Ram

[lt_dillweed]

How do i get an extra gig of ram-where? and how do i install it?

[Alex98uk]

Buy it from a shop or online retailer such as NewEgg, and click it into the slots in your computer...

Make sure it's the right type

[Scinto]

if you dont know what type/speed of ram you have you could either use;

Crucials System scan which will determine what Ram you can use
http://crucial.com/systemscanner/index.aspx

or Cpu-z to find out your motherboard maker/model
http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpu-z-142.zip

[lt_dillweed]

do u think another gig will help with lag in all my games (most important BF2)

[ConscriptVirus]

how much do u currently have? going from 1 gig to 2 gigs really helped for me. got rid of any stuttering for me.

plus..if u have no idea wat ur doing with installing ram, i suggest u get a friend to help u and show u how to do it. it make me nervous when i hear ppl putting stuff into their computer w/o having done so b4.

[bladecx321]

something along the same lines... i have an nVidia GeForce 8800GTS card and 1 gig ram... it still lags on high graphics for some reason and idk if it is my processor or i just need more ram... my processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.40GHz (2 CPUs)

[sgt.collins]

you need more ram. 1gb probably won't cut it anymore....
i have 2gb and i can play high settings x8 anti at 250fps hahaha

[bladecx321]

ahhh ya thats what i figured...

[jdrou]

Upgrading to 2 GB is generally the most cost-effective performance improvement you can make and it will help everything you do with your computer. $50-$100 for a 2nd Gig of RAM will usually do more for your game than spending an extra $100 on your video card or CPU.

[lt_dillweed]

Say i buy a one gig ram stick (i found a site that sells the exact kind for my exact computer model) and this video card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133203 (i need a low end card cause of power supply but that still will decrease lag) will doing this decrease lag and allow me to play more games on medium-high detail without too much lag? Also how do i install those items? do i hire a professional?

[ConscriptVirus]

if u get that card....ur looking at low with maybe some medium.

[dannyboy0492]

First of all:

What do you currently have in your pc?

[lt_dillweed]

how do i find my specs again?

[dannyboy0492]

Start>Run>Dxdiag>Save all information>copy and paste here

[Namakan]

1-2 GB is a major difference in BF2

[sgt.collins]

you know why thats so, battlefield 2 likes to have 1-1.5, and windows xp takes up .5 so right now it only has about 512 megabytes of RAM for battlefield 2. minus all the other apps you probably have running, down to 400. since it only has that much, it uses pagefile which is really slow

[dannyboy0492]

you know why thats so, battlefield 2 likes to have 1-1.5, and windows xp takes up .5 so right now it only has about 512 megabytes of RAM for battlefield 2. minus all the other apps you probably have running, down to 400. since it only has that much, it uses pagefile which is really slow

This is true .. :D if i post my dxdiag on here will you tell me if my comp is running fine? it just seems weird to me.

[lt_dillweed]

Dell Dimension C521
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4600+(2 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory: 1982MB RAM
Page File: 2057MB used, 2125MB availible
Direct X: Direct X10


So....say i buy that stick of ram and that video card...would it help much for games? and what kind of professional would i want to install those items

BTW, my graphics card is NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE

[reynolddog]

i have that same integrated card as you. it blows to say the least. i think the 8400 will be a upgrade FOR YOU. I'm getting a 8800GT and 2 gig more (vista) and a bigger psu.also i think you could install the stuff yourself.

[bladecx321]

no you dont need to hire a pro to install RAM and a new graphics card. open up your computer and you need to match the connectors on the card/ram to the connectors on your motherboard. pretty simple. make sure everything is connected, screwed in, and close up ur PC. install your new hardware and then you should be ready to go.

and ya, you're gonna need a better card than that if you want med/high gfx.

[-DeD-]

It should show you how to do it in your Motherboard handbook. If you don't have it, you can download it from their website.

