Memory Upgrade On Old Pc

[Richb2004v2]

After my main laptop gave up the ghost today and the wife wanted to use the second laptop I figured I would have a look at fixing the old unused desktop that hasn't worked for about a year. I quickly found a blown fuse in the power supply. I guess it's as cheap to replace the whole supply as attempt to find and replace the fuse. Last time I bought one in the Uk it was about 15 pounds. I'm wondering if it would be worth while upgrading the memory on the machine. When last I used it all tasks were performed well, and since I only plan on using it for the internet it should be ok. Would it be worth upgrading from the current 512mb memory to 1 gig? It is DDR memory. Is this still available and is it costly? Also, how do I know the limits of the upgrade capacity? It is a six year old P4 machine.

Thanks

[BWPattaya]

Replace the power supply first. They are cheap. Then identify the motherboard. From that you will be able to find out what memory it is upgradable to. However, if it ran well before and it starts OK with a new supply unit then you may find it is easier to leave well alone. If you only want it for the internet and emails I suggest leaving it. You will perhaps only be able to buy secondhand RAM due to its age. Prices vary but can be inexplicably expensive as no new RAM may be available.

Also, worth remembering that as it hasn't been used for a while it may be a good idea to remove the present memory (and graphics card if you have a seperate one) to clean the contacts with a rubber. Clean out all the accumulated dirt at the same time.

[exterminator]

OP - I have a couple of DDR266 x 256 ram. I think they will work with your 512 if DDR is same speed. You can have these for nothing if you want.

[roc634]

I think 512MB is enough for dealing with common tasts in an old P4 machine. Even 256 is enough for XP if the machine does not run big programs. If your machine is still slow, it is wise of you to optimize or reinstall the system rather than to upgrade RAM.

[dddave]

Read your computer's model number off the back plate then go to www.kingston.com and follow the tabs for memory upgrades. When you imput your model number, the site will tell you exactly which memory card to use and what your computer's memory limit is.

Lots of stalls selling old memory cards on the 3rd and 4th floors of Pantip Plaza, cheapest ones back in the rear of the level.

I should add that I'm writing this on a nine year old, Celeron based desktop with 512K.

OK for basic web surfing and email, pretty jumpy with YouTube and other memory hungry sites.

Really bogs down at times with pages such as Thai-Visa with a lot of animated ad content.

Edited August 31, 2010 by dddave

[Spoonman]

It Hardware house lists 1gb DDR PC3200 ram sticks for 1450b on their website.

[Richb2004v2]

Thanks for the advice.

I changed the power supply and then had several other faults. In the end I removed a few components/cards and reinstalled and all is well.

I am thinking of using this machine purely to download movies etc. The problem will be leaving it in a room unattended.

The internet seems to be working fine anyway which is it's only task really.

[howto]

Thanks for the advice.

I changed the power supply and then had several other faults.

In the end I removed a few components/cards and reinstalled and all is well.

I am thinking of using this machine purely to download movies etc. The problem will be leaving it in a room unattended.

The internet seems to be working fine anyway which is it's only task really.

Good, PWS replace and "removed a few components/cards and reinstalled".

I recommend upgrading to 1 GB RAM. Simply because this RAM is still available and at no great an expense. This computer may be functional in say 5 years, and upgrades will be hard to come by

I recommend you pay close attention to the CPU cooling fan (age).

Replace it or use a hardware monitor which can shut down the computer in the event of failure.

Actually, please check all the fans.

I recommend you modify the "swap file" settings from their default

to perhaps a hard fixed 200~300 MB size, (likely requires a reboot).

Can save a lot of disc space.

I recommend to turn off the eye candy in the OS (especially for XP).

That is to say use the older W2K desktop.

Reduces RAM and CPU requirements.

I recommend to disable unnecessary services from starting.

Others can help you if your OS is XP.

I recommend a (functional) UPS for this computer.

"The problem will be leaving it in a room unattended."

If you do not have one, nor want to buy one, then I firmly suggest

that you disable "disc write caching", (caching reads is ok but not writes).

Note this will slow the computer down a bit, however the

benefit is a much reduced chance of file system corruption in the event of power failure.

I suggest a functional UPS, one that can shut down the computer in this event (requires software).

If you have a UPS, then test it for run-time.

I suggest (only if the computer is on a UPS) to defrag the disc.

I suggest to add another disc to contain your torrent downloads, either internal or external as

over time torrent downloads love disc space.

Hope it helps.

Edited September 1, 2010 by howto