Choosing the right ram for your computer

With an ever increasing pool of different kinds of ram out there, it’s no surprise that people are often confused about what kind of ram they need for their computer.  Here is a short guide that will help you find out which type of ram you need for your motherboard without the need to remove the ram from the computer.

The easiest way to find out the ram you need is to visit http://www.crucial.com/uk/systemscanner/ download and run the scanner.  Ram that is compatible with you motherboard will be shown and available for purchase, though, I would recommend taking the details of the ram shown and search other websites, such as Amazon, for a better price.

Alternatively

You can download a program that will show us information regarding our computers and the components we are currently using.

Download CPU-Z

The download button is on the right size, click on the latest version, (1.61 setup, English – at time of writing) a new page will open, click on the download now button and save file to the computer.

Find the file you downloaded and start the installation, follow the prompts until you finish the installation, watch out for the Ask-toolbar install, un-check the box so that you don’t install it.

Once CPU-Z is installed, open the program up and have a look at the interface. You will see some of the specs of your CPU, but this is not the information we need, click on the SPD tab to get the details regarding your ram.

CPU-Z shows that I am using DDR3 (Double Data Rate 3) ram, the size of the module is 2GB and the max bandwidth is pc3-10700 (667 MHz). Although it says 667MHz, the rate is actually double data, so the correct speed is 1333MHz. If you are going to install a new ram module alongside the ram already in the computer, both modules should be the same speed.  If you have 2 ram sticks and one is faster than the other, the faster ram module will function at a slower speed to match the other slower ram stick’s speed.

A few things to keep in mind when purchasing your ram:

Choose the right type for your motherboard, i.e. DDR, DDR2, DDR3.

Choose the proper speed, i.e. 667MHz, 1333MHz.

There is a limit on the amount of ram your computer can use, depending on what operating system and how many bit (x32/x64) you are using, check here for a list of memory limits for windows 7/vista and XP.