[jdrou]

Memory: 1982MB RAM

So....say i buy that stick of ram and that video card...would it help much for games? and what kind of professional would i want to install those items

BTW, my graphics card is NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE
You've already got 2 GB; going up from there will still help (especially with Vista) but not as much as going from 1 to 2. That video card is pretty bad though and it's probably stealing some of your RAM too. Any new card with dedicated RAM will be an improvement.

[lt_dillweed]

no you dont need to hire a pro to install RAM and a new graphics card. open up your computer and you need to match the connectors on the card/ram to the connectors on your motherboard. pretty simple. make sure everything is connected, screwed in, and close up ur PC. install your new hardware and then you should be ready to go.

and ya, you're gonna need a better card than that if you want med/high gfx.

well im fine with all med graphics for most games as i have been with BF2 if you guys think another gig and that video card will help me run on medium graphics with low lag so i can actually enjoy the game then thanks. but if you can find a better video card but still one that i wont need to get a better power source for then that would be good too :)

[bladecx321]

maybe this can help you chose a card: http://www.nvidia.com/HelpMeChoose/index.aspx?qid=1

yes another gig of ram will help

how many watts does your current power supply produce?

[wtrtwnguy]

c'mon guys. getting another gig of ram will obviously NOT help in this case. He has 2GB. That's plenty for BF2. His video card is of abysmal performance on the other hand.

Upgrading the video card is really the only sensible thing to do here. As discussed in another post, the 8400 low profile would help. we already discussed that issue to exhaustion in another post. he has a low profile system, so 8800, 8600 & such are out of the question. On the other hand, no need to worry about the power supply with an 8400.

upgrading 2GB of ram to 3GB is nothing but a waste of money. And that configuration cannot be done on his DELL in the first place. He'd have to throw out the 2GB he has and get 2x2GB sticks for a total of 4GB as there should be only two memory slots available, both of which would already have memory installed.

[Tomeis]

c'mon guys. getting another gig of ram will obviously NOT help in this case. He has 2GB. That's plenty for BF2. His video card is of abysmal performance on the other hand.

Upgrading the video card is really the only sensible thing to do here. As discussed in another post, the 8400 low profile would help. we already discussed that issue to exhaustion in another post. he has a low profile system, so 8800, 8600 & such are out of the question. On the other hand, no need to worry about the power supply with an 8400.

upgrading 2GB of ram to 3GB is nothing but a waste of money. And that configuration cannot be done on his DELL in the first place. He'd have to throw out the 2GB he has and get 2x2GB sticks for a total of 4GB as there should be only two memory slots available, both of which would already have memory installed.

actually, the Dimension E521 has 4 ram slots, so he could easily have 3GB. And, since it's a Dell, I'm assuming it has a 300W power supply (my inspiron 531 does, so I think it's the same). If that's the case, then he could definately put an 8600 in there.

[wtrtwnguy]

The problem is he has the Dimension C521 not E521. Big difference. C521 is a small form factor machine. So unless you can find a 8600 in half height, it is a no go.

It may or may not have 4 banks of ram. Ours at work have only two banks. The other two banks are present on the motherboard, but are lacking the actual slots. Either way, 3GB of ram will not help in any way with playing BF2 on his current machine. Having 4 instead of 2 memory sticks installed might actually slow down the system a wee bit.

[Tomeis]

The problem is he has the Dimension C521 not E521. Big difference. C521 is a small form factor machine. So unless you can find a 8600 in half height, it is a no go.

It may or may not have 4 banks of ram. Ours at work have only two banks. The other two banks are present on the motherboard, but are lacking the actual slots. Either way, 3GB of ram will not help in any way with playing BF2 on his current machine. Having 4 instead of 2 memory sticks installed might actually slow down the system a wee bit.

oh I didn't notice he had the C version. So yeah I don't know if the 8600 will fit or not in that one, but 300W would be enough if it did fit. and for the ram... yes when I first got my computer it only had 2x512 and I couldn't play on all high settings without lag. once I put another gig in, I could play at high settings and get 50+FPS. I bought a third gig just because it was cheap ($19) and it helps other games and just in general :) The third gig made no real affect to BF2, though

