal speed.
Yakumo: The way to win the computer game is by building your own in Akiba. A bit more expensive, but not a complete ass-raping like buying an HP/Dell. Japan-Games: Be warned that Dell are probably the worst factory-built computers to take apart. They're not really meant for parts swapping, although it's obviously possible. Just get ready to dig a bit to reach the RAM slots.
A few years ago I'd have agreed without doubt, but these days generic RAM seems to be reasonably decent. Of all the people I know who've built PCs over the last few years, and out of all the computers I've installed at work with generic RAM in them, the only RAM sticks that come to mind as being consistently problematic are my friend's very expensive dual Giel sticks. They were simply very picky about what configuration they'd run at, and they cost way more than they were worth. Unless you're into screwing around with CAS latencies for that extra 50 point difference on 3dmark (given you're running a Dell I'm going to discount this), generic RAM will probably do you fine. If you're feeling paranoid, download Memtest86 and run the test when the RAM arrives. If it passes the test, you'll be fine.
Some generic brands tend to degrade over time actually. They might pass Memtest86 today, but 1-3years later they start failing. I've had RAM come back to us that was sold at least a year ago that was tested and passed. However, this generic brand has a lifetime warranty, so it can be sent back for a new replacement.
Check, but I know my Dell laptop can run RAM at a clockspeed of DDR2-600 but it currently has 533 in it. For the price it wasn't an issue, but I may upgrade sometime in the future.
Well I just checked the specs and that's what it said to use...the DDR2 533 Mhz 4200 RAM. I wasn't going to buy off of eBay, just curious as to what the prices were. I'm just thinking that with my minimal needs just about anything will do. Right now it slows down when I multi-task but that's because I only have 512 MB. I just wasn't sure if a $200 stick was going to be considerably faster or more reliable than a $120 stick. Basically, I wanted to make sure I wasn't getting into a "Whatever you do don't do THIS" situation with computers...heh.
yeah, I know what you mean. I bought my CPU from a mail order shop that was located in Akihabara but unless I want to go mail order all the way it can be quite expensive even buying parts compared to the UK. Are there any good shops you know of in Akihabara that will do mail order to the bottom of Honshu? Yakumo
Just picked up the RAM. Elixir brand, about $120. The Buffalo, Greenhouse, and I/O Data items were $220 to $290. Makes no sense to me, either. Everything seems to be running fine. No prob WHAT THE FUCK IS THA....... ASKLDJA SLDKJQWIOD WOD D ***@)!!) e
The shops I went to were Dos-V Paradise and Overtop. I don't think either do mail order, unfortunatley, but you could check. I believe they have websites.
