Right I'm going to upgrade my Ram from 128 to 256 so I can finally play Morrowind and NwN and i'm really confused...

I think im gonna have to get mine from PCWorld as theres not many other PC companies around here :( ...so if it helps i can get a link and you guys think is best...

Cheers,

<font color=blue>J.W.K</font color>

Edit: Decided the Sarcastic smiley wasnt a good idea...

[ 07-05-2003, 04:33 PM: Message edited by: FelixJaeger ]

Even if there are no other companies whatsoever, never ever buy from pcworld. they will totaly rip you off. i suggest buying online from somewhere like www.ebuyer.com . *never* buy from pcworld :(

RAM isnt that confusing. There are three types which come in various speeds. Higher speeds are better and in general, if you get RAM which is too fast it will run at the slower speed.

First type, SDRAM. Synchronous dynamic random access memory. Bog standard, quite slow. Not the cheapest anymore either, its going out of production and low supply = higher prices.

Second type, Rambus. Overpriced and with the best throughput you can buy, but crap latency. Not often used on new machines, I doubt you have this.

Last type, DDRDSDRAM. Double Data Rate SDRAM. This stuff is the best. High througput and good latencies.

Anyway, find out which of those types you have, probably SDRAM or DDRSDRAM, and find the fastest stick you can. Your system manual will say which kinds you can support. Its not uncommon for older boards to support both SDRAM and DDR, if thats the case check which you currently have. You cant run both types in one machine.

Also, PCworld will rip you off on RAM, and its even worse if you let them sell you warranty or if you let them fit it themselves. You want to find one of the smaller computer shops, you'll likely talk to someone who knows what their talking about and will probably save a fair bit of money.

Is there any way to check without a manual or taking it to bits? Cause I dont really want to take it to bits and as i brought my computer off of some guy my dad knows who builds them himself I didnt get a manual :( ...

Any ideas?

How will I know if my comp can handle the 128 add on...or a 256 add on as it only costs £20 for 256 pf SDRAM or DDR?

Cheers,

<font color=blue>J.W.K</font color>

Without a manual, you have to identify the motherboard and go to the manufacturers site, where you will likely be able to download the manual or at least get the specs of the board.

Motherboard identification is more of an art than a science, but this should get you through it:

http://www.motherboards.org/articles...des/910_1.html

Well, if you're not into 'taking it bits,' installing new RAM is not for you. Take it a local mom and pop cumputer store.

<font color="cyan">Defo take it to a very small computer shop near you.</font>

I found some manuals and I have an Advance 9 QDI Main Board...whatever that means...is that any help to anyone?

Also about how only a certain amount of Ram can be installed on a computer without it not working... How much would I be able to put into my computer without it not working? Cause I can get a 256 Ram card which would put me up to 384...which would be better...

And I can take it to bits and check myself I just dont like doing it...and if the Advance 9 thing doesnt work I will get my friend to take a look for me 'cause he knows all about that technical crap...

Cheers,

<font color=blue>J.W.K</font color>

I think the advance 9 QDI is similar to the Legend QDI series, which is very bad news. Crap. Slow. Not that reliable. And I have had problems with the QDI memory hub before now.

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/memx/qdiqdimoad9m.html

Allegedly this thing can take 3 256Mb DIMMS for a total of 768Mb. Now I happen to have worked with a similar motherboard, and that one could only take 256Mb DIMMS if they had a specific chip configuration, 16*128Mbit chips , whereas most DIMMS use 8*256mbit chips. In short, I would recommend getting 2 128Mb DIMMS and putting those in.

Thats standard SDRAM DIMMS by the way, this thing supports SDRAM and EDO, which is even older.

To be honest, this motherboard is so old I cant find Toms original review on it, which is going back past 2000. I would think its just about time for an upgrade.

Hmmn new motherboard...that doesnt affect my hard drive at all does it cuz i dont wanna lose all my stuff...

I can have a look around and maybe get an upgrade for both...any recommendations?

How much am I looking at for a Good new motherboard? As in one from www.ebuyer.com

[ 07-06-2003, 03:38 PM: Message edited by: FelixJaeger ]