[lt_dillweed]

Darn...will the 8400 card i wanted still fit in my machine? and this is not just for battlefield 2, it could help me in counter strike even though i hardly lag in that game and also im thinking of getting command & conquer 3 which requires alot of graphic thingummyjiggers to not get lag when big battles happen

[wtrtwnguy]

as long as you get a "half height" or "low profile" PCIEx16 card, you should be fine. I am pretty sure the 8400 is the fastest low profile card out there. Note that not every 8400 is a low profile card, you would have to make sure you are actually getting the low profile version. I wish they made the 8600 in low profile, but I have never seen one.

[lt_dillweed]

Is this card low profile "half height" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133203 it says PCI express x16

[JustMe0171]

Is this card low profile "half height" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133203 it says PCI express x16

Dude, i'd cut a freakin hole in my box if i had too to put a regular sized card in there instead of this one.

just my opinion:salute:

[bladecx321]

give this site a try: http://www.ewiz.com

good deals on there sometimes and a good variety of items

[JustMe0171]

Check this one out, its low profile & i think a lot better card than the other one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150257
but like i said before if possible i cut a hole in da box :)

[reynolddog]

yah justme i'd Mod the case to fit it also.

[JustMe0171]

yah justme i'd Mod the case to fit it also.

yeap, well im not an expert for sure, but i know those low profile cards arent the greatest cards, they'll get ya there i guess. but to get good game'n card it'd be worth puttin jigsaw to the lid/case:nod: :D:D

[Mitch123]

How do i check what kind of ram i need?

[JustMe0171]

How do i check what kind of ram i need?

this is a good little program to put on your desktop, just unzip it there or where ever you like , open & hit it, it doesnt install, it just tells you allmost anything u wanna know even what kinda ram you have & speeds and slots avaliable.

with ram u want same in the banks, like you got 4 slots, your 1st & 3rd usually are your primary ,put the highest like if you got gig sticks put them in there & if ya got a 512 put it in the 2nd slot.

i donno why, just that way, unless somethign has changed since my board was made, & yepp my boards old , about 3yrs now, im ready 4 a new one:D

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

[Tomeis]

this is a good little program to put on your desktop, just unzip it there or where ever you like , open & hit it, it doesnt install, it just tells you allmost anything u wanna know even what kinda ram you have & speeds and slots avaliable.

with ram u want same in the banks, like you got 4 slots, your 1st & 3rd usually are your primary ,put the highest like if you got gig sticks put them in there & if ya got a 512 put it in the 2nd slot.

i donno why, just that way, unless somethign has changed since my board was made, & yepp my boards old , about 3yrs now, im ready 4 a new one:D

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php


well my dell motherboard has the slots 1 and 2 are dual-channel, and so are 3 and 4. the slots are colour coded, so you should go by the colour

[wtrtwnguy]

Is this card low profile "half height" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133203 it says PCI express x16

Yes that card will work. The other card that was suggested is essentially the same, just a better brand. It is up to you whether you'd want to spend 49 or 99 bucks.

So go ahead and get it. It is not a bad card, far better than what you have now. OK it is not a 8800, but not everyone needs one. For medium quality it should suffice. You have an office PC, not a gaming rig. And don't even think about cutting holes in your case. That's such a bad idea for so many reasons. (voided warranty, compromised EMF shielding for starters...)

Mind that you currently have no dedicated video memory. Buying a card with dedicated memory, like the one above, will instantly free up 256MB of RAM :)

[JustMe0171]

well my dell motherboard has the slots 1 and 2 are dual-channel, and so are 3 and 4. the slots are colour coded, so you should go by the colour

yes you should, and your right, but you cant go by site, you do have to go by the color, cause visually the 1st two in a row are slots 1&3 , it will be a white & black tab.
and 2nd two are slots 2&4

but stick with the white first black 2nd is good.

[sgt.collins]

crucial.com
it figures out what kind you need for you.