XP performance with RAM upgrade

I have an old system running XP with 512MB RAM, PC2700. If I upgrade to
1 GB, will it make a noticeable difference? What should I see performance wise over the 512 mb? I am trying to keep this pc going for a while longer, I have replaced the hdd and reinstalled XP and it is working much better than it had been for the past year or so. Is it worth it to upgrade the memory? It will cost about $40, so it isn't a lot of money, but I would like to see/feel the difference over what I have now. Thanks.

 

Run your task manager
Look in the performance tab and look at your ram usage
Depending on what applications you are using you may be fine with only 512


Alex

 

More RAM definitely couldn't hurt. I suggest trying what Tomcat57 mentioned, but also try it with a heavier load (multiple applications open, doing multiple things, etc). You should gain a boost in multitasking ability with added RAM.

 

Yes do the upgrade. 512 of ram is nothing, no matter how little applications you run. If you have 2 or 3 apps open you are probably already pushing it, especially if you are not an advanced user and cleaned up/tweaked startup items, services, etc. You will notice a performance for sure with the upgrade.

$40 for 1gb ram? Old desktop too? I'm guessing using DDR PC5300? Should not be $40. Check how much ram your pc can take using www.crucial.com scanner and check newegg.com for prices for your ram. if your max is 2gb, I suggest doing that.

 

It's PC-2700 - it's in the first post. Looking at Newegg's prices, however, $40 does seem above the market price.

Tomcat57's suggestion is good - if you never go above 512 MB in PF Usage in the Performance tab, more memory won't help much. But my guess is you probably do go above that from time to time, and more memory would help. The Crucial memory check is also a good idea - if you can support 2 GB, buying a 1 GB stick makes more sense than buying a 512 MB stick (assuming you have two RAM slots).

 

512MB in XP to 1GB in XP?
performance will increase definitely.

 

That is actually almost exactly what I did in my old Averatec. It would definitely help performance. The stick of RAM should not cost you $40, $20 is more in the ballpark...

 

Just to add my part - I increased an old Medion's RAM from 512MB to 1GB

I'd say, as others have suggested you will only really see a benefit if you have several applications open.

Oddly enough my Medion used 350MB min. after startup - my mother's 200 odd MB I think - and I couldn't get my RAM usage down...

I think, the more RAM you have, the more is used.

However:
Generally increasing RAM is definitely a good idea

 

It has PC2700, I am thinking of buying 2 512mb sticks to replace the 2 256 sticks that are currently installed. I am looking at Crucial from Newegg and it is 21.99 per stick with free shipping, so about $44 to upgrade. The startup items and services have been tweaked to suit my needs, the garbage is gone.

 

I've got 4 slots, it will take 2gb max, and all the memory companies suggest using 4 512's to get the 2 gb. This is checking Crucial, Kingston, Newegg, MemoryX, etc. I want to keep it dual channel, so I thought I would buy 2 512 sticks and take out the 2 256 sticks. The cheapest ram Newegg has that will work in my pc is pqi at 18.99 per stick for 512. Crucial and Kingston are both 21.99 each.
At MemoryX, it is 19.99 per stick.

 

False. More ram will cause other programs to run smoother, decrease the time it takes for the pc to bootup, etc. Plus its pretty much impossible nowadays to not use 512 mb of ram. Having FF open with a few tabs and another app open = gg. Everything will load really slow and bog the machine.

Why don't you want to use up all 4 slots? If you want to only use 2 of the slots, can one slot hold 1 gb, so you can get two 1 gigs? I doubt it since your pc seems pretty old. If you really want to prolong your pc use, I really would suggest 2 gb. Might cost a bit more, but it will be worth it. Even though XP is not a ram hog like Vista is, your pc will thank you for feeding it 2gb and you will notice the performance.

 

I've just removed a 1GB stick leaving 1GB of RAM left and I can see the difference moving between applications and documents. With 2GB everything is fluid and there's minimal delay. Definitely recommended if you like having lots things running at once.

 

Can I use 2 sticks of 512 along with my current 2 sticks of 256 and still have dual channel or must all 4 be the same? I read somwhere that all 4 sticks have to be the same for dynamic mode, whatever that is.

 

To be honest - for 4 slots, no idea.

For 2 slots the amount of RAM on the smaller of two sticks will run in dual channel.

i.e. 1GB & 512MB - then 512MB on both will run in dual channel.

I have no idea how this works for 4 slots.

Also dual implies two...

 

Dont know about your hardware so I cant say much. But maxing out ram, combining with a fast drive, will surely improve your XP environment.

Stay with recommended RAM module specs.

cheers ...

