Things you must know when buying a computer memory

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Things you must know when buying a computer memory

Posted On : Nov-26-2011 | seen (304) times | Article Word Count : 672 |

In today’s world it is very rare to see a house or office or an institute without a computer. Computer has influenced our life in such a way that it is very difficult to sustain without a computer.

In today’s world it is very rare to see a house or office or an institute without a computer. Computer has influenced our life in such a way that it is very difficult to sustain without a computer. The personal computer is one of the most important computing tools today. Without it, offices wouldn’t be able to function properly and today it has become commonplace for a household to have at least one computer. With new breakthroughs in technology almost every day, both software and hardware are constantly being upgraded. Questions like, Is this the latest model? Does it have the most recent updated graphics card? Is this the fastest processing speed?, can make the decision process rather confusing and taxing and one potential pitfall is the computer memory. For those of us who don’t have a degree in computer science or an in-depth understanding of the workings of the machine, getting an incompatible computer memory which doesn’t match your system requirements is actually a fairly common and serious mistake.

The type of memory and its capacity play a major role in the performance of a computer system. Computers are more efficient and perform better with enhanced availability of memory, and a typical type of computer memory used is called ‘random access memory’ (RAM). The RAM is responsible for loading and running program applications on the computer. In the event of problems with the memory or insufficient memory, the computer system would be extremely slow and even non-responsive. When that happens, you need to upgrade the system’s memory.

Before rushing out and buying the first computer memory you come across, there are certain things that you need to aware of. Firstly purchasing memory without knowing the requirements of your computer system will probably result in an unnecessary hardware enhancement that is absolutely of no use to you. Therefore prior to getting a new computer memory, it is essential that you have the following information about your computer –

1. The processor type and speed of your system
2. The capacity of your hard drive (ROM)
3. The amount of existing RAM
4. The operating system of your computer

Before you panic, one does not need to be a computer whiz or technical genius to be able find out this information. In fact most of the essential details about your computer can be found in the user’s manual that came when you first purchased the computer. This information can also be obtained by right clicking on the My Computer icon (Windows) and selecting the ‘properties’ option.

There are many schools of thought when it comes to RAM, some believe in getting only what you need, others recommend getting more than what you need. The best option is to buy the most affordable memory that has the highest capacity. Doing so will save you the grief of having to go through the process of upgrading your system’s RAM every now and then. Perhaps more importantly you will save time and money. Even if cost is not an issue, remember that the computer’s operating system determines the type of memory your system requires. So in the event that you are planning to change your operating system, purchase a compatible RAM.

Basically there are two types of RAM, the SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic RAM) and the RDRAM (Rambus Dynamic RAM). Your system could use either one or the other and most importantly they are not interchangeable. If you are not aware which type of RAM your system uses, check with a professional.

Finally after deciding which RAM is suitable and ensuring that it is compatible, do a price comparison before buying. There are plenty of brands in the market that sell RAM at different rates and of varying quality, the most expensive one may not necessarily be the best but conversely the cheapest one will probably be the worst. Therefore it would be wise to not settle for the cheapest but the best one possible.

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<h1>Things you must know when buying a computer memory</h1> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_Alan Lucas.aspx'>Alan Lucas</a> In today’s world it is very rare to see a house or office or an institute without a computer. Computer has influenced our life in such a way that it is very difficult to sustain without a computer. The personal computer is one of the most important computing tools today. Without it, offices wouldn’t be able to function properly and today it has become commonplace for a household to have at least one computer. With new breakthroughs in technology almost every day, both software and hardware are constantly being upgraded. Questions like, Is this the latest model? Does it have the most recent updated graphics card? Is this the fastest processing speed?, can make the decision process rather confusing and taxing and one potential pitfall is the computer memory. For those of us who don’t have a degree in computer science or an in-depth understanding of the workings of the machine, getting an incompatible computer memory which doesn’t match your system requirements is actually a fairly common and serious mistake.

The type of memory and its capacity play a major role in the performance of a computer system. Computers are more efficient and perform better with enhanced availability of memory, and a typical type of computer memory used is called ‘random access memory’ (RAM). The RAM is responsible for loading and running program applications on the computer. In the event  of problems with the memory or insufficient memory, the computer system would be extremely slow and even non-responsive. When that happens, you need to upgrade the system’s memory.

Before rushing out and buying the first computer memory you come across, there are certain things that you need to aware of. Firstly purchasing memory without knowing the requirements of your computer system will probably result in an unnecessary hardware enhancement that is absolutely of no use to you. Therefore prior to getting a new computer memory, it is essential that you have the following information about your computer –

1.	The processor type and speed of your system 
2.	The capacity of your hard drive (ROM)
3.	The amount of existing RAM
4.	The operating system of your computer

Before you panic, one does not need to be a computer whiz or technical genius to be able find out this information. In fact most of the essential details about your computer can be found in the user’s manual that came when you first purchased the computer. This information can also be obtained by right clicking on the My Computer icon (Windows) and selecting the ‘properties’ option.

There are many schools of thought when it comes to RAM, some believe in getting only what you need, others recommend getting more than what you need. The best option is to buy the most affordable memory that has the highest capacity. Doing so will save you the grief of having to go through the process of upgrading your system’s RAM every now and then. Perhaps more importantly you will save time and money. Even if cost is not an issue, remember that the computer’s operating system determines the type of memory your system requires. So in the event that you are planning to change your operating system, purchase a compatible RAM.

Basically there are two types of RAM, the SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic RAM) and the RDRAM (Rambus Dynamic RAM). Your system could use either one or the other and most importantly they are not interchangeable. If you are not aware which type of RAM your system uses, check with a professional.

Finally after deciding which RAM is suitable and ensuring that it is compatible, do a price comparison before buying. There are plenty of brands in the market that sell RAM at different rates and of varying quality, the most expensive one may not necessarily be the best but conversely the cheapest one will probably be the worst. Therefore it would be wise to not settle for the cheapest but the best one possible.About the Author: Alan Lucas is an experienced writer on information technology related issues. He has a number of articles written on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.strontium.biz/products/computer-memory">computer memory</a>, system memory drives and other memory products etc. Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Things-you-must-know-when-buying-a-computer-memory_110207.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Things you must know when buying a computer memory_110207.aspx</a>

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Things you must know when buying a computer memory_110207.aspx

Author Resource :
Alan Lucas is an experienced writer on information technology related issues. He has a number of articles written on computer memory, system memory drives and other memory products etc.

Keywords : Computer Memory, System Memory, Memory Modules, Computer Memory Modules, Memory Products,

Category : Computers : Hardware

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