Upgrading RAM

[mechmike]

Hi im adding another 256mb RAM to my sempron 3000+ which already has 256mb ram as xp is pretty sluggesh at the mo. im new to this and wondered if anyone could give us a bit of advice. my current motherboard is MSI AMD sempron 1.8ghz L2 128kb current RAM is 256mb ddr-sdram pc3200. Is it fine to purchase the same ram and simply slot it in, does it have to be of the same manufacturer. Is there any problem areas i need to look out for? Thanks for any advice. ;)

[goldeagle2005]

Just ensure you get another PC 3200 RAM. And while you're at it, don't get additional 256 mb, get minimum 512 mb additional.

[dcc]

Hi mechmike and welcome to Daniweb.

No, the modules don't need to be from the same manufacturer, I would stay with one of the major manufactureres like Corsair, OCZ, Kingston, GeIL, Crucial. If you go to any of their sites all you have to do is enter the requested information about your computer and they will suggest modules that will be compatible with yours.

The installation procedure is pretty straight forward, I have included a link that should help you. One of the things that you will read about is electrostatic discharge (ESD), basically all you need to do is to discharge yourself before you handle the module, this can usally be done by touching the metal side of the computer case.

http://www.ehow.com/how_895_install-ram.html

If you only use your compter for the internet, email, and some office applications, then another 256MB will give you 512MB which will make your computer run faster. If you are going to be into some serious gaming or video then you should think about that 512MB module, most serious gamers use 1GB.

If you have any more questions please include the make and model of your motherboard, this will make it easier for us to help you. Let us know how the upgrade goes.