Upgrade My Ram - What To use?

INEEDANID

I have bought a Dell Vostro Slim Tower 200 Desktop.

It has a 18 inch flat screen and I intend to use it just for the internet and maybe as a jukebox and a little gaming just Football Manager maybe.

The processor is decent enough for my use its a core duo running at about 2.0GHZ with 2MB cache

It currently has 1GB RAM and I want to upgrade this to maybe 3GB as this is as much as a 32bit system can use I think?

Does this mean I have to buy 2 more 1gb sticks or have to buy 3 sticks and replace them all.

Plus is it easy to install RAM? I had a look on youtube and it seems very easy.

Monotype

You can have up to 4GB on a 32-bit system, but the 4GB includes graphics memory and everything.

The manual implies that there are 4 memory slots while other places say that there are 2. I suggest that you open it and have a look to see how many slots are there.

Installing memory is not very difficult, opening some of those dell cases can be the hardest job! Just be careful only to hold RAM by the edges as they are vulnerable to static. You just open the side catches on the slot that you plan to use, line up in the correct direction and press them in (often requires a good bit of force but make sure that it is lined up correctly). Then there's nothing more to it. No need for software updates or anything.

Here's the manual
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/vos200/en/slim_tower/om_en/pdf/PK009A01.pdf

Here's some RAM options on memoryc. They're a good site and have free delivery.
http://www.memoryc.com/dell-desktop-server-vostro-220-slim-tower-memory-upgrade.html

You should buy RAM in pairs.
If you have 2 slots and 2x512MB, you should remove what you have and get 2x1GB or 2x2GB.
If you have 4 slots and 2x512MB, you could keep what you have and get 2x1GB for a total of 3GB.

Edit: I have the 220 slim tower there which is not the same. I think that there are 4 memory slots. The recommended RAM is PC2-5300 or PC2-6400 with a maximum of 1GB in each slot.
http://www.memoryc.com/computermemory/ddr2ram.html?Standard=PC2+5300
http://www.memoryc.com/computermemory/ddr2ram.html?Standard=PC2+6400

So either get 4x1GB or 2x1GB (and reuse the 2x512MB if that's what you have).

INEEDANID

Monotype wrote: »

You can have up to 4GB on a 32-bit system, but the 4GB includes graphics memory and everything.

The manual implies that there are 4 memory slots while other places say that there are 2. I suggest that you open it and have a look to see how many slots are there.

Installing memory is not very difficult, opening some of those dell cases can be the hardest job! Just be careful only to hold RAM by the edges as they are vulnerable to static. You just open the side catches on the slot that you plan to use, line up in the correct direction and press them in (often requires a good bit of force but make sure that it is lined up correctly). Then there's nothing more to it. No need for software updates or anything.

Here's the manual
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/vos200/en/slim_tower/om_en/pdf/PK009A01.pdf

Here's some RAM options on memoryc. They're a good site and have free delivery.
http://www.memoryc.com/dell-desktop-server-vostro-220-slim-tower-memory-upgrade.html

You should buy RAM in pairs.
If you have 2 slots and 2x512MB, you should remove what you have and get 2x1GB or 2x2GB.
If you have 4 slots and 2x512MB, you could keep what you have and get 2x1GB for a total of 3GB.

Edit: I have the 220 slim tower there which is not the same. I think that there are 4 memory slots. The recommended RAM is PC2-5300 or PC2-6400 with a maximum of 1GB in each slot.
http://www.memoryc.com/computermemory/ddr2ram.html?Standard=PC2+5300
http://www.memoryc.com/computermemory/ddr2ram.html?Standard=PC2+6400

So either get 4x1GB or 2x1GB (and reuse the 2x512MB if that's what you have).

Thanks for the help! Lots of questions answered.

I think i'll try and get the PC up to 3GB of RAM and then install a decent minimal version of XP for maximum performance.

INEEDANID

Anyone know how much people charge to install RAM?

Monotype

Probably more than the RAM itself.

It's not too difficult at all and you could have it done in 5 minutes.
There's very little to worry about:
-You won't get electrocuted if you disconnect the power.
-You won't damage your computer if you are not careless - ground yourself before you start (touch a metal object leading to the ground and the metal computer case). Parts don't blow up if you just look at them.
-Your RAM is unlikely to break as long as you are careful.

So long as you can see, don't have unstable electrical superpowers and somewhat steady hands, you are very unlikely to run into problems.

Here's a video which shows all there is to it. I picked this video because it clearly shows the slots, but the guy is really careless with handling the RAM, so don't do that. Just hold the edges (sides and top, not the edge with the gold contacts). Rubber/latex gloves would probably work too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBUH7i-NQrU