RAM help???

hello guys

i just recently bought an ASUS A8JS with 1gig RAM
im thinkin bout upgrading it to 2Gig but the problem is
the current RAM pre-installed by asus is Hynix 1gb

would it cause any problem is i put in another 1gig kingston RAM? so i would have 2 different brand of RAM but with same volume.

and also is hynix a good brand or brand are just marketting tools to earn more money(in short, does it have any effect on the performance?)
I use my computer pretty much for everything.
i play games and chat and browse the net at the same time all the time.
will it have a negative impact on my system?

im pretty new with computers really so yeah, advice would be great.

thanks in advance

 

Nope, no issue adding different brands as long as they are compatible in your system (PC54/5300 or PC43/4200 will work) remember, if you mix speeds the RAM will operate at the lower clock speed. (533 vs 667)

Hynix is a generic brand, it came in my Dell, my t60, and many other computers. I believe they are a subsidiary of Hyundai... I haven't had any problems with it, but it doesn't have the "name-recognition" that Kingston, Crucial, OCZ, Muskin, etc offer. As long as the module you're purchasing offers a lifetime warranty and a guarantee against DOA RAM I would not be too concerned.

More memory is always a good thing to have--check and see how much you typically use using the Task manager...I have found Vista to require a pretty big chunk of RAM for its own footprint, 2GB might be a nice upgrade.

More memory (to an extent) is always better, don't worry about a negative effect

Before you buy new memory, make sure that you have 1x1GB module and not 2x512 as the a8js has only 2 RAM slots.

You'll want 200 pin SODIMM memory @ either 533 or 667MHz--I'd start looking at www.newegg.com if you're in the States.

Welcome!

 

couldnt possibly more clearer than that. wow, a real advice finally.
i went to 2 IT guys and didnt really answer my questions.

at the moment, im defragmenting one of the drive and the CPU usage is round about 50% and the RAM consumption is about 86%
is this bad thing or good thing? or its a clear indication that i really need to upgrade my ram now?

 

Unsure, degrag might eat a lot of memory.

To determine if you really need it, just check if your computer is sluggish and accesses the HDD a lot (and when not opening / copying files obviously) when you are doing normal work, with your normal applications open. Also check the amount of memory consumed then.

You can also look at how much memory each application consumes: open Task Manager, View > Select Columns, and select Memory Usage and Peak Memory Usage. The best is to run the apps for a while, and then check the peak memory usage.

 

im operating with vista by the way, and it seems like the task manager view is different.
i have been observing my RAM usage, its always in the 80% everytime i use the laptop.
the cpu, well it keep on jumpin up n down all the time.

 

Oh ok then I don't know how to change the view. Vista is certainly more memory intensive and an upgrade to 2GB will be felt.

To check if you have one or two DIMMs use CPU-Z.

 

Disk defrag will not eat up memory. By it's very principle, defrag will take one block, copy it to another space, and then update the file table to point to the new block. If it were to eat up "more space", there would be higher risk of data loss if the system lost power while defragging. The most that could happen would be that it would use a bigger read cache.

Vista eats up a large amount of memory doing absolutely "nothing", "nothing" meaning that you're not touching the computer but the computer is doing stuff all by itself. Minimum 2 GB for Vista if you're a power user.

If you're going to check if you have modules in CPU-Z, you should check the speed at the same time. The RAM modules have an SPD chip which will tell you what speeds and settings they can operate.

Also, having two modules helps in that it works in dual channel mode. It allows the system to transfer more raw data at once, but it also has the side-effect of making the system more responsive since it's operating "twice as fast".

 

I don't want to argue, but there might be efficient implementations that copy large blocks of memory at a time while ensuring consistency in case of a powerdown.

 

any lament terms for that? -_-"
and just then, i had to shut down my laptop manually.
since i was running torrent and games and browsing at the same time.
i saw my RAM consumption gone from 40 odd something to 90, then to 100% then my laptop just froze.
damn it, i hate vista.

 

bump.........

 

Check your Task Manager and see which application is actually using all that RAM. You might have a program which is simply eating up all the available RAM, though Vista would definitely need more RAM than XP (that thing's a memory hog).