More RAM

[scottypup]

I'm relatively computer illiterate on the hardware side. I can plug in parts and such but don't know much abotu choosing those parts. Therefor I need advice.

My daughter has an Emachines computer. It has XP Home with SP2. AMD Sempron 3100+, 1.81 GHz and 384 Mb Ram.

I/She would like to expand the RAM as much as possible. She plays several online games and is under the impression this will help the playability of these games.

First off is this somethign that will help and secondly how do I know what RAM to install in it?

Thanks in advance

Scott

[PrntRhd]

I recommend going to Crucial and use their Memory Configurator. It will show you what memory the existing PC is using, the maximum amount it can use, and their price. Their memory is also guaranteed for life and compatibility.
Kingston memory is another source that is reliable.
Once you know the type and quantity you can also go to newegg.com or other vendors to price that specification of memory, or choose to order from the manufacturer's site.

www.crucial.com

[scottypup]

OK that helped. I know what fits that computer.

It does bring up another question. Will I be adding memory or replacing what is in there? By that I mean is there a slot for two modules so by buying a 256 or 512 will that be in addition to my 384 that I've already got? Or do I need to figure on removing the 384 and replacing it with something else.

[PrntRhd]

Depends on what is in there already. The site may show how many slots are used already?

[scottypup]

OK I ran the scanner and it says only one slot is used. So I've got a second slot I can put a 512 in to basically double my RAM.

I do have a question though. It says I have a 512 installed. But when I went to my systems in control panel to get the info in the original post it said I only had 384 Mb. Can someone explain why the discrepancy?

Thanks again

[mjc]

If it is only using one slot, that is an awfully strange amount of memory, unless it has onboard video and the 'shared' amount is 128MB...

The other way to get 384 would be 128 in one slot and 256 in the other.

Take the cover off the case and look at the RAM slots, that is the only way to know, for sure, what is going on. The software may or may not be totally accurate.

[scottypup]

Ok. I'm at work now so will check when I get home.

Thanks.

[crazysoccer00]

If it's showing that amount because you have integrated video(shared memory),
then it might not only be the lack of ram that is making your daughter play games difficult. To play modern games reasonably well, you'll also need a dedicated video card.

[saphalline]

A Sempron 3100+ means you've got a Socket 754 system. Without a model number, I can only guess. But I'm guessing that you've got a 1-1.5 year-old eMachines desktop there, right? DDR400 RAM, possibly DDR333? I'm guessing that it has the VIA K8M800 chipset in it. Which means an AGP 8x/4x slot and onboard Savage Pro video. It also probably has a 300W PSU in it.

Doubling the RAM will help, but buying a vid card would be better, depending on the games your daughter is playing. For AGP vid cards, the GeForce 6200's are dirt cheap and offer baseline gaming performance. You could also move up to a Radeon X1300 or X1600 in the $100 range. For a bit more, you can go all the way to a GeForce 7600GS, which currently represents the best of what little life AGP has left.