Increase the speed of your computer

Submitted by Rick on July 28, 2008 - 9:35pm.

If your computer still performs all the functions you want it to do, there is no need to replace it. However, no matter if you've been using the same computer for a month or seven years, all computers need and crave RAM (Random Access Memory).

RAM provides the 'umph' for our computers and an abundance of it helps Windows' performance tremendously.

Hard drive space (physical storage of your data) and RAM (temporary memory for running programs) utilize two distinctly different types of technologies. So, don't equate free hard drive space with RAM. Instead, use these guidelines for figuring out your RAM needs.

Because of the dramatic drop in price over the past two years of RAM, here are my current recommendations for your computer system (the numbers are in megabytes):

* Windows 95 - 32 minimum - 128 recommended
* Windows 98 - 64 minimum - 256 recommended
* Windows Me - 128 minimum - 256 recommended
* Windows 2000 / XP - 512 minimum - 1024 (1 Gigabyte) recommended

To find out how much RAM you currently have push the Windows key + the Break key on your keyboard or RIGHT Click your My Computer icon and click Properties.

To find out how much RAM your computer can utilize, contact your manufacturer or visit Crucial and use their handy RAM tool by clicking their "scan my system" button.

Installing RAM doesn't take any expertise and can be performed by anyone willing to open their computer's case. Click here to watch a short video on how to install RAM.

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