TipHub

Adding memory and hard disk space are the best ways to improve the performance of your computer.

You can never have enough memory on your computer, generally the rule of thumb is the more the better! The amount of memory you need also varies on what you intend to do. One method of determining if you should upgrade is to do the following:

• Restart your computer
• When you load up right click on the task bar items and close as many items as possible (bottom left of your computer). Note if you are turning off your virus scan make sure you are off the network.
• Once you have done that try opening up a program like Windows Word. And time it. Note that you should only do this once as Windows will cache the program in memory if you open it the second time.
• Reboot your computer and time it when you have your normal applications running like IE, your instant messengers, virus scanner, etc...

Try different combinations, to get a feel of the difference if the timings between with and without all those applications is a second or longer then you increasing your memory is probably a good step! Personally I feel that you should have 2GB of memory (but I tend to have lots of applications running).

Then follow these steps to figure out what you have:

• + Break or Right Click on "My Computer" and click on properties. It should tell you how much memory your computer has.
• Get your manual to find out what type and speed your memory your computer can handle. Generally you can mix different speeds (as long as your computer can handle it) but it may default to the lower speed.
• Next you might have to open your computer to see if you have any spare slots. Notebooks generally have 2 slots (one might be under your keyboard), desktops normally have 2 to 4 slots. Also note that memory might need to come in pairs, so you might need to change both memory slots together.

After you have figured this out, you will then have to decide if you need to replace your memory or just add it. Bring your computer down to your computer shop or buy it and install it by following your instruction manual!