Help me Techies.

[TheFireMan]

This computer is only 2 yrs old, yet it only has 1 gig of RAM.

My questions are, what is the difference between these two sets of RAM that I have inside the red box?

And what would happen if I put more than the "maximum amount suggested by the manufacturer"?

How much will adding 1 more gig help this machine?





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[Willow]

My computer is a 10 year old Presario.. sorry, can't see the model number.. and it came with 256 MB of memory..
I did the tests at Crucial, and followed their recommendations based on the maximum that my computer could have.. which was 4 GB..
I took the old memory cards out and replaced them with 4 new cards with 1GB each last year and have had no problems at all..

Just make sure you buy exactly the ones they tell you!..

They have to be in pairs of the same!..

You can't mix 1- 512 Mb with 1-1Gb for example

Looking at your picture, I can see that:
Your computer can have 2GB of memory, maximum..
You have 1GB of memory installed now..

You have 2-512 MB -(1 GB)- installed in your computer now, and have no available slots, so you will have to take those two 512 MB out and replace them with 2 cards of 1GB each... to get the total of your max 2GB..

Make sure you look at the numbers and specifications in the test for your computer at the left of the page, and buy the exact matching cards at the right of the page.. the ones you have circled, have a slightly different numbers bellow the first line.. so make sure you get the ones that your computer needs..
Take your time, study the pictures and don't rush..
If you still don't know which to buy after careful examination, give them a call.. they are great with customer service!..

Don't discard the old cards!.. they are still good!..
Carefully wrap them or save them in the same cases your new ones come, and write what they are..
If your new ones should give you any problems, you can always install them back.. or..
You might be able to use them in another computer..

** If you add more memory than your computer can hold, you might run into problems and start getting BSODs..

You also will be wasting your money, because the computer won't recognize all the extra memory..

When you add the maximum, your computer will still tell you you have less than two GB.. don't worry about that.. I can't remember the whole explanation, but all your memory is there and it's being used..

Another thing... buy the best you can afford.. With computer memory, you get what you pay for.. so this is one time that buying cheap does not pay..

I spent about $250 for the four new ones.. They gave me a list with lots of different cards and prices and I went for the ones that were near the top in price.. If I had the money at the time, I would have bought the best of them..

Good luck!!.. if you need any more help, don't hesitate to ask me..
... And remember.. if this little old grandmother can do it.. you most certainly can do it too!!..

 

[Willow]

Forgot to say that I have upgraded other computers before without having any problems.. Crucial is the best place, IMO..

Now... if only my computer would have slots to add a graphic and sound card, I would be the happiest person..

 

[Codrus]

first of all....Compaq (or any other proprietary computer system sucks..IMO, others will agree), your buying a turnkey system that is 75 to 90% maxed out unless you spend the extra money for on upgrades ...which is how they screw you even more.

as far as your specific situation and what your asking
#1

what is the difference between these two sets of RAM that I have inside the red box?

basically speed,..but unless your doing heavy computing or hard core gaming...your not going to notice much if any difference in the two
Memory vendors have become excellent at marketing their latest high-end products. While mainstream DDR2 memory has reached almost ridiculously low price levels - you can get two 2 GB DDR2-800 DIMMs for less than $80 - DDR3 memory at 1600 speed or faster easily costs five times as much, without delivering even double the performance. In fact, for the vast majority of users, the difference between mainstream and high-end memory turns out to be extremely small.
The importance of Random Access Memory (RAM) has changed a lot over time. There were noticeable performance differences between CL2 and CL3 timings back at the turn of the millennium, when first generation SDRAM at PC100 or PC133 speeds were popular. But now, the performance delta between quick and very relaxed timings is almost negligible in using fast DDR2- or DDR3-SDRAM. Although memory latencies seem to have increased from one memory generation to the next (CL2/3 with DDR1, CL3-5 with DDR2, CL5 and up with DDR3), the latencies haven’t changed much, as the clock speeds have doubled with each generation change. The effective latencies hence remained very much the same, while throughput has increased considerably.
Enthusiast memory does have another justification that is only indirectly based on performance: overclockers need maximum flexibility from components when they want to squeeze out maximum performance from their systems. Increasing the system speed is often the only way to increase the CPU clock, which will automatically accelerate the memory as well, as its clock speed directly derives from the system clock speed. Since you don’t want to be performance-restrained by limiting memory speed, fast memory may be necessary to achieve maximum system performance. This scenario is only valid for hardcore overclockers, however, as the benefit of fast memory over slower has become very small if the other components and parameters remain unchanged.


this may help as far as actual terms used in memory:
http://www.satech.com/glosofmemter.html

#2

what would happen if I put more than the "maximum amount suggested by the manufacturer"?

in a word "instability"..thats if your machine boots at all...so basically dont, unless you can find an updated non-proprietary bios and are familiar with "flashing" them

#3

How much will adding 1 more gig help this machine?

that depends on what your using it for...you will notice a difference on boot and app load as well as web page loading...but it wont be like going from a Winnebago to a Porsche

willow:

When you add the maximum, your computer will still tell you you have less than two GB.. don't worry about that.. I can't remember the whole explanation, but all your memory is there and it's being used..

this is usually because systems such as these are setup for "resource sharing"...usually its another way for the manufacturer to save money and still charge you an arm and a leg by making you think your getting it all when your not..I.E. ..On board video, what this means is that instead of having a video card with its own dedicated memory to process graphics it borrows or "shares" the systems resources to do so.