 

If you need more RAM it will be very obvious. I have a laptop with 512mb and XP and it runs fine for internet browsing, remote desktop, etc. I detect no slowdowns with it.
I had a desktop with 768mb and it ran great most of the time. When I tried to run Photoshop E6 it was a real dog, definitely did not have enough memory for that.
I had a desktop computer with 1MB running AutoCAD. It ran OK, probably limited by the CPU more than anything. I never detected a slowdown due to RAM. I upped it to 2MB and could never detect ANY difference.
What normally happens when you don't have enough ram is that the OS will copy some data to the swapfile on the hard drive, then when you need that data the OS has to read it back from the hard drive at relatively slow speed. For instance you have your word processor open and you want to switch to your spreadsheet, if you don't have enough memory then the OS will copy some of the word processor to disk. Then when you want to switch back to the word processor you will have to wait while the OS reads it back from the hard drive. So it isn't a matter of a window taking 1/6 sec. to open with 512mb and 1/8 sec. to open with 1Gb, its a matter of a window taking 1/6 sec. to open with 1GB and 4 sec. to open with 512mb. Those delays will be obvious to you, and if you aren't seeing them now then you won't see an increase with more ram.

 

How can you see in Task Manager if you are accessing the page file? Is it in the commit charge section where it lists total, limit and peaK? If I understand correctly, Limit is the physical RAM plus the page file size, peak is the maximum amount of RAM used since last boot. So, if the peak number is greater than the physical memory, that is the amount that was accessed in page file? Or do I have it all wrong? If someone could explain this I would really appreciate it.

Also, will more RAM make the pc more usuable during spyware and virus scans, ie, not sluggish?

 

Sluggishness during AV scan is due to CPU and disk usage, more-so than memory.

 

i upgraded my xp laptop from 512 - 1.25 GB of memory, and it made a world of difference for me. Everything just felt a whole lot snappier, and my system wouldn't easily bog down.

Also, as jeremysdad said, "sluggishness during AV scan is due to CPU and disk usage", so unless you have a dual core processor, it will probably still feel a bit sluggish.

 

Sluggishness during an Antivirusscan also depends on the antivirus...
Some are worse than others with regards to CPU usage - some will allowe you to continue working on a single core, some won't....

Depends on the HDD size too...

 

yes, you can. Dunno what is meant by "dynamic mode" though... maybe speed? as in pc2700... Anyway, just make sure the new 2x512 MB modules are identic (same manufacturer, same series, same revision), otherwise you might run into instability problems.

 

My Medion is fine with 2 different 512MB RAM "sticks" - one in fact faster than the other...

Same manufacturer though.

 

I've upgraded my old desktop from 512MB PC2100 to 2GB PC3200 a few years back and got to say it made a difference but small. Can run more apps at the same time, thats about it.

 

bump
Anyone know about this? Thanks.

 

The more memory you have the less that you need to go to the hard drive but you cant take the pagefile out of the equation entirely and that your apps will run smoother as you can run more apps at the same time and if you game then games will use higher memory so less lag.

 

I upgraded my desktop (512mb to 1GB with new RAM and it made it much faster (And now I have a 4GB usb card used as cache)

Other thing I have done that have helped

replaced the 4 year old HD (much faster access times now)

 

Update: I got the new RAM today and it works fine. Much better with multiple windows open and apps running. Now I can scan with Malwarebytes and continue using eveything else without it slowing to a crawl. Before this, if I ran a scan it was frustrating to try to do anything else as it was so sloooooow. With the new hdd, fresh XP install and the added RAM, it really feels like a new machine again. I had previously added a Geforce 6200 with 256 mb. I know the video card isn't too good, but it is not used for gaming at all. I have an AGP graphics slot, so there aren't many choices that will work with that and a 300W power supply.

Also, I took out the 2 256 mb sticks of RAM and replaced them with 2 512's. Do you think I should put the other 2 sticks back in too, for a total of
1 1/2 gigs of RAM? Or will it slow it down because there are 2 different sizes in use?

 

Yes, add the more ram. It won't slow it down, it will only help. Diff. size doesn't matter.

 

And the different sizes won't mess up dual channel right?

 

I think it would...all 4 would need to be the same, I THINK. I'm not completely sure. Best thing to do would just to put them in, and run some benchmarks or see if there's noticeable improvement. Couldn't hurt. If it does ruin it, simply take them back out.

 

I was under the impression that all 4 would have to be the same too. I guess it can't hurt to try. I have zero experience with benchmarks, what do you suggest. I am running a Pentium 4 at 2.8 and a Geforce 6200 with 256mb.

 

Is there any chance that the added memory would make the sleep mode work properly in Windows 7, or is it unrelated? I ran W7 with the 512mb of RAM, and the computer wouldn't go into standby on its own. If I put it into standby manually, it wouldn't wake up. I had to pull the plug, it wouldn't shut off or wake up. Any ideas?