Hello AllI would like to add some extra ram to my pc in an attempt to eek out a little more performance from FS9.I currently have 1GB (two 512kb modules)my PC has two slots only for ram modules.Ram always seems to go oneGB,two.four etc. in upgrades.My question...I am currently rather lacking in the wonga dept at the moment,so could i buy one 1GB module and keep one 512k module and run one and half GB RAM! Cheers Andy

Hello AllI would like to add some extra ram to my pc in an attempt to eek out a little more performance from FS9.I currently have 1GB (two 512kb modules)my PC has two slots only for ram modules.Ram always seems to go oneGB,two.four etc. in upgrades.My question...I am currently rather lacking in the wonga dept at the moment,so could i buy one 1GB module and keep one 512k module and run one and half GB RAM! Cheers Andy

It's not that simple, your ram needs to match, also a 1gig stick and 512mb my cause your machine to run even worse. Your best option is to buy two matching 1GIG sticks

As noted, RAM can be really funny and especially picky about how it runs in combination with other sizes, types and manufacturers. It's normally not a bad idea to match it as best you can, in size, type, model and even brand if you can manage it. So, what I suggest you do is get hold of CPU-Z from here: http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.phpInstall that, run it, and it will tell you exactly what your motherboard is (make and model) and will also tell you what your current RAM type is (useful to know when upgrading). Make a note of that and then look online for a review of your motherboard or the specs of it from the maker's website to see exactly what it will support as far as RAM is concerned (you are looking for slot type, speed, data rate all that kind of info).The reason for that is, you might find that just one stick of RAM is faster on its own if it has a faster bus speed that your motherboard can support. In short, you need to know exactly how fast the type of RAM you can get away with putting in your slots is, and if you can put faster RAM in, theoretically, faster RAM, even if it is the same amount as you had in before, will perform better.Al

Thanks guys for clarifying that for me.I suspected as much and just wanted to be sure.I already have the program CPU-Z and also have tried CRUCIAL'S own checker which tells what type of ram you can use in your PC.Just one other thing assuming I have found the right type of ram module.could I for example put one 2GB in one slot and leave the other slot empty? or would it be better to put 1GB in both slots or even two 2GB modules in each(although I believe 4GB is overkill for windows XP 32BIT)cheers Andy

It would be better to put one big RAM stick in one slot rather than two that are half the size in two slots. There are two reasons for that, the first is, you could at a later date then more easily upgrade, since you'd still have a free slot; the utility of that is apparent from your initial dilemma on this post. Secondly, as bizarre as it sounds, your computer will work ever so slightly faster if you use the RAM slot nearest to the Central Processor alone, rather than two slots. The only reason not to do that, would be if you were having cooling problems, in which case, two RAM sticks each at half the memory size of a single large RAM stick, would spread the load better and probably stay cooler, and unless you are talking about super-duper mega fast RAM, it is unlikely to be an issue.That second reason might seem hard to believe, but it is nevertheless true. The reason for that is, the electrons your computer has whizzing around its motherboard will have less distance to travel if you put your RAM in a slot nearer to the CPU, and although when we are talking about electrons, which as you probably know travel at a speed of 186,000 miles per second (i.e the speed of light), which might make an inch or so less distance between adjacent RAM slots not seem relevant, when you think about the millions of calculations a computer does, spread out over that number of trips for electrons, it can make a very slight difference in overall performance if they have to travel less distance down a wire (probably hard to measure the difference, but even so, you might as well take advantage of the fact that it is so, and even if you don't, there is still the reason that it keeps another RAM slot free for a potential further upgrade).This is in fact the same principle as why microprocessors exist, i.e they are made small (micro), so that the calculations they do can happen faster because of the shorter distances for the electrons to travel. It's also why Dual and Quad Core processors exist too, because processor manufacturers have reached a point where they cannot physically make microprocessors very much smaller, which traditionally is how they've been getting faster over the years (by cramming more bits on a chip in a smaller place). Now however, processors are so small that they are hard to keep cool, and if they went any smaller, the electrons would start skipping through insulators to an adjacent track, thus the data would not maintain its integrity (this is known as quantum mechanical tunneling). So instead, processor manufacturers have sidestepped the current limitations on making processors smaller, by simply putting several alongside one another (i.e dual core, quad core etc). That's sort of a bit like not being able to make a big powerful enough engine for a plane, so instead choosing to put two less powerful engines on it instead which combine to make it powerful enough.Boring stuff huh?Al

Without knowing what motherboard you have and if it offers dual channel capabilities, you could hamper your RAM by running only one stick of RAM. Running RAM in a dual channel mode can help speed up your PC.

That's certainly true, which is why I made certain to advise Andy to find out all he could about his motherboard and RAM support on my preceding reply. But yes you are absolutely right, it is certainly worth considering that.Al

It would be better to put one big RAM stick in one slot rather than two that are half the size in two slots. There are two reasons for that, the first is, you could at a later date then more easily upgrade, since you'd still have a free slot; the utility of that is apparent from your initial dilemma on this post. Secondly, as bizarre as it sounds, your computer will work ever so slightly faster if you use the RAM slot nearest to the Central Processor alone, rather than two slots. The only reason not to do that, would be if you were having cooling problems, in which case, two RAM sticks each at half the memory size of a single large RAM stick, would spread the load better and probably stay cooler, and unless you are talking about super-duper mega fast RAM, it is unlikely to be an issue.That second reason might seem hard to believe, but it is nevertheless true. The reason for that is, the electrons your computer has whizzing around its motherboard will have less distance to travel if you put your RAM in a slot nearer to the CPU, and although when we are talking about electrons, which as you probably know travel at a speed of 186,000 miles per second (i.e the speed of light), which might make an inch or so less distance between adjacent RAM slots not seem relevant, when you think about the millions of calculations a computer does, spread out over that number of trips for electrons, it can make a very slight difference in overall performance if they have to travel less distance down a wire (probably hard to measure the difference, but even so, you might as well take advantage of the fact that it is so, and even if you don't, there is still the reason that it keeps another RAM slot free for a potential further upgrade).This is in fact the same principle as why microprocessors exist, i.e they are made small (micro), so that the calculations they do can happen faster because of the shorter distances for the electrons to travel. It's also why Dual and Quad Core processors exist too, because processor manufacturers have reached a point where they cannot physically make microprocessors very much smaller, which traditionally is how they've been getting faster over the years (by cramming more bits on a chip in a smaller place). Now however, processors are so small that they are hard to keep cool, and if they went any smaller, the electrons would start skipping through insulators to an adjacent track, thus the data would not maintain its integrity (this is known as quantum mechanical tunneling). So instead, processor manufacturers have sidestepped the current limitations on making processors smaller, by simply putting several alongside one another (i.e dual core, quad core etc). That's sort of a bit like not being able to make a big powerful enough engine for a plane, so instead choosing to put two less powerful engines on it instead which combine to make it powerful enough.Boring stuff huh?Al

Now that is what I call a post.And not boring at all.Yet despite all that you describe.(electrons whizzing,the speed of light,millions of calculations.It still takes FS five minutes to start. :( Excellent reply Alan thanks for taking the time. Andy