How to Choose the Memory in a 2GB Desktop Upgrade
- 1). Evaluate your operating system. If you have Windows XP or earlier, you are limited to 4 gigabytes of RAM and, for all practical purposes, can not really utilize more than 3 gigabytes.
- 2). Determine how much RAM you have and can use. Go to "Control Panel" and click on "System" to see how much RAM you have. You will have to read your manual to see how much memory your motherboard can use and how many memory slots are on your board. If you want to add two 1 gigabyte sticks of RAM, but you only have two slots and one is full, you can replace the old one with the newer one. If that slot has more than the 1 gigabyte stick, you can use a single 2 gigabyte RAM stick, providing your computer motherboard works with this size. Your manual will also list exactly what types of RAM your motherboard will use.
- 3). Choose the fastest or the most affordable memory your computer can use. In general, more RAM is more important than faster RAM. More than just different types, RAM comes in different speeds, but again, faster speeds don’t make as much difference as more total memory.
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