Need more memory

[winston]

How can a computer be made to accept more memory? I have an older P3 933 with XP Pro that will only accept 512 and I would like to put more in it. The computer is being used to edit home movies with Pinnacle. I have another P3 and it has 1024. thanks winston may.

[Ray Minich]

Whatcha using Winston? Premiere?

Check the book that came with the motherboard for memory specs and max megabytes. You may be maxed out now...

Also, be aware that if you are running a Pinnacle video processing card (like the Pro-One RTDV or similar), they are really motherboard sensitive. I've got one MicroStar MOBO that works great with the Pro-One RTDV, and another of the same family that don't work worth a &^%$#.

[Wiz Feinberg]

Winston;
Unless your motherboard manual states that the maximum amount of RAM is 512 you should be able to replace the existing modules with a pair of 512s or 1 GBs. I have an entire web page about upgrading RAM, with links to two different system lookup tools, which match your system or motherboard with guaranteed compatible RAM, and also tells you the maximum supported by your system, or motherboard.

If the lookup tool(s) tell you that your motherboard/system can support 2 GB then order a pair of 1 GB modules, preferably as a matched pair (called a "kit"). Audio and video editing places a lot of megabytes into RAM. If you have an inadequate amount of RAM the OS will have to start swapping some data out of memory - to the hard drive, and this slows down the editing process and causes choppiness. More is definitely better in this case. If you purchase inexpensive modules that are mismatched and are doing mission critical editing you will probably run into errors and possibly system crashes, while doing RAM intensive operations.

------------------
Bob "Wiz" Feinberg
Moderator of the SGF Computers Forum
<small>Visit my Wiztunes Steel Guitar website at: http://www.wiztunes.com/
or my computer troubleshooting website: Wizcrafts Computer Services,
or my Webmaster Services webpage.
Learn about current computer virus and security threats here.
Read Wiz's Blog for security news and update notices</small>

[Jack Stoner]

Although you are limited by the hardware (motherboard), Windows XP will only address 3 GB max. The new Vista will address much more but the old hardware you have will not be Vista compatible.

[winston]

I will try these suggestions, if I can get it to accept a total of 1024 that will probably be enough. thanks all, I will let you know.

[Wiz Feinberg]

Bus speed is going to come into the calculations here, because the P3 933 runs at a 133 Mhz FSB speed. If you have your motherboard or system booklet see if it says what RAM specification is recommended (ex: PC133), and limit your searches to comparable modules. The memory advisor tools on my website should help you to find the right type of RAM.

------------------
Bob "Wiz" Feinberg
Moderator of the SGF Computers Forum
<small>Visit my Wiztunes Steel Guitar website at: http://www.wiztunes.com/
or my computer troubleshooting website: Wizcrafts Computer Services,
or my Webmaster Services webpage.
Learn about current computer virus and security threats here.
Read Wiz's Blog for security news and update notices</small>

[Jack Stoner]

Crucial (memory) has a search function to determine what memory is required for PC's.

One note, if you have a Dell, they are finnicky about memory and Crucial is one brand that is known to work well with Dell. Don't know why as I've used "generic" (and various brands) in PC's (other than Dell's) without any problems - just as long as it's the type needed for the machine.

[winston]

The computer is a compaq and the compaq site said the computer would only take up to 512, should have done that to start with. Thanks to everyone that helped. Winston May

[Jack Stoner]

That's typical of many older PC's. My "test" PC is an old Compaq Presario and I have it maxed out - 384Mb.