Should I get 667Mhz Ram or 800Mhz?

[thetechguy]

I got a Gift card To buy some ram from bestbuy...

Im upgrading from 1GB to 2GB possibly 4GB

(oh yeah will i see better performance with this upgrade?)

Im running vista.

When I look at there websight They offer ram at 667MHz and 800Mhz

I have a Acer Aspire 4520.

Thanks !

[Allan]

If you are adding to your existing ram you might as well get the same as is already installed. The system will clock at the speed of the slowest installed ram. Also, although it's rare there is a possibility of instability when using multiple ram modules with different speeds.

[Salmon Trout]

The Acer Aspire 4520 needs DDR2 667 SDRAM. 800 MHz RAM would be a waste of money. It would run at 667 in that computer. You did not say what OS you are running but in general increasing RAM does lead to a performance increase. It won't make your cpu or disk drives any faster though. To get the very best out of 4 GB you need a 64 bit operating system.

[thetechguy]

If you are adding to your existing ram you might as well get the same as is already installed. The system will clock at the speed of the slowest installed ram. Also, although it's rare there is a possibility of instability when using multiple ram modules with different speeds.

Thanks for the quick reply.

I am ripping out my old 512 MB X2 (=1GB) and replacing it with 1GB X2 (=2GB) Sticks.

[thetechguy]

The Acer Aspire 4520 needs DDR2 667 SDRAM. 800 MHz RAM would be a waste of money. It would run at 667 in that computer.

Ah thanks for the info.

It has a maximum on 4GB capable.

Will I see a performance Increase?

[Allan]

Going from 1 to either 2 or 4 GB? You may see some performance increase though it depends on your usage. Don't expect drastic results.

[thetechguy]

Going from 1 to either 2 or 4 GB? You may see some performance increase though it depends on your usage. Don't expect drastic results.

My task manager shows that my 1GB ram always is rounded to about 85 % full all the time. When I play games it ends up filling to 100% all the way. At the moment I am looking at it it is at 89% with just 2 Browsers running.

Thats why I was wondering if i will see a increase in performance like games that have a minimum of 2GB or stuff like that.
Also I should get better mutitasking performance right?

[Allan]

The more memory that is being used, the more efficient the system. Unused ram is wasted ram.

[thetechguy]

The more memory that is being used, the more efficient the system. Unused ram is wasted ram.

Well my games hiccup while at 100%. When I close everythings and disable everythings I see it doesnt hicup much because its at like 98%

(knowing that the hard drive is used after 100%)

SO sence its so full all the time i should be able to see performance? When stuff like that?

[Salmon Trout]

If you install 4 GB you will still see Windows using most of it. As Allan says, for reasons of efficiency. However when an application needs it, memory is released.

[Allan]

SO sence its so full all the time i should be able to see performance? When stuff like that?

Look, the bottom line is you can never have too much ram (as long as the system has the ability to use it, of course). So add the ram, it may very well help if your system isn't running smoothly now.

[thetechguy]

Look, the bottom line is you can never have too much ram (as long as the system has the ability to use it, of course). So add the ram, it may very well help if your system isn't running smoothly now.

So your personal opinion is that you dont really see a boost in performance unless you use programs that require the ram?

oh yes my question was answered. the 667MHz is the speed I need.

Just had that last question for Allan 

[Allan]

ALL programs use ram. But if you are saying that you are experiencing lags now then more ram may very well help.

[thetechguy]

So your personal opinion is that you dont really see a boost in performance unless you use programs that require the ram?

oh yes my question was answered. the 667MHz is the speed I need.

Just had that last question for Allan

Yes My system seems slow and sluggish all of sudden. Ive done all I could to speed it up. The only thing I relize is the ram is always full.
wondering if it will boost performance.

Oh yes thanks for reply.

[Allan]

Have you run scans for malware with both your AV and MalwareBytes?