Memory question, upgrade

[fluffykitten]

I have a couple dell amd 64 2.4ghz, they are sluggish and not much memory with OS WinXP, one has 256memory and other 512. PC3200 DDR 400, I have a lot of memory on hand, a lot of 256 sticks, some 512 and few 1gb, only some are PC3200, I don't know everything about memory and what, can I use different brands but does it have to be pc3200 400 ddr and not mismatch but mismatch the name brands.

 

[example1013]

More info would certainly help. Model names would definitely be useful here.

Although to be honest I'm not sure I'm willing to touch this one, because this sounds about as obsolete as you can get without saying "it only runs Windows 2000".

 

[mike1959]

For a good guide as to what your pc's can use, and what you currently have fitted;
go to; www.crucial.com
Click on the system scanner and it will give you some accurate info about what amounts and speeds of ram you can use.
For the best performance, you need to have matched pairs of ram, so the pc will run in 'Dual-channel' mode, if the board supports it.
The motherboards you are using may have 2 ram slots or 4. If you have 4, they will be colour coded, and you need to treat the colours as pairs.
For instance, if you have 2 yellow slots, and 2 purple, some pc's must have say, 512MB in each of the yellow slots, and nothing in the purple.
Or 512 in each of the yellow, plus 256 in each of the purple. If you have 4 ram slots they will have a number printed next to them, such as Dimm 0, Dimm 1, Dimm 2, Dimm3. Normal rule is to start with Dimm 0.
The speed of the ram (PC3200) is important in that all the ram you use will run at the speed of the slowest one. So if you have a slow one, better not fit it.
The crucial guide will tell you the speed of ram that your board needs, you can use faster (higher PC number) but not lower.
Aim for at least 1GB ram, 2GB will be ok for general use.
The brand names are the least important thing to worry about, all my Dell's ram is unbranded DDR2, never misses a